Genre:Drama Rating:R (Restricted) Media:Video On Demand Running Time:93 Minutes
Release Date:January 5, 2010 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Synopsis:
Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan Fillion, Serenity, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog," "Castle") until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett, young James Kirk in Star Trek) is unexpectedly dropped at her door.Peter hasn't seen his mother since he was a baby and wants to live with Diane as little as she wants him, but they are stuck with each other - at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital.Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she's fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible.
a perfect story reallyJune 4, 2010 B. E Jackson(Pennsylvania) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
There's absolutely nothing flashy about Trucker... and that's exactly what makes it so darn *good*.
It's just a simple story about a single mom making her living as a truck driver who constantly travels across the country, and one night her young son comes to visit her after the boy has been living with his father previously. The reason the 10-year old little boy comes to visit his mother is because his father is dying of colon cancer and he needs somewhere to stay.
Now the mother has NO idea her son is coming to visit her, let alone actually has to spend a considerable amount of time with her.
The woman who plays the mother is named Michelle Monaghan, and let me tell you something- I've never seen her in any other film prior to this one (at least I don't *think* I have) but she totally nails the "What am I supposed to do?" mother/adult role, concerning how she's supposed to react towards her son since she apparently had no experience with kids before this.
She seemed shy around her son, and uncertain what to say, what to do, and most importantly, how to discipline her mouthy and occasionally out of control son.
The little boy delivers a terrific performance as well. The movie mostly focuses on the mother though. You see she's a truck driver with a troubled past (which explains why she's not together with her sons father). Actually, the way the storyline is delivered, she seems to *still* be stuck in that little routine of hers with absolutely no desire to change (except for the ending of course, which I won't spoil).
The storyline mainly focuses on building up trust with her son, and attempting to win him over.
Overall, this movie has a very quiet and down to earth style about it, which is what makes it so great. Trucker should be a more popular film.
Bloomington!!May 10, 2010 norcal 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really loved seeing my ole home town (total suprise) and the place I used to get cheesburgers while in high school!! (Did they close Cedar Ave....or is just that dead) Just the fact that someone filmed a movie in Bloomington Ca is a movie I want to see. The movie itself was O.K. I felt sorry for some of the pathetic roles. It had a happy ending and I wished the girl would wear something instead of a sweat ridden worn tank top and try not to be such a bad a**. Regardless....just because of the location of filming I will buy when it comes out on blu ray.
A Nicely-Wrought but Predictable MovieApril 25, 2010 Richard B. Schwartz(Columbia, Missouri USA) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A mother has left the (to her) cloying world of motherhood and become an over the road trucker. The child's father has had custody for the last ten years of his 11 year-old's life and is loved deeply by his son. When he contracts cancer and his wife's parent dies, the father turns to the trucker to take care of the son while he enters the hospital to either recuperate or die. The mother and son begin with recriminations, anger and harsh words, move on to understanding and end up loving one another (all as one would hope and expect).
Michele Monaghan as the mother, Diane, carries the movie and she does so expertly. James Mottern's direction is strong, the production values high, particularly considering the twin facts of a 19-day shoot and a one and a half million-dollar budget. This is a small film, but done very nicely with superb performances all around. It is a story about love and responsibility, the latter a slippery notion for Diane, who has abandoned her son but built an economic life by scrimping to complete the payments on her truck and making progress on the mortgage-free ownership of her one-bedroom house somewhere in a place like Barstow. Her self-indulgent private life, which consists of hard drinking and one-night stands, is about to change and we enjoy her (and her son's) somewhat uneasy but altogether predictable transformation. This is a small gem.
OriginalApril 2, 2010 Trip Like I Do(USA) 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I don't want to say too much about this movie, so as not to ruin it for other viewers, other than to say that it is a very good movie. It is atypically unformulaic, the characters are quite real, the acting is professional and believable, and it does not try to tie up loose ends. It is also not like the typical Hollywood genre film (pick your genre). It has the feeling of meeting someone who has no interest in, or perhaps no awareness of a need for, falling into a comfortable stereotype -- and all the awkwardness, discomfort and discovery that such a situation can bring.
Why was this movie titled "Trucker"? - SPOILERSJanuary 18, 2010 Nico1908(Florida) 2 out of 8 found this review helpful
If you expect a movie about a (female) trucker, you will be sadly disappointed because there is nothing in this film about this profession. The female lead happens to be a long-haul driver in her late 20s (of course pretty and skinny) who already owns her truck and stays on the road for a maximum of 2-3 weeks at a time. How's that for unrealistic? Oh well... Not that it matters. Her lifestyle comes to a screeching halt anyway when her ex-husband develops cancer and she gets stuck with her 11-year old son, an obnoxious pre-teen brat.
A few weeks later, the once-tough trucker who went to beat up a couple of guys who harrassed her kid at a gas station has turned into a wimp: She almost gets raped by her best buddy's brother-in-law, whom she surprises in her house. Instead of simply pulling up her knee when he corners her, she begs him not to do it in her bed but to take her out to her truck because she's expecting her son to come home from any minute. Of course the guy doesn't pay any attention to her pleas. Fortunately, her son walks in and whacks the rapist over the head with his baseball bat. - How is that for nauseating?
So what's the message of this movie? Three things: 1.) No matter how much she pretends otherwise, there's a mommy inside even the toughest, most independent woman because it's somehow in her genes. 2.) As a mom, you are more concerned about what your kid will think when he walks in on you being raped than defending yourself. 3.) A mom has to be defended by a man (even if he's only 11 years old) because moms don't fight for themselves. - As I said: NAUSEATING!
