The Journey Ahead Movie Review

IN A NUTSHELL:

A famous Hollywood actress and a young wilderness expert drive from Los Angeles to New York. Along the way, both women learn they can’t run from their past to create the future they want.  The film was directed by Linda-Lisa Hayter and written by Erin Engman.

THINGS I LIKED:

• Holly Robinson Peete does a believable job as a spoiled Hollywood star.  Did you know her father was the famous actor Matt Robinson (the original Gordon on Sesame Street!)   Her husband is the famous football player Rodney Peete.
• Kaylee Bryant plays a super judgmental, annoying Millennial, but her character definitely warms up in the end.
• There’s a very touching, tearful moment in the end.
• We get to take a road trip across the USA.
• Both of the main characters experience growth with hard-won insights.
• The minute you see Mark Humphrey, you can already tell there is a romance brewing.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Both of the characters are unlikeable at the beginning with attitudes of entitlement and superiority.  Why do people feel they can treat others with such instant disdain?
• We see several scenes and then they repeat shortly after as thoughts in the protagonist’s head in Act 1.  That could have easily been cut from the movie.
• There are some slow moments.
• Act 3 felt rushed as both characters suddenly made decisions they had been resisting for years.
• There are some moments where odd things occur that just don’t happen in real life.  For example, a young girl randomly walks over to someone else’s table in a restaurant and starts drawing.  What?   Where were her parents?  It’s such a contrived moment to make a point about one of the characters.  Trust me…there are more weird things like that.
• It’s very predictable.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:    

• Talk of a lesbian relationship.
• Talk of pre-marital relations.

THEMES:

• Adoption
• Complicated relationships
• Regret
• Dreams
• Road-trip adventures
• Phone your loved ones!
• Challenging yourself to do hard things
• The importance of education

You can see the full review on the Movie Review Mom YouTube channel.

tmc.io contributor: MovieReviewMom

I review movies at MovieReviewMom.com and on my Movie Review Mom YouTube channel!