Director: Kevin Dowling Starring: Danny Aiello, Anne Archer, Michael Biehn, Angelina Jolie, Alfred Molina Certificate: 15 (UK), R (USA)
"A Roadtrip, a Romance, and a Not-So-Dead Body."
Plot
Young, sexy Ellie seduces middle-aged car salesman Al in a diner in order to get a ride home. Once there she leaves Al in the company of her mom and crazy boyfriend. Later, a body in the trunk of Al's car causes far bigger problems.
SPOILERS AHEAD...
I didn't know a vast amount about Mojave Moon before starting my Biehn binge last year. What I did know was that a) it was once inexplicably given away as a free DVD with the Daily Mail and b) it's now probably best known for being the one where "young Angelina Jolie gets her boobs out". For those rather uninspiring reasons, I skipped past it several times before settling down to watch it one summer evening.
Mojave Moon is a bit of a peculiarity. Not an awful lot happens and once you've finished watching it, you may feel a little underwhelmed. It's quite an enjoyable little movie though, with a great soundtrack, perfect for a chilled weekend when you don't want something too taxing or fast-paced.
The movie predominantly follows Al (Danny Aiello), a middle-aged man seduced in an LA diner by 21-year-old Ellie (Angelina Jolie). She manages to convince Al to give her a ride home to the Mojave desert to see her mom Julie (Anne Archer) and where we are also introduced to Julie's apparently psychotic boyfriend Boyd (Michael Biehn).
The Mojave residents are all pretty off-the-wall and over the top whilst Al is definitely your ordinary Joe. Upon meeting these characters, most people would get straight back in their car and head home, but Al hangs around and finds himself attracted to Julie and her penchant for "sweet, sweet pie" much to Boyd's growing annoyance.
After staying the night, Al drives home but breaks down in the middle of nowhere before reaching LA. Whilst attempting to fix his car, he finds a body stuffed in the car's trunk. It later emerges that Boyd planted the body and is more deranged than anyone had imagined. From this point forward, we watch as Al tries to take on Boyd and escape from the growing mess he finds himself involved in.
My favourite scene in the movie sees Al and his actor friend Sal (Alfred Molina) attempting to interrogate and scare Boyd. Sal goes full method in Rambo fatigues and armed with a paintball gun; it was the one time I laughed out loud and I loved seeing these three fantastic actors work together.
Michael Biehn once again proves he can play comedy roles very well. Like Susan's Plan, the comedy is quite dark and Michael is challenged to switch behaviour in an almost schizophrenic manner. There are scenes in which Boyd kidnaps Julie and Ellie and later attempts to push a car over a cliff with Julie, Ellie, Al and Sal inside. These scenes could have played out as very straight and sinister, but Michael plays Boyd with such wild lunacy and eccentricity that they end up being rather silly and fun instead.
Danny Aiello plays the everyman with a newfound spring in his step perfectly and grounds the movie when other characters start to seem a little cartoonish. Anne Archer's Julie is very "Stepford wife" and it's hard to imagine how her character would ever be attracted to Boyd, but her cuteness is endearing. The standout star is most definitely Angelina Jolie. This movie is very early on in Jolie's career, demonstrated by the fact she's billed fourth in the opening credits (she has since been bumped up to top billing in subsequent DVD releases). Her character's motives are often quite selfish, but she still manages to make Ellie likeable. She is also beautiful to look at and I'm sure men will enjoy the very short skirt she wears and the topless scene. For the rest of us, there's topless Biehn to enjoy instead!
Mojave Moon makes the most of its picturesque setting and you can almost feel the warmth of the desert radiating from the screen. I'm not sure if it's intentional that the shots of the moon were suggesting supernatural things go down in the desert at night, but it sure felt that way. I still want to visit the Mojave desert one day, but this movie will certainly make me think twice about making any unscheduled stopovers.
Conclusion Mojave Moon is a charming movie where not a lot happens but if you are anything like me, it'll keep you reeled in for the full 90 minutes. There aren't many big laughs, but it should raise a smile at least. It's fun to watch this talented cast make something out of not a lot and to see a movie focussing on a budding romance between two characters over the age of forty for a change.
Mojave Moon is available to buy on DVD and to rent through Microsoft Store, YouTube and Google Play in the UK and iTunes in the US.
IMDB: 5.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes: Critics = Not enough ratings, Audience = 28% (As of October 2021)
Dies? / Villain? DEAD! His car careens over a cliff and explodes into a deadly fireball. / He attempts to kill Danny Aiello and that makes him definitely a villain!
What Did This Movie Teach Me?
Michael Biehn's facial hair returns once more for a baddie role!
A blow torch is a perfectly viable alternative to a cigarette lighter.
Anything Else?
The song playing over the movie's opening is called Lavender by Watsonville Patio, it's a beautiful song worth a listen in full.
This was Angelina Jolie's fifth movie credit; her only other movie of note from this same era is Hackers. We were still four years away from her Oscar win for Girl Interrupted.
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