I’m always wary of movies that seem to be trying to hard to get a “Southern flavor,” like casting country stars or other people who look “authentic.” Lyle Lovett is kind of a double threat in this department, which does not bode well for The Open Road, the Justin Timberlake project that has just cast Lovett and Harry Dean Stanton. The Hollywood Reporter says that Stanton will play Timberlake’s grandfather, and Lovett will play a Memphis bartender who offers the character advice as he tries to reconnect with his dying father (Jeff Bridges).
Yes, I know credit should be given where it’s due, and all of the cast—also including Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen—has done plenty of promising work in the past. But still, this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Writer-director Michael Meredith hasn’t done much of note before, though he did direct Lovett in 2003’s Three Days of Rain. Basically, there’s nothing on his resume to prove to me he can make this cliché-ridden story more than exactly what it sounds like.
Fine, fine, Justin Timberlake has been doing great acting so far, and it’s good to see that he’ll have a feature all to himself. And hey, if Britney acted OK on How I Met Your Mother last night, JT must be able to one-up her! Still, still… it seems so doubtful that this movie will be anything original. Unless JT, in the middle of the movie, brings sexy back. Unlikely, but a girl can dream.
