I never know what I’ll find sitting in the $4 bargain bins of Blockbuster’s previously viewed sales stock. I tend to stop by my local store just to see what unsung movie titles are merely collecting dust as a result of the average movie watcher simply skimming over the selection looking for titles they have heard of, instead of digging a bit deeper to find the occasional smaller films that didn’t get much publicity but are well worth taking a chance on. A couple of years ago, ‘Around the Bend’ was one of these unknown titles that I discovered and chose to adopt as my own… and I’m glad I did.
‘Around the Bend’ (2004) is a wonderfully charming and thoughtful movie, written and direct by Jordan Roberts, about four generations of men reuniting one last time in an attempt to reconcile past differences. Henry is not well, but he throws a Hail Mary attempt to bring his family together one last time for him to enjoy before he dies. What his kin don’t realize is that Henry has a sort of master plan to bring them all together for good, bonded by his own passing.
The movie begins by introducing us to Henry (Michael Caine), the patriarch of the Lair family. Henry is a gentle old man, long retired from his mining career, living with his grandson Jason (Josh Lucas) and his great grandson Zach (Jonah Bobo). Jason is dumbfounded by the unannounced and unexpected return of his father Turner (Christopher Walken) whom was thought dead to Zach, at least according to what Jason told him. Upon their first meeting, Zach asks who he is and Turner tells Zach he’s his grandad. This leads Zach to respond with “you’re not dead anymore”? Could you imagine meeting your thought-to-be-dead grandad for the first time at the tender age of seven years, finding out Christopher Walken is your relation? Creepy!
Once Henry realizes that his son Turner has actually returned, he is so excited he insists on taking them out to a fancy restaurant… Kentucky Fried Chicken. True, not exactly most people’s first choice for a nice dining experience, but Henry loved the Colonel’s food and makes sure it plays an important part in his plan to bring his boys back together. One night, not long after Turner returns home, Henry sneaks out to the local KFC and writes out his final will and testament. These final wishes include an unconventional request… his surviving kin must embark on a family trip, a pre-determined sort of scavenger hunt, requiring them to follow specific instructions, including that they eat at KFC at every destination he sets forth.
This sets up the journey on which Turner and Jason reluctantly take Zach, discovering little pieces of their late Henry’s life and also little pieces of themselves long forgotten. Turner was never really around for Jason, but sees in this journey his mission to obey his father’s final wishes. Jason wants nothing to do with Turner, but finds himself torn between honoring Henry’s wishes and deciding what’s best for his son Zach, as this may be his only opportunity to know his grandad Turner.
So, here they are, traveling across the country in a beat-up old VW van, eating nothing but Kentucky Fried Chicken and yet, this dialogue-driven movie successfully tells a poignant story about coming to terms with human dignity and imperfection, peppered with light-hearted humor. ‘Around the Bend’ takes the modern trend of dysfunction and shows that nothing is impossible when it comes to family. Jason eventually Turner is also concealing a secret of his own and the underlying reason for his own willingness to reunite with his family.
Walken is absolutely brilliant in this film. He’s funny, dead-on with the dramatic depth an emotion of his character and plays well with Josh Lucas, who also delivers a commendable performance. Walken shows his years of acting experience not just in his voice and his body, but especially in his face. Jason nearly loses it at one point, when they arrive at one of their assigned KFC stops to find it has been torn down to a pile of rubble. Jason busts out in laughter as he realizes he won’t have to eat KFC for once, while Turner sits slack-jawed in the van, his face painted with an inner epiphany of his own life.
What Turner realizes from from the metaphor the broken down KFC represents to him is that his effort to reconcile his family has failed. Turner makes a sudden decision in an effort to end what he sees as a selfish attempt to redeem himself in Jason’s eyes, but Jason discovers Turner’s secret and refuses to let his father leave this last time without a truly open chance for them to make amends. The story shifts at this point and the best acting of the film shows up, both from Walken and Lucas.
This is a movie that both warms the heart and tugs at the tear glands. It’s a movie that tells a human story that we can all connect to. We can all relate to losing someone we love, either to death or to difficult circumstances that may not take them away physically, but can strain our relationships emotionally to the brink of defeat. ‘Around the Bend’ is a quiet, reflective film, but is accompanied by a mellow soundtrack featuring songs from artists including Frankly Calabasas, Leon Russell, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac and more.
‘Around the Bend’ won Best Feature Film at the 2004 San Diego Film Festival and won the Jury Award at the 2004 Montreal World Film Festival. Christopher Walken also won Best Actor for his role as Turner Lair at the 2004 Montreal World Film Festival. The film released on DVD in February 2005 including two main special features, one being IT’S A GOOD DAY: THE MAKING OF AROUND THE BEND and the other being a Commentary by Writer/Director Jordan Roberts, with additional scenes.
