Hope And Crosby 2002?
By Fred Leland
June 17, 2002
What happens when a bank teller from Brooklyn with big hair (Rhonda) and a suicidal Gay widower (Travis) become obsessed with each other? Easy enough, they wind up in Texas on a journey planned by Bobby: Travis' dead lover who didn't trust Travis to stay rational. They don't know enough about each other and assume too much, which gives this buddy picture its friction and its comedy. These two unlikely travel partners first meet when Travis (John Benjamin Hickey) strips naked and is about to jump off a bridge in New York City. Rhonda (Wendy Makkena) who's out with her friends, spots Travis and tries to get to him but only finds his shoe left behind. Rhonda has her mother on her back to get married like her sister, hates her job, her boss, about to turn 30, and is now obsessed with finding the mysterious jumper with the great butt.
In a twist of movie make believe, Travis goes to the bank the following morning, where Rhonda works, in order to clean out his accounts before committing suicide. Rhonda mistakes him for the stripper she hired, and during an argument winds up with Travis' life savings, which she then tries to return at his apartment during a wake for Bobby. The clueless Rhonda doesn't get that Travis is Gay and winds up getting thrown out of his apartment. The following morning Rhonda spots Travis hopping into a cab and plays "follow that car" to the airport. We know Rhonda spent the night in a café near Travis' apartment, but there's no plausible explanation of how she managed to spot Travis hailing his cab, however it does get us into the second act which is more interesting anyway.
Via tape, Bobby leads Travis and Rhonda on their journey through his hometown, which looks like it was extracted from The Last Picture Show. The two are of course challenged by their misconceptions about how the other lives -what it's like to be Gay, what it's like to be Straight. And the film does a good job of challenging the idea that men and women in a movie can only interact if it leads to a romantic relationship. In one of the funniest scenes, Travis and Rhonda leave an appliance store salesman speechless as they explain spending the night together, despite Travis being Gay, and how they'll spend more nights together. On its way to a satisfying ending, Finding North includes a great performance by Molly Mc Clure as Bobby's tough old-fashioned Aunt, who is moved surprisingly more by learning of his death than his sexuality. Instead of blowing Travis' head off with her pistol, she takes him in for the night and gives him a box of Bobby's childhood keepsakes.
Finding North is well shot and well acted, but feels nervous much of the time and unfortunately expects the audience to accept what they see a little too often: like Rhonda's stereotypical Jewish mother who suddenly stops calling her every 5 seconds when Rhonda and Travis reach Texas. Or when Rhonda meets her prince in the guise of the strapping young son (Jay Michaelson) of a motel owner: he's wise beyond his years and is completely satisfied with just holding her in bed. The script for Finding North could have used another proofreading in order to tighten up the plot, but it is a sweet story about recognizing the fork in the road of life. The story aside, Wendy Makkena has a fast talking comedic style very much like Susan Sarandon, which counters John Benjamin Hickey's understated delivery very well. Obscure reference fans should be on the look out for Freddie Roman (The Friar's Club) as Rhonda's Weather Channel obsessed father.
Fred presses 
on Finding North
Click the picture for more information:
