Convoy (1978)
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Burt Young, Ernest Borgnine and Seymour Cassel
You may have read some of my other entries and realized by now that I am a total sucker for a film with a great cast. However, I’m afraid no cast could help save a film like this. I think it’s unfortunate that Convoy is my first commentary on a Sam Peckinpah film, and it breaks my heart to do it, but this film is an absolute SKIP. A loud and clear SKIP in case you were confused.
You got a hero that’s not a hero. There is nothing likeable about Kirstofferson’s hero named – and I kid you not – “Rubber Duck”. The only thing I liked about the guy was his late 70s beard. And why is he the hero? Because he and his trucker pals beat the snot out of Ernest Borgnine’s highway cop character. Wait, that doesn’t sound like a hero! But you don’t understand, Borgnine gave him a ticket. For a violation that he deserved! Oh, so now you understand, right? No? Neither do I!
You have a gorgeous, underused co-star in Ali MacGraw that has no business being with the jerk-face “Rubber Duck” hero. Even with her awful hairdo she’s too beautiful for him. You have a “convoy” of 18-wheeler trucks that drives from New Mexico to Texas. Do they run out of gas? Of course not! Don’t worry about it, Sam, that’s a small detail there. You have maniacal truckers running over small towns – I mean LITERALLY running over the buildings in small towns – and these truckers are portrayed as the heros! By the end of the film, I wanted the national guard to level these bastards…
Please, do me and yourself a favor: get Mr. Peckinpah’s masterful Pat Garret & Billy the Kid, The Getaway and/or The Wild Bunch instead of ever seeing Convoy. Please! On a positive note, you can watch the trailer I’ve attached and know absolutely everything that this picture has to offer, which is very little.
Convoy Trailer