Road Scholar (1993) User Reviews

I can't believe the low rating everyone is giving this film!

[dperlman · 10/10 · 6 December 2001]

I've seen this movie twice in the theater over the years and I find it delightful. I can't understand who would give it a 4 or 5. It's charming, witty, keenly observant, ponderous and it takes us to parts of the country we've never seen.

It's not full of explosions or sexy girls, and it's not a stupid comedy about "hair gel" and Brett Farrrrrvreh but it's good fun.

$0.02

[PAN418 · 1 June 2003]

My wife & I tremendously enjoyed this piece in a very cozy San Francisco theatre... We just loved it! After the poisoning of so many industrially factoried films, we found Mr. Codrescu a breath of real fresh air. That he gravitated towards the eccentrics in the heart & soul of the American landscape made the flick a real delight. (One may also be interested to read his Introduction to the M.A. Lee & B. Shlain history entitled ACID DREAMS). I'd go on a road trip with the guy any day! Kudos for the Kool!

A warm appreciation from an outsider

[Sparrowhawk · 10/10 · 22 March 2009]

This is an excellent film, filled with Andrei's dry, ironic wit and pointed observations. As the synopsis states, Andrei Codrescu, a Romanian poet who has never driven a car, takes lessons in order to get behind the wheel of a big red American car for a cross-country journey to find the soul of America.

Andrei is indeed an immigrant, and he is eager to let the audience know that his birth country was a hard place in which to grow up, but this is not a problem in the film (unless you don't like immigrants, I imagine.) It's his viewpoint AS an immigrant that gives the film its shape; indeed, if he'd been an American by birth, most of his witticisms would come off very different. His dryness and ironic tone are an acquired taste, but really, it's one that's easily acquired. For example, here's one of his bon mots: "Tourists are terrorists with cameras. Terrorists are tourists with guns." If that intrigues you, you'll love the movie.

He interviews hippies, religious communalists, New Age practitioners, Native Americans, inner city artists, famous poets - all kinds of people, all of them connected by the thread of spirituality and the inner drive to grow. The result is funny, sweet, and ultimately a valentine to his adopted land.

Andrei Codrescu

[phillip9 · 9/10 · 27 July 2004]

The star of Road Scholar and NPR commentator's name is correctly spelled: Andrei Codrescu This movie was very funny, but behind the comedy is a serious look at the U.S., the world, and the way people and immigrants are regularly treated in this country. It was a movie I watched for a Diversity class, and It does a great job of bring out awareness of these types of issues, but at the same time is a good and funny movie that anyone can watch and have fun learning, which is the best way to learn. I would especially recommend it for young adults in any setting, either educational or just for a parent to show their children.

Whatever....

[nochturne · 1/10 · 13 October 2002]

Hmmm...Well, I watched this movie for extra credit in a lit class. I wanted to give it a chance. Unfortunately, the more days that have passed since I saw Road Scholar, the more I have grown to detest it. Mr. Codrescu himself was at the screening, but even his presence could not change my current feelings toward this movie. Allow me to start by saying that this movie is essentially Mr. Codrescu's journey across America in a quest to find the weirdest people he can put a camera on, all the while comparing absolutely everything to how life was for him in his home country. I suppose this movie could be called a documentary, if it was about anything worth documenting. At any rate, Mr. Codrescu is an IMMIGRANT- I have written this in all caps for it is something that he desperately wants us all to know, for in the movie his every last breath is spent telling us that he's an immigrant, and boy, life sure was hard back home. On second thought, his every breath is not spent telling us that he is an immigrant. In between this he spends his time making fun of some really bizarre and eccentric people in his little trip cross county in his convertible. He is about as subtle as a tractor trailer. I think what bothered me the most about this is not just the fact that he made a movie on what he considered to be his "witty" observations on the fringe folks in our fine land, but that it was just too easy. He actually had crews go about & search out the absolute weirdest people they could find for him to go and "interview". Now, if his visits had been spontaneous ones with random people he met, & he still managed to make the exchange witty & humorous, even if he was still making fun of them, that would have been one thing. But the way he did it was like taking candy from babies. I honestly could find more interesting people in my own hometown. There are certain people who are witty, humorous, and can even make fun of others and still be well liked. Lewis Grizzard comes to mind. Mr. Codrescu, on the other hand, is someone who puts way too much stock in his own words. I suppose his idea of Heaven is being locked in a room with recordings of his own voice. At any rate, this movie in no way deserves anything above a 4. Why? It was trying so hard to be witty and different that the cardboard cutouts of the same ol' tricks of nonconformity sucked all the originality out of the film. If you are unfortunate enough to obtain a copy of this, please mail it to Mr. Codrescu right away. By the way, I really like my lit teacher, even if she did suggest seeing this! :)

A Love Song To America

[Zen Bones · 16 June 2004]

I've seen lots of documentaries of people touring America, but what makes this one special is that Codrescu is an immigrant and a poet, and he also has a wit that's acerbic yet simultaneously self-effacing. His narrative is often hilarious but one can feel his true sense of awe and vulnerability in facing a nation as huge and diverse as the United States. A reviewer here attacks Codrescu for going out of his way to find the most eccentric elements of this country, but that's the whole point of making a documentary about America. It takes an outsider, especially one from a country where conformity is enforced politically, to give us a true appreciation of what a grand, quirky, kitschy, innovative, imaginative, visionary nation we are. We are a nation of materialists, free thinkers, and spiritualists, but despite the differences in our values and backgrounds, we have one thing in common: the fact that we are lucky to live in a country where we have the freedom to be different. Codrescu could have chosen to just walk along the streets of some suburban community, or a mall, or maybe even Walmart but I can guarantee you, he would have still found any number of eccentrics. We may not personally relate to reclusive religious communities, gun-wielding centerfolds, or people who run drive-in wedding chapels, but we can be in awe of the imagination and drive that Americans have in reaching beyond the confines of 'normalcy'. If Codrescu had been able to make a documentary without showing the 'fringes' of our society, it not only would have been dull, it would have been a disservice to the spirit of America. I for one, will never forget the 'Holy Rollers' (members of a gospel church in a roller-skating rink), the Native Americans still living in an ancient pueblo, the 'crystal' lady, the 'alien' lady, or the couple trying to make art out of discarded shoes. I see an image of each of these people in each star of the flag, and it is that America that I truly love. My only complaint about the movie is that Codrescu didn't make it to the southern region of the US, but hopefully, one day he'll get to complete the trip.

Making sense of "Road Scholar"

[jtanzer · 25 July 2003]

To the user named "nochturne" -- maybe you didn't understand the theme of the movie. Codrescu is not seeking out oddballs across America and mocking them. He is looking for signs of the originality and self-invention that he thinks define our country (in contrast to the moribund Romania of his childhood) and celebrating them. He's looking for the spirit of Whitman and Ginsberg, and he feels that he's found it in many overlooked corners of the country. I thought it was wonderful.