Fans of Jack Kerouac are equally fans of Neal Cassady whether they know it or not. The main protagonist if not the down right inspiration for On the Road, Cassady represented all that is masculine of the 1950's male. To showcase a story based on the man, the myth and the meaning behind Cassady would have a large audience of viewers. This movie fails to showcase let alone tell the full story of what made Neal Cassady not only Neal Cassady but Dean Moriarty as well. Yes. we gt glimpses of his past and the people in his life but the movie fails to show the true grit of what made Neal a fascination. Tate Donovan does his best to bring out Neal in his performance, but without having a lot to go with in the story, a good actor can only do so much with a weal character. The Jack Kerouac performance is two dimensions at best when true fans of Kerouac ill know that Kerouac had multiple layers and not just two settings like on and off. Kerouac is seen to be either drunk on alcohol or drunk on being Kerouac. No other emotions are shown. As for the depiction of Ken Kesey, this movie makes him out to be a borderline mad man with evil intentions other than what Kesey and his merry band of pranksters were all about. This movie makes the entire Bus Trip Further as more of a burden to Cassady than an adventure. Finally, how do we depict Kerouac, Kesey and Cassady without having a connection with Allen Ginsberg? All 3 characters either had a personal professional or sexual relationship with Ginsburg and had a great impact on all of their lives, and here, he is absent from the story. This movie had great potential and falls flat many times from its beginning to its end.
Review of Neal Cassady
