Director: William Wages
Writers: Phillip Bellury, William Wages
Stars: Beau Bridges, Rob Mayes, Sam Hennings
Synopsis: Wayne, a singer, meets washed-up legend Claude Allen. Together they go to Nashville to pitch a song, but the industry rejects them. Wayne figures out how to release the song publicly, not for himself but for Claude.
The real star of the film The Neon Highway, finally finding a home on the streaming giant Netflix after debuting with a minimal release on video on demand and a theatrical release in Nashville last spring, is the country music and the performance of Beau Bridges, who makes the most of his supporting screen time.
The film plays like an unintentional sequel to Beau’s older and more successful brother Jeff Bridges’s film, Crazy Heart, where Bad Blake now mentors a younger generation after no one else will have him and finds happiness in mentoring. The final product is like a classic country song, filled with haunting memories, a few dashes of nostalgia, and, most importantly, a few honest moments of reflection.
Though, The Neon Highway cannot help itself from tripping into country cliches more than most.
Directed by William Wages, who wrote the script along with Phillip Rob Bellury, The Neon Highway stars real-life country music star and actor Rob Mayes (John Dies at the End, Thor: Ragnarok), who plays Wayne Collins, a down-on-his-luck, nine-to-five family man struggling to make ends meet for his family. Desperate to buy his family a new washer and dryer, he asks for an overtime shift.
However, Wayne’s boss politely reminds him that if he stopped playing around on his guitar, he would take him more seriously. Wayne was an up-and-coming country music star in Nashville who was about to be offered a solo deal from a major label, which would mean leaving his brother, Lloyd (Eat Pray Love’s T.J. Power), behind. However, all of that changes when Lloyd is killed in a tragic accident on a highway, altering Wayne’s life forever.
Fast forward two decades later, while on a job, he meets a weathered country legend, Claude Allen (Dreamin’ Wilds’s Beau Bridges), living in his deceased parents’ home. He may explode if he stands too close to an open flame, considering he looks like he has been soaking in some backwoods moonshine. As they talk, they realize they need each other. Claude needs Wayne for his songwriting ability, and Wayne needs Claude for his star potential to earn a big payday.
If you think you have heard this plot before, it’s not just from that very special episode of the Saturday morning Saved by the Bell wannabe, California Dreams, or any time Kris Kristofferson holds a guitar to scream. The one where the crusty, grizzled old timer works with a younger version of himself, trying to right the wrongs of their pasts.
Bridges’ performance is good, even funny at times, especially when young people come up to him and tell him how much their grandmothers adored him. Still, the script never lives up to the authentic and refreshing performance of the aging actor, who comes from a legendary acting family.
However, if you are a fan of the genre and country music in general, the film takes some chances with its script. It is not perfect and sometimes misses its mark, but it is refreshing enough to separate itself from the usual country drama fare. Not to mention, the film’s core from Cuban-American Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval and the soundtrack performed by Lee Brice, sets the tone for the film that works harmoniously with the setting.
While I appreciate the thought and authenticity put into The Neon Highway, the whole could be better than the sum of its parts. The story feels stale and old. A country retread if there ever was one. Besides Bridges and a slightly above-average performance from Mayes, the film struggles to find its footing in a narrow genre with about the same broad appeal as a Kevin Costner western.
For a much better film about a real country music star, seek out Ethan Hawke’sBlaze on Tubi. Otherwise, The Neon Highway is for diehards of the genre and the music it tries to lose itself in.
