Unlimitedia
Sick Product of a Sick System
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
tbills2
I love Sally Field. She is real sexy in Back Roads. Her and Tommy Lee Jones share great chemistry together, they just may not have known it yet themselves. I remember that Field and Jones had on the set issues, probably because Tommy Lee was trying to come on to Sally off the set. Can't blame him. She's Gidget, The Flying Nun, and she's playing a hooker! More like though, she's Sally Field and she's smoking hot. Somebody cool her off. Sally Field always plays the kind of girl you can take home to momma. And it don't seem much different for her here in Back Roads. Listen boy, she ain't a whore, she is a hustler! This all might be just a fantasy in my head, but Tommy Lee Jones felt obligated to apologize to Sally years later for something he did while filming this with Sally. Probably a good thing, too. Here's a theory. Maybe all Tommy Lee Jones wanted at the time was a sweet girl like Sally, and perhaps all Sally Field ever wanted was a wild heart like Tommy, but neither one had the know-how to admit to it. Just a theory. Back Roads is so under appreciated and over analyzed. Just enjoy it. It takes place in the South and it's really down country home living and back road loving. Tommy Lee Jones and Sally field make a great couple on screen. That much is clear. I love these two guys. Jones is a pistol and Field is a firecracker. I'm deeply in love with them both, but mostly Sally. Yea, mostly Sally. Back Roads' theme song, 'Ask Me No Questions (I'll Tell You No Lies)', is a beautiful song and it fits the movie like a glove. Sally wears such pretty hair-dos. Sally Field is so damn purty, like you wouldn't believe. I love Back Roads. It's damn good.
SnoopyStyle
Amy Post (Sally Field) is a low rent prostitute in Alabama. She gets caught up with jobless drifter ex-boxer customer Elmore Pratt (Tommy Lee Jones) as they go off on a rambling road trip.Norma Rae director Martin Ritt reunites with Sally Field. I think it's intended as a grimy tough rom-com. Whether it's the script or the much rumored bad relationship between Field and Jones, the couple is plagued with bitter anger and the chemistry is never good. The movie is filmed in a low rent 70s style Grime-o-Vision. It works sometimes like playing pinball in a roadside bar but mostly it looks like a poorly made indie. In the end, the relationship never blossoms as it's suppose to. Sally Field does have a good breakdown, but Tommy Lee Jones have the acting range of a grumpy old man.
Wizard-8
Despite the presence of two Oscar-winning actors in its cast, "Back Roads" has been forgotten for the most part. Seeing it, it becomes clear why it hasn't built a cult. I won't say that it's a terrible movie - there are a few good things about it. It's nice for a change to see a major Hollywood studio movie that is fairly downbeat in nature. Also, the acting by both Jones and Field is pretty good - in fact, while watching the movie, I never thought I was watching two movie stars, but instead watching two characters. But their characters aren't that interesting. We don't learn much about them, and their frequent bickering becomes ultimately tiring. Also, when the movie ends, it ends at a point where it seems unfinished. It's like the director said, "We've got a 90 minute running time, so let's call it a day." Only worth watching if you want to see why the CBS network wasn't very successful in making theatrical movies.
angelsunchained
Overlooked early 1980s film. The movie is a depressing look at two seedy characters trying to make it through life. The acting is solid and both Fields and Jones look the part of someone living on the edges of society. Jones is a two-bit club boxer with a reputation for losing. He comes across in a less then positive light, yet down deep, there's a heart of gold. Fields as a street hustler looks beat-up in this film. He rarely cracks a smile, and it's one of here meaty roles. However, the film is a somewhat depressing look at life, at least from the standpoint of street people. It's a fairly entertaining movie and if you're a fan of either Sally Fields or Tommy Lee Jones, then Back Roads is a film to see.