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ON THE ROAD

What You Need To Know:

ON THE ROAD, an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s acclaimed 1957 novel, shows a group of beatniks traveling around America and writing poetry. Sal Paradise is a beat writer. He needs to finish his novel but has writer’s block. Confiding in his friend Carlo, another writer, they discuss their writing methods while smoking marijuana. Carlo is fascinated with his friend Dean and introduces him to Sal. To get inspiration, they and Dean’s young wife go on a road trip. While traveling around America, they meet different types of people, who later become characters in their poetry. Eventually, Sal is able to finish his novel.

ON THE ROAD portrays a strong humanist worldview with characters questioning their existence and experimenting with drugs. The movie is debauched and graphic. It does outline the themes of the so-called beatnik generation. However, like the novel, ON THE ROAD has no clear plotline. It just goes on and on and on. As a whole, therefore, the movie is hardly thrilling. Most moviegoers probably will stay away from ON THE ROAD, including those who might be interested in the subject.

Content:

(HHH, RoRo, C, LLL, V, SSS, NN, AA, DDD, MMM) Very strong humanist worldview with characters talking about existentialism and saying God does not exist, with Romantic elements where characters look toward love for meaning, plus some Christian references including a Nativity scene, a woman performs the sign of the cross and one character is a Catholic priest; at least 23 mostly strong obscenities and seven profanities, plus crude sexual dialogue; man hits other man in the face, implied murder; sex between two men shown, sex between a women and two men, kissing, sex out of wedlock, adultery, multiple women have children out of wedlock, implied oral sex, sexual dialogue, etc.; upper female nudity, upper male nudity, rear nudity; drinking and drunkenness, and drinking while doing drugs; smoking, smoking marijuana, cocaine, Benzedrine; and, lying, cheating, man has multiple affairs with different women and cannot commit in marriage, stealing, young child sees as mother is having relations with a man that his not his father, depression, dysfunctional families, bad role models as parents do drugs in front of their children.

More Detail:

Following Jack Kerouac’s acclaimed 1950s novel, ON THE ROAD shows a group of beatniks traveling around America and writing poetry. ON THE ROAD is a clear picture of the beatnik era without a plot line. It meanders just as the characters meander and shows a group of people who value only sex, personal experimentation and drugs.

Sal Paradise is a beat writer who’s having writer’s block but needs to finish his novel. Confiding in his friend Carlo, another beat writer, they discuss the methods while smoking marijuana. Carlo is fascinated with his friend Dean and introduces him to Sal. Instantly becoming close friends, Sal, Carlo and Dean create a bond. For Carlo, that’s a bond of love. Though Dean is married to a 16-year-old, Marylou, he invites Carlo to join them in their sexual experiences.

Leaving their residence in New York, Carlo, Marylou and Dean drive out of town to find adventure. Not long after, Sal decides to join them, but hitchhikes along the way, meeting different characters, including a beautiful women named Terry. Terry lives on a cotton farm. Sal decides to stay on the cotton farm and work for his living, while developing an intimate relationship with Terry.

Returning to his friends, Dean, Carlo and Marylou, Sal finds Dean acting out in his same old charades: sleeping with multiple women while married and attracting even men. At this point, Carlo has fallen into love with Dean, but Dean continues to use everyone around him almost as if he has a sexual addiction.

After traveling around America for some time, the friends meet all different types of people who later become characters in their poetry.

ON THE ROAD has a humanist worldview with existential characters questioning their existence and experimenting with drugs. The movie is debauched and graphic in its depictions. It does, however, outline the themes of the so-called beatnik generation. Among the story’s fictionalized characters, Sal is supposed to be Kerouac, while Carlo is supposed to be the homosexual poet Allen Ginsburg.

Later in life, Kerouac regretted the novel’s negative effects on young people. He also loathed the Radical Left. In fact, despite a flirtation with Buddhism, he never left his Catholic roots, though he was an alcoholic who apparently had a mystical, antinomian faith that wasn’t dogmatic.

Like Kerouac’s novel, ON THE ROAD has no clear plot line. The movie goes on and on and on. The movie isn’t thrilling, either, just scenes of sexual experimentation, drugs and driving. The acting is not the best at all. In fact, some of the key performances, especially Kristen Stewart’s, are bad. Some scenes depict the poetry and art of the time. This creates a stylistic aesthetic that’s probably the best aspect of the movie. All in all, ON THE ROAD will disappoint most discerning moviegoers, including those who might be interested in an adaptation of this famous, influential autobiographical novel.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.