There are many films out there where some of us wanted a sequel, or we may have asked ourselves what a character might be doing now. In the drama, The Road To Everywhere, director Michael Shoob, along with actor Whip Hubley, revisits the character Jason Schuyler from their 1996 film Driven.
The film begins with a flashback to 1994, and Jason Schuyler (Hubley) is driving his cab and picks up Rachel (Donna DiLascio) as a random fare. Twenty years later, Jason is still a cab driver, and one night he picks up Anthony (Rawle D. Lewis). Jason recognizes him as an old work colleague he used to call Soup. Jason learns Anthony has done well for himself, and although he’s happy for his old friend, he’s not thrilled with his own situation. Later that night, Jason drops off flowers to Rachel, who’s now his ex-wife, and as the two sit in his cab reminiscing, a dispute causes Jason to drive off angrily until he gets into a wreck.
Two years later, Jason is moving into Rachel’s home. They are still exes, but she never fully recovered from the wreck, so he’s now there to take care of her. When he goes to work, one of his fares is a man named Jake (Robert Mirabal). The two don’t quite hit it off; however, Jake asks Jason to swing by after his work shift for another ride home, and since Jason needs the money, he agrees. It’s on this ride back that Jake offers him $5,000 to drive him from Los Angeles to Arizona to see his grandson. Although it seems like an odd proposal considering the two don’t seem to really like each other, the bills are piling up for Jason, and he eventually agrees to take him. The drive seems basic, but along the journey, Jason learns that Jake may not have just been a random fare.
“Jake offers him $5,000 to drive him from Los Angeles to Arizona to see his grandson.”
So, in order to see this, do you need to see the original? I don’t think so, but I’m fascinated with the way Shoob decided to continue the story. I can only imagine that Driven must have been an experience that stuck with him. Shoob wisely interweaves footage from his other film, which was shot in color, to set up The Road to Everywhere, which is in black and white. It’s great to see the actors he brought back revisiting their roles, and it makes me curious if there were others, like the late, great Tony Todd, whose unavailability might have changed some of Schuyler’s arc.
There is a simpleness to the story since it’s a road trip movie we’ve seen before, think Due Date. But in order to properly pull off those films, certain things need to happen along the way, and you need two strong actors and solid dialogue. If you don’t care for either performer, or if one is weaker, the film falls apart, and that doesn’t happen here. Luckily for Hubley, he is revisiting an old character, granted many years later, which sets up a proper arc. The man who holds his own and adds that needed dynamic is Robert Mirabal, whose limited acting credits I wasn’t familiar with at all, but he seemed like a veteran.
I didn’t know of Driven, but watching this loose sequel made me glad that perhaps I saw this one first, because I’ll definitely be renting the original. I’m assuming the original story is different, but fans of it will find this a nice companion piece.
"…Watching this loose sequel made me glad that perhaps I saw this one first."
