With the triumphant, long-awaited return of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks having incited a widespread revival of interest in surrealism, I’d like to bring attention to Motorama, a little-known film stylistically similar to Peaks in a number of ways. It’s the kind of movie you’d only find in a four-pack bundle at the bottom of a five dollar bargain bin in the back of a Wal-Mart in east bumblefuck - and even then, you’d be hard-pressed to find it buried under the dozens of unsold copies of The Nutty Professor. After a while of searching, I found it not too long ago, bundled with Lords of Dogtown and some rom-com I can’t even remember the name of.
It was quietly released in 1991, and features no major stars save for a few strange, seemingly random cameos - a teenaged Drew Barrymore shows up in a fleeting cameo appearance, MTV veejay Martha Quinn plays a bank teller, Flea plays a busboy, et cetera. It has a little over 200 reviews on Letterboxd, and its director, Barry Shils, hasn’t made anything else notable. Really, the only significant cinematic connection you could find with this movie is its writer - Joseph Minion wrote the screenplay for After Hours, a mid-80’s Scorsese cult comedy. It’d likely be safe to say Motorama has been forgotten since the day it released.
Unlike Peaks, it’s not a murder mystery soap opera, but it does feature the show’s best element in spades - loopy surrealism mixed with western Americana. It revolves around Gus, a 10-year-old with the mannerisms and attitude of Harry Callahan, and his quest to collect letter cards at Motorama gas stations across the country. Each gas station offers a handful of cards, each with one of the letters in the word Motorama - the goal is to spell the word, and the prize is alluded to by the company but intentionally not specified. Gus, driving a Mustang stolen from his abusive parents, drives through the American southwest, heavily evoking Two-Lane Blacktop, in search of the cards.
Like Peaks and one of my favorite movies of all-time, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, there’s an ensemble of weird characters Gus meets along the way, in kitschy diners and roadside stops, all with their own compelling quirks and incongruities. For one, there’s Mr. Jack Nance, known by many as the beloved Pete “fish in the percolator” Martell, who shows up as a motel employee, furthering the movie’s kinship with the show.
Since I first watched it months ago, I’ve been bewildered by and enamored with it. It’s the kind of movie that I wish more people knew about, because I want to be able to talk about it with people. If you’re a Twin Peaks fan, I strongly recommend it. Look for it on Youtube.
