Neil Young: Human Highway (1982)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Directors:

Dean Stockwell
Neil Young

Writers:

James Beshears (writer)
Jeanne Field (writer)

Release Date:

September 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

The new owner of a roadside diner stuck in a town built around an always leaking nuclear power plant plans to torch the place to collect insurance...

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | Black Comedy | Acid

Cast

Neil Young	...	Lionel Switch
Russ Tamblyn	...	Fred Kelly
Dean Stockwell	...	Otto Quartz
Geraldine Baron	...	Irene
Pegi Young	...	Biker girl
Mickey Fox	...	Mrs. Robinson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Blue	...	Earl Duke
Bob Casale	...	Devo
Gerald V. Casale	...	Devo
Devo	...	Themselves
John Herzog	...	House Painter
Dennis Hopper	...	Cracker
Sally Kirkland	...	Katherine
Roxanne 'Rocky' Meyers	...	Harem girl
Mark Mothersbaugh	...	Performer / Booji Boy (as Devo)
Robert Mothersbaugh	...	Devo
Alan Myers	...	Devo
Charlotte Stewart	...	Charlotte Goodnight

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Trivia:

Contains the only recorded collaboration between Neil Young and Devo, as they perform "Hey Hey My My (Out The Blue Into The Black)". The song is sung by Mark Mothersbaugh as his "Booji Boy" character,and changes a few lyrics in typical Devo fashion. (i.e. "Johhny Rotten" becomes "Johnny Spud").

Quotes:

Booji Boy: I don't know what's going on in the world these days. It seems that everybody's just got everything turned around. People don't seem to care about their fellow man. They're all going for that big ice-cream cone in the sky! They haven't figured out what happens when your eyes get bigger then your belly. Like an ostrich who eats his pizza with his head stuck in the sand. If they can't see it, it isn't there. And you know, it really *does* take a worried man!

Movie Connections:

Remade as We're All Devo (1983)

Brilliant garbage

This is one of those movies that there is no in between on. You'll either love it or hate it. The thing is, those who hate it will hate for the very same reasons the others love it. Let's make no bones- This is a BAD MOVIE. And that's what makes it so great. The performances range from surprisingly decent (in the case of Devo) to ridiculously over the top (Neil Young) to barely coherent (Russ Tamblyn and the ever bizzare Dennis Hopper). The script is scattered and confusing, but contains flashes of inspired hilarity. And it somehow manages to be about something in the end! The highlights are a song-and-dance finale reminicent of Monty Python's Life of Brian and a brilliant deconstruction of Young's classic Out Of The Blue (performed by Devo and Young) which starts as a fairly straight ahead rendition and quickly devolves (so to speak) into a frenzied, chaotic "Screw You" to the fans of Young's sixties and seventies hits. So don't be a spud. Seek the movie out and savour it's delicious stench for yourself.