''Highway'' is a 2002 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written by Scott Rosenberg and directed by James Cox. It stars Jared Leto,

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 ...

and

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

Plot

Set in 1994, the film opens in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

with Pilot Kelson (

), a drug dealer, who poses as a valet and takes a customer's

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

to give his girlfriend a ride to work. His best friend Jack Hayes ( Jared Leto) is a self-employed pool cleaner, who gets caught having sex with Jilly Miranda (

Kimberley Kates Kimberley Kates (born August 15, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. Kates is best known for her role as Princess Elizabeth in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. She founded and is currently the CEO of Big Screen Entertainment Group, ...

), the wife of Burt Miranda (

Mark Rolston Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American character actor, known for his supporting roles in popular films such as ''Aliens'', '' Lethal Weapon 2'', '' The Shawshank Redemption'', ''The Departed'' and the '' Saw'' film series, as well a ...

), an organized crime figure. While Jack escapes the initial confrontation with Miranda unharmed, Miranda sends a trio of goons (referred to throughout the remainder of the film as "Miranda's Pandas") to break Jack's feet. Jack convinces Pilot to flee and Pilot proposes they go to

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 ...

without telling him they're going there to see an old fling of Pilot's. The goons catch wind of where the two are headed and set out to hunt down Jack. While at a diner, Jack and Pilot intervene when they discover Cassie (

) being assaulted in the diner's parking lot. Cassie suggests that she does not know where to go so Jack offers her a lift. On the way to Seattle, they meet Johnny the Fox ( John C. McGinley), an aging stoner who tags along, save Desmond the Alligator Boy from a group of high school bullies, and ultimately end up in Seattle at the memorial for the recently departed Kurt Cobain. Pilot finds his old crush but is heartbroken to discover she doesn't remember him. Pilot meets up with Jack again and despite their attempts to evade Miranda's Pandas, they are finally cornered and they break both of Jack's feet. However, he has found love with Cassie, and the two of them decide to stay in Seattle while Jack heals. Pilot, meanwhile, decides to head back to Vegas, realizing he cares for Lucy, the girl he left behind.

Cast

* Jared Leto as Jack Hayes *

as Pilot Kelson *

as Cassie * John C. McGinley as Johnny the Fox *

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...

as Scawdly *

Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...

as Mrs. Murray *

as Jilly Miranda *

as Burt Miranda *

Matthew Davis Matthew Davis, also professionally known as Matt Davis, is an American actor. He is mostly known for his roles as Warner Huntington III in ''Legally Blonde'', Adam Hillman on the ABC comedy-drama ''What About Brian'' from 2006 to 2007 and Alar ...

as Booty * M. C. Gainey as Steven *

Arden Myrin Arden VanAmringe Myrin () is an American actress and comedian. Myrin was a cast member on the Netflix series '' Insatiable'', playing the role of Regina Sinclair, and starred in the world premiere of Steve Martin's play ''Meteor Shower'' at the ...

as Lucy

Reception

Review aggregation website

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 ...

has not certified the film yet but the reviews have been mixed.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Highway 2002 films 2002 crime drama films 2000s drama road movies American crime drama films American drama road movies 2002 directorial debut films Films about drugs Films directed by James Cox Films scored by Rich Robinson Films shot in Washington (state) Films set in Seattle Films with screenplays by Scott Rosenberg 2000s English-language films 2000s American films