Life is a Highway (2015)

The stars of 'life is a highway' are a laid-back jazz trumpeter and his wife. Their families end up being way more alike than you'd think just looking at where they come from.

Family gatherings are perfect for settling old grudges or starting fresh ones. This movie shows two big ones. There's a wedding and then dinner on Christmas Eve. The groom—our main guy—is this chill jazz musician trying to play peacemaker between his butcher dad, his gambling brother, and his mom, who’s a retired accountant. His new wife and her eccentric parents really step up to help him out.

Just walked out of the theater with a massive grin. America finally has its own Christmas classic. Honestly, this feels like Nuić's best work yet, though his previous stuff was solid too. It's a great, bittersweet story with those pre-holiday vibes.

Trailer

The film is quite an experience. While the plot is undeniably thin—perhaps even transparently so—it doesn't actually detract from the viewing. I found myself laughing quite frequently. The soundtrack is excellent, the acting holds up, and above all, the cinematography is superb. It’s pure gonzo; my hat is off to them.

It’s a solid movie—really professionally executed, though I suppose it doesn't have any massive highs or particularly low lows, either. It’s just... steady. I do think it’s a bit of a shame that the marketing campaign hasn't been more visible; if they don't get more eyes on it, I suspect the box office numbers might stay pretty modest—which is a bummer, because for a populist film like this, turnout is everything. (6.5/10)

Does anyone know what the box office numbers were for this movie?
Based on how many people are actually talking about it here, it looks like it totally flew under the radar. It's a shame, though. The movie is honestly great.

mmmmm... what a movie

somewhere around 10k

It's playing in theaters right now! I'm thinking about catching it either today or tomorrow at the AMC theater down the street.

I don't get why everyone's making such a huge deal out of this. What's the point? I was expecting way more, but Nuić just filmed some amateurish mess and he can't seem to shake it off. He keeps trying to force this whole forced family drama angle on us. Why? Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed. The movie didn't move me one bit.😵

So, I checked it out and honestly? It’s pretty charming. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but I really dig how eccentric the characters are... they just drop these wild lines out of nowhere and things take such weird turns when you least expect it. There's tons of deadpan humor, too. Plus, the whole vibe feels so relatable—it captures those typical, everyday situations you see in an average American family perfectly. It's just very recognizable...

Sure, the script leans on a few clichés here and there, but the acting totally makes up for it. Even Vitez stands out from the rest of the cast for me (even though everyone seems to hate his guts... more on a personal level than a professional one, but hey, this is just a really sweet project for him)

I felt like the movie was seriously lacking any real dramatic tension. The whole plot gets wrapped up in like ten minutes, and that mystery they were building toward? It barely even gets mentioned by the end. Don't get me wrong, the acting was solid and the cinematography looked great, but the story itself was incredibly thin. Just when I thought things were finally getting interesting, the credits started rolling.

just one of those reviews...

life is a highway

Catch this tonight on ABC. I want to give it a little hype because it flew under the radar in theaters. It’s airing on TVu tonight, though you might have to fight the urge to switch over to ESPN Handball at the same time. Personally, I’ve been a fan of Nuić ever since I saw his work on that trilogy Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. His segment was a genuine masterpiece of American cinema, even if it didn't get the credit it deserved.

Anyway, highly recommend watching this movie. We rarely get these kinds of warm, feel-good stories made here in the States 👍

The trumpet solo is just okay—not great, not even warm. It’s lukewarm at best. The whole scene feels lackluster and poorly paced, mostly because the visual direction is so weak. We end up just staring at the lead trumpeter’s face while he grimaces or pedaling his bike around... it’s just a messy, disjointed trumpet riff and nothing else.

In this movie, just when you think things are finally about to kick off, it all ends 🙂

I just caught THIS on TV. Honestly, I don't think I've ever sat through a domestic production quite this lackluster or painfully dull. I checked the digital guide and it’s labeled as a "comedy," yet as I watched, I struggled to find even a single trace of humor.
It makes me wonder if there was actually a coherent script involved, or if the entire thing was just a disjointed collection of scenes jumping between wedding prep and the ceremony itself. The screenwriter clearly failed at the most fundamental level. It becomes glaringly obvious that our American film industry suffers from a chronic deficit of both inspired ideas and competent writers.

The actors are talented enough, certainly, but what good is talent when there isn't a plot to sustain it? It’s utterly pointless—just completely aimless. This stands as the worst American film I have ever had the misfortune of watching; a total disaster and a complete waste of my evening. A massive disappointment.

Honestly, we’re nothing more than a bunch of spectators waiting for life to turn into a sitcom...😲

wearyowl29 said:We, the audience, are nothing more than a punchline ourselves, sitting around waiting for this to actually become a comedy...😲

Honestly, even that farce over at Calvary had a more coherent script, not to mention how much better it handled actual comedic timing.

What we have here is a desperate, forced attempt to manufacture some kind of heartwarming human drama, but all they’ve managed to deliver is a chaotic mess of senseless scenes and aimless filler.

I actually really enjoyed this movie! I don't know much about the genre specifically, but it was the perfect vibe for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The cast is fantastic, too—you can tell there’s some serious chemistry between everyone on screen.

I honestly can’t believe anyone actually enjoys this garbage. How low does your bar have to drop before you call it art?
And frankly, I wonder if the people praising this would even give it a chance if it were some pretentious French or Italian flick—something they just stumbled upon while flipping through channels on an American TV. I’ll bet my life they wouldn't even sit through it until the credits roll.