Made in U.S.A.

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.

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.

Made in USA i suppose is not for everybody. its simply about these two guys going cross country to of course California. listlessly, they drive through town after town until they bump into Lori Singer. she's a little crazy and i guess one of the better scenes of the the film is when she takes them to her house and they see the town she lives in and her mother...its not really a well deserved shock, but the film later becomes very interesting when their explorations leads to noble foolery.

Made in USA, takes you on a strange ride; although, it has its bumps and scratches, you will probably end up enjoying where you are dropped off.

With a young Chris Penn starring in this road trip film I was optimistic I was in for a good ride, but all the movie delivered was more like a boring Greyhound bus trip I once took, where all the roads looked the same, and the strange people along for the trip wore blank faces with zero personality. The chemistry between the three lead actors just never materialized and as I kept waiting for something, or anything even remotely interesting to happen on their road trip the film ended abruptly as if my bus had hit another flat tire and the bus driver told everybody to evacuate the bus and wait for the next bus to arrive without a timeline.

This was not a memorable film, and fortunately Chris Penn's career evolved an d he went on to make some great pictures before his life was ended prematurely. God rest his artistic soul. This movie may not have killed his career prematurely but it certainly did nothing to enhance his film portfolio either.

A meager 5 out of 10 rating.