A Chapter of the Jaguar Clubs of North America Under The Bonnet Newsletter of the WMJR Web Site: Wasatch Mountain Jaguar Register www.WMJR.org December 2020 Follow Group WMJR On Facebook WMJR News Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wmjr Christmas Party Canceled Due To Pandemic Restrictions In Compensation Your Officers Have Declared A Dividend Please Make Your Choice Below And Send Your Request To [email protected] Page 2 Looking For Christmas Gifts For Your Anglophile Friends? Consider These Classics From BritishEssentials.com Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 The Best Road Trip Movies Warning: Hijinks Ensue. By Condé Nast Travel Editors, March 25, 2020 Road trips are filled with unexpected Easy Rider (1969) bal lashings of all time—and who can twists and turns, be they roadside attrac- forget when Nicholson jumps onto the tions or backseat squabbles. So is it any One of the films that sparked the New back of a truck and starts playing the wonder that this beloved (or stressful, Hollywood era of filmmaking (along piano in an impromptu freeway perfor- depending on where in the car you sit) with Bonnie and Clyde), Easy Rider is mance? Ultimately, the film is a poign- travel style has inspired so many full of artistic cinematography and tons ant and subtle portrayal of the alienation filmmakers? Whether they're funny, sad, of social commentary—not to mention and loneliness of a man who can't accept whimsical, or violent (we're looking at Jack Nicholson in one of his first-ever his blue-collar existence. —C.M. you, Bonnie and Clyde), movies inspired roles. The film stars Peter Fonda and by cars, buses, and motorcycles have one Dennis Hopper (who also directed) as Smokey and the Bandit (1977) thing in common: They all share an appreciation for self- There has never been a discovery on the open road. more charming driver With editor picks ranging from than Bo "Bandit" Dar- the 1930s to present day, here ville, as portrayed by are 28 of the best road trip mov- Burt Reynolds in his ies of all time. 1970s mustachioed prime. Smokey and the It Happened One Night (1939) Bandit follows two bootleggers (including It Happened One Night is one of Bandit) as they attempt the first great road trip movies. to illegally transport The Frank Capra-directed film 400 cases of beer in the stars Clark Cable and Claudette American South. Bandit Colbert as a sarcastic newspaper follows the tractor trail- reporter and spoiled socialite, er in his iconic Pontiac respectively, who end up on a Trans Am, wooing a cross-country trip full of flirta- runaway bride (Sally tious banter and screwball an- Field) and evading a tics. The movie was the first in relentless county sheriff history to win the “Big 5” at the (Jackie Gleason) in the Academy Awards (Best Picture, process. It's not the Best Director, Best Actor, Best most politically correct Actress, and Best Screenplay)—an honor film by today's stand- that wouldn't happen again until One two bikers who head east through the ards, but Burt Reynold's indelible level Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975— American Southwest to New Orleans, of cool in this movie is absolutely time- but perhaps its biggest legacy is that sce- searching for the “real America.” The less. —C.M. ne in which Colbert flashes her leg while film's soundtrack remains one of the hitchhiking. —Caitlin Morton coolest in film history, but the opening The Muppet Movie (1979) credits backed by “Born to Be Wild” Bonnie and Clyde (1967) might just be the best cut. —C.M. Music, mayhem, and Muppets: the ingre- dients of a perfect road trip movie. The The tagline of Bonnie and Clyde sums Five Easy Pieces (1970) Muppet Movie chronicles Kermit the up the film pretty perfectly: "They're Frog's cross-country drive to Hollywood young…they're in love…and they kill After his breakout performance in to pursue a career in show business, a trip people". Faye Dunaway and Warren 1969's Easy Rider, Jack Nicholson dotted with original songs, tons of Mup- Beatty star as the titular duo in Arthur took his first leading role in another pet tagalongs, and an evil restauranteur Penn's 1967 classic, which is not only road trip movie, Five Easy Pieces. Ni- with a burgeoning frog leg business. If one of the coolest road trip movies ever cholson plays Bobby Dupea, an oil you love punny, visual humor (remember made, but an important breakthrough in rigger and former piano prodigy living the fork in the road) and celebrity came- American filmmaking. Never before had in California with his waitress girl- os, this is the perfect film for you. — there been a mainstream Hollywood friend, Rayette. After receiving news C.M. movie with the same amount of bloody of his father's failing health, Bobby and violence (that final showdown!), and few Rayette drive up to Washington state, National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) other movies have been able to replicate encountering oddball hitchhikers, slea- its sexy style. —C.M. zy motels, and a poor diner waitress Vacation was the world’s introduction to who gets one of the most famous ver- the Griswold family, led by accident- Page 10 prone dad-in-chief Clark (Chevy Chase). dy. The actors' chemistry is hard to The film spoofs the tried-and-true Amer- deny…especially when they’re sleep- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the ican tradition of the family road trip, ing in the same bed together on the Desert (1994) taking the Griswold car through at least road. —W.L. two real-life national parks—Death Val- Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, and Hugo ley and Grand Canyon—on their way to Thelma & Louise (1991) Weaving star as two drag queens and a the fictional amusement park, Walley trans woman crossing the Outback in a tour World. Add in an unforgettable cameo In this film, best friends Thelma bus (she’s the titular Priscilla). The stark, from Christie Brinkley and a hit theme (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sar- remote Aussie landscape was the perfect song in “Holiday Road,” and you have a andon) are looking to escape their drab complement to the gang’s outrageous movie every vacationer should watch lives in Arkansas, and at the end of its style—and, more importantly, for their con- once in her lifetime. —Will Levith 129 minutes, have done just that. After versations about life, love, and identity. a stop at a roadhouse bar takes a dark Priscilla was more than just a fun movie: It Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) turn, the pair take off for Mexico in a positively depicted LGBT characters on- 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible; screen and helped bring Australian cinema Tim Burton's directorial to the rest of the world.— debut introduced most of Lilit Marcus the world to Pee-Wee Her- man, the exuberant man- Tommy Boy (1995) child portrayed by Paul Reubens. Big Adventure Chris Farley and David follows the titular charac- Spade comprised one of ter during his wild trip the best comedic duos of across the U.S. to find his the 1990s, and no film ex- beloved red bicycle, visit- emplified that better than ing the Alamo and en- Tommy Boy. Farley plays countering quite the cast the titular Tommy, a bum- of characters (most memo- bling but likeable college rably Large Marge) along grad who is forced to save the way. —C.M. the family auto-parts busi- ness after his father passes away. He hits the road with The Sure Thing (1985) his father's prissy and an- tagonistic assistant, Rich- John Cusack in any 1980s ard (Spade), in an effort to movie? Yes, please. This sell half a million brake Rob Reiner-directed teen try and evade the cops as they wind pads. They inevitably hit comedy follows Cusack's unlucky-in- through California, Colorado, and some hilarious snags along the way, involv- love Walter Gibson as he drives from Utah; and pick up a young Brad Pitt, ing deer, chicken wings, the slow destruc- the East to West Coast in the hopes of for a spell, along the way. In 2016, the tion of Richard's car, and a beautifully hooking up with a beautiful woman— film was selected for preservation in wicked Rob Lowe. —C.M. whom his friend assures him is a “sure the U.S. Library of Congress's Nation- thing.” The road trip features ride share al Film Registry for its cultural, histor- The Daytrippers (1996) boards (remember those?), hitchhiking, ical, and aesthetic significance, which and plenty of awkward situations in very means that it must have gotten some- Although the road trip itself doesn’t cover close quarters. Just goes to show how thing right. –Katherine LaGrave too much ground (Long Island to New the confines of a car can sometimes be a York City), this still belongs on the list, hilarious breeding ground for romance. Dumb and Dumber (1994) mainly because it features Hope Davis, —C.M. Parker Posey, and Liev Schreiber all at In this Farrelly brothers comedy, their mid-90s, quirky-indie-film best. Davis Planes, Trains, and Automobiles friends Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry discovers evidence that her husband is (1987) (Jeff Daniels) abandon their dreams of cheating, and sets out to confront him, liter- opening a worm pet store in their ally bringing her family along for the ride. Set around Thanksgiving, Planes uses hometown, Providence, Rhode Island It’s hilarious, and does a great job of cap- the travel rush in the days leading up to to return a lost briefcase to its owner in turing the complexities of family.