The best road trip movies of all time

[jw5]

The best road trip movies of all time​

The open road, a sense of adventure, and a cinematic backdrop: the best road trip movies capture them all. Of course, real-life road trips rarely go totally smoothly, and classic road trip movies don't shy away from showing all the dramatic bumps along the way. From drug-fueled misadventures to disastrous family trips and bust-ups behind the wheel, these movies range from cringe-making comedies to tense thrillers and joy-filled adventures.

 

[jw5]

'Easy Rider' (1969)​

One of the most iconic road trip movies of all time, this classic film summed up the spirit of its time. Starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson, it sees the free-wheeling central characters tackle bigotry and bad drugs trips as they try to figure out their own place in society.

 

[jw5]

'Magic Mike XXL' (2015)​

The fun follow-up to 2012's comedy-drama 'Magic Mike' sees male stripper Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) return from retirement to join his Kings of Tampa dance colleagues for a road trip to attend a stripper convention.

 

[jw5]

'Little Miss Sunshine' (2006)​

A dysfunctional Albuquerque family hit the road in their Volkswagen van in a bitter-sweet indie movie. The offbeat family are headed to California, where seven-year-old daughter Olive is keen to showcase her somewhat unique dance moves in the finals of a beauty pageant.

 

[jw5]

'It Happened One Night' (1934)​

An early rom-com, 'It Happened One Night' was the first of only three movies ever to pick up the five top awards at the Oscars. It sees an out-of-work reporter and a headstrong heiress thrown together when their bus leaves them stranded.

 

[jw5]

'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' (2020)​

Having failed in his attempts to marry Pamela Anderson in 2006, Borat is back in his van and in the United States, this time navigating a pandemic as he attempts to offer his daughter as a present to a prominent politician. What could go wrong? Everything!

 

[jw5]

'The Blues Brothers' (1980)​

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are the blues-loving protagonists of this memorable movie. Fresh out of jail and trying to stick to the straight-and-narrow, they embark on a wild ride around Illinois trying to raise money for a Catholic orphanage threatened with closure.

 

[jw5]

'Almost Famous' (2000)​

Kate Hudson plays a 1970s groupie in a beautifully-shot film about rock and roll life on the road. A semi-autobiographical work from director Cameron Crowe, it follows an impressionable young male journalist on a tour assignment for Rolling Stone magazine.

 

[jw5]

'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' (1998)​

Johnny Depp is on hilariously good form in Terry Gilliam's trippy adaptation of the Hunter S. Thomson novel. He plays a hard-partying journalist getting into all manner of drug-induced nightmare scenarios as he navigates Nevada with his no-good lawyer.

 

[jw5]

'Thelma & Louise' (1991)​

Perhaps the ultimate female empowerment road trip movie, it features Geena Davies and Susan Sarandon on the run from the law. Watch out also for a young Brad Pitt playing a charming-but-untrustworthy cowboy.

 

[jw5]

'Stranger Than Paradise' (1984)​

Deadpan comedy unfurls in artsy black and white, as a hip-but-bored New Yorker sets off to retrieve his young Hungarian cousin from her aunt's place in Cleveland.

 

[syed putra]

Crazy in alabama

Thelma and Louise

 

[nightsafari]

blues brothers?

 

[syed putra]

Midnight run. Now this is a classic.

 

[Sideswipe]

A Perfect World ( 1993 ) - Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood. one of Costner best movies. Eastwood most underrated movie.

 

[OrLanChowHorFun]

Until The End Of The World - got the best soundtrack ever too

 

[MaximiLian]

My top 5 road trip movies:

Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
Harold & Kumar go to White Castle
Dumb & Dumber
Zombieland
Transamerica

 

[bobby]

 

[jw5]

'The Straight Story' (1999)​

Truth really can be stranger than fiction! David Lynch's moving 1999 movie tells the true story of Alvin Straight, a World War II veteran who rode right across Iowa and Wisconsin–on a lawn mower!

 

[jw5]

'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967)​

Another road movie based on real-life events, but rather darker in theme. 'Bonnie and Clyde' is a glamorized version of the crimes committed by the Great Depression-era robbery duo, and their attempts to evade capture.