''Josh and S.A.M.'' is a 1993 American

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film starring

Noah Fleiss Noah Fleiss (born April 16, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, making his film debut as the eponymous Sam Whitney in ''Josh and S.A.M.'' (1993). Subsequently, he played the title character in '' Joe the King'' (1999 ...

(in his film debut),

Jacob Tierney Jacob Daniel Tierney (born September 26, 1979) is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for playing Eric in ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1990–1992) and as the co-writer, director, and executive producer of ...

, and

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in '' Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...

. The film is about two young brothers who run away from home due to emotional conflict over the divorce of their parents. It was directed by

Billy Weber Billy Weber is an American film editor with several film credits dating from ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). One of Weber's first editing roles was as associate editor (as William Weber) on Terrence Malick's first feature as a director, ''Badlands'' ( ...

and produced by

Martin Brest Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Education Brest was born in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969, from New York University's School of the Arts in ...

Plot

Twelve-year-old Josh Whitney unintentionally

brainwashes Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

his younger brother, seven-year-old Sam, making Sam believe that he is a genetically designed child warrior. Josh says that Sam is actually an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

, and that he is a "Strategically Altered Mutant" that was designed by the government to fight in a secret war in Africa. After a series of various suspicious coincidences in Josh's lies, Sam eventually believes that he is a S.A.M. Josh says that he can be safely deactivated and turned back into a human if he reaches

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. After a thunderstorm grounds their flight in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, forcing them to stay in a hotel, Josh grows impatient with his mother and decides to abandon Sam and his life. Blocked at all exits by hotel officials, he heads into a high-school reunion to seek refuge. He lies that his mother was a graduate, and he finds Derek Baxter, a drunken man claiming to be his father. Before Josh has time to clear his lie, Sam appears, and shortly thereafter, Derek drives them to their "grandparents'" house to tell them the good news. Upon entering the house, Derek overreacts to a picture of the real family and goes after Josh. After Sam hits him with a cue ball, Josh reacts defensively and hits Derek on the head with a pool cue, supposedly "killing" him. In panic, the two brothers steal his rental car and begin their trek to Canada. After a day of Josh and Sam taking turns driving, they encounter Allison, who is an older teen runaway from

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mario ...

. They pick her up due to a resemblance to the Liberty Maid, another lie of Josh's. According to the Liberty Maid's description, she aids fleeing S.A.M.s to Canada, in the similar way of

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

. Allison travels with the brothers as their driver, and during the run develops a bond with Josh. After a run-in with a cop outside of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Sam flees, causing a chase through the desert that nearly kills Sam as he crawls under a train. After Josh and Allison reach the car, they dash to the road to continue their journey. During a night stop in a motel, Sam decides to leave Josh and Allison, and he steals the car. Later that day, Josh and Alison part ways after she fails to convince him to live in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

with her. After a long walk, he discovers the car on the side of the road. Unfortunately, Sam is not there, but he discovers a

bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

nearby and rides it the rest of the way to Canada. On the bus, he sees Sam riding on the back of a

tractor-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

, and after Sam and he reunite, they walk across the border into Canada. In

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Canada, Josh tries several attempts to return his brother back to "normal". Among these attempts is a trip to a tanning booth explaining that it will "deactivate him." After this, Sam is sent back home to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

on a plane. Feeling unwanted at home and considering himself a fugitive, Josh stays behind. When Sam arrives in Orlando, he is picked up by their dad, Thom, who asks about Josh's whereabouts, and tells Sam that he went to Dallas and talked to the police. They told him that Derek was knocked unconscious by Josh. The next morning, Josh arrives home in a taxi and reunites with Sam. As they walk inside, Sam tells Josh that he found a big file in his Dad's office... about Josh.

Cast

as Joshua "Josh" Whitney *

as Samuel "Sam" / "Killer Sam" Whitney *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as ...

as Thomas "Thom" Whitney *

Joan Allen Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. She began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for ''And a Nightingale Sang'', and won the 1988 Tony Awa ...

as Caroline Whitney LaTourette *

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...

as Derek Baxter *

as Alison (The Liberty Maid) *

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...

as Pizza Man *

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

as Tanning Salon Manager *

Ronald Guttman Ronald Guttman (born 12 August 1952) is a Belgian actor, theatrical producer and film producer. Career Guttman was born in Uccle. He started appearing in French language productions in Europe in 1975, appearing in his first English-language film ...

as Jean-Pierre "J.P." LaTourette *

Ann Hearn Ann Hearn (born Ann Neel Simons; June 27, 1953) is an American actress. The daughter of Elizabeth Ann Neel and William “Bill” Simons, she was born in Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. ...

as Teacher * Anne Lange as Ellen Coleman Whitney * Sean Baca as Curtis Coleman *

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...

as Leon Coleman *

Amy Wright Amy Wright is an American actress and former model. She has appeared in such films as ''The Deer Hunter'', ''Breaking Away'', '' The Accidental Tourist'', ''Hard Promises'', ''Crossing Delancey'', and ''Miss Firecracker''. She is the widow of ...

as Waitress * Brent Hinkley as Bill at Reunion

Production

Principal photography began on August 3, 1992. Filming locations include

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

Laurel, Montana Laurel is a city in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is the third largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is located in the Yellowstone Valley, as an east–west terminal division point of the Burlingto ...

, and along Highway 3 in Yellowstone County. Other parts of the film were shot in

Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, a ...

, Highway 191, Lisbon Valley, and

Spanish Valley Spanish Valley is a flat in Grand and San Juan counties in Utah, United States, south of Moab. Description The valley lies at an elevation of , and is south southeastward of the Moab Valley. Pack Creek flows through Spanish Valley north northw ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. &

Calgary, Canada Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

. Filming lasted for 69 days and concluded on October 11, 1992.

Release

The film premiered on November 24, 1993, at

Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl En ...

in New York City. Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, and their families attended the premiere, but none of the other actors and none of the crew members attended it.

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics. It received a rating of 25% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 8 reviews.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Mojo title, joshandsam 1993 films 1990s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1990s road comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American road comedy-drama films Castle Rock Entertainment films Columbia Pictures films Fictional duos New Line Cinema films Films scored by Thomas Newman Films shot in Utah 1993 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films