Made in U.S.A.

Tuck & Dar, on the edge of unemployment and poverty in a mining disaster town (Centralia, PA) hit the road, pick up Lori Singer on the way, get scalped in New Mexico, and lament the various environmental catastrophes on the way to the West Coast. The film features a superb soundtrack by Sonic Youth, World Party, and Timbuk 3. The film is replete with a type of post-industrial pessimism found in many relics of its era. Excellent moody cinematography and disturbed characters make it worth a watch.

This film is pretty dismissible because of its inane plotting and its dazed direction. Leads Adrian Pasdar and Chris Penn are pleasing to the eye, but there's not just not much to do with their characters, who lack any motivation for their puzzling criminal behavior. The movie's two draws are its striking locations and Lori Singer. Probably intended to be illustrative of the conservationist theme barely recognizable in the final cut, MADE IN USA treks through a number of shots of human civilization in decay, including a town poisoned by dioxide in Illinios and an old mining city in Pennsylvania. Taken in this respect, the film could possibly be enjoyed as a moody travelogue. Lori Singer brings life to her misfit vixen, an even greater enigma than her two brutish companions. MADE IN USA, complete with its insipid title, is like many a forgotten movie - strangely intriguing, but a complete mess in retrospect.

First saw this movie many years ago as a rental. Feeling nostalgic and remembering it as an excellent film. After tracking down an ex-rental (never released as sell through in the UK) I sat down to rewatch. The story of rebellious youngsters who turn into environmental warriors although motives are rather dubious. Lori Singer is a total sex bomb in this film, Adrain Pasdar is very dark and moody and this is the best performance from Chris Penn in any film he has done. The scenery and cinematography is excellent and captures the non-apple pie side of America and the soundtrack fits the film perfectly. I'm waiting for a DVD release but for now if you have some time to kill I recommend this little known film for a thought provoking ride across America.

Very forgettable road movie, that wants to provide an ecological message, but the only message I received was how boring this film is. The words meandering, aimless, and pointless, immediately come to mind when describing "Made in USA". The late Chris Penn in an early role is why I picked this one up, but his performance cannot save what is essentially one long lesson in irresponsibility. Two out of work friends from Pennsylvania's coal cracking region, stealing cars on their way to California, is not enough to maintain interest. Like Centralia Pennsylvania, and Times Beach Illinois, which are prominently featured, the entire film is a slow death experience. Not recommended. - MERK

Chris Penn and Adrian Pasdar leave their dying coal town in Pennsylvania and begin a road trip to California with a spree of petty thievery and car theft. When they pick up Lori Singer, the crimes grow larger.

There was some fighting between director Ken Friedman and the suits at Hemdale over the final cut. What survives is a movie about two dumb drifters who fall in with an equally ignorant but politically radicalized woman. There's contempt in this movie, not just for the principals, but the society which created them. It's beautifully shot by cinematographer Curtis Clark, particularly the landscapes in Arizona and New Mexico. The people, however, are all ugly, either physically or spiritually. The editing is also poor; there's a major subplot in which they steal a truck, the truckers organize an effort to find them, and that's the last heard of them.

Friedman apparently showed his own cut at Cannes, there were lawsuits, and this version trickled out on tape over the next few years. While it is possible his version was a better one, we can't know that. What survives is a movie about three dumb drifters who stick it to the Man to little purpose.