What We Find on the Road Review: Along for the Ride

What We Find on the Road is a serviceably made but sadly underwhelming road trip movie, where the viewer will likely feel they’re just along for the ride.

He’s also given an address to meet with his dad all the way out in California, leading him to embark on a road trip with his friend Jake (William Chris Sumpter).

Have you seen a road trip movie before? Have you seen a movie about a young adult grappling with the abandonment of a parent? Have you seen a movie that draws attention to the little, old-fashioned details of life that we tend to forget in our everyday lives? If you answered any of those questions with a “Yes,” then congratulations: you’ve seen everything What We Find on the Road has to offer. You win the … knowledge of having done that. As much as the movie wears its heart on its sleeve, and as much as it clearly means to everyone involved in making it, there is almost nothing new or memorable to be found here.

I feel especially bad saying so because this is far from an incompetent film. The performances are all at the very least decent, with everyone having a few great standout moments ranging from quiet to flashy. TJ eventually comes across another traveler played by Katherine Laheen, and she’s so engaging and well-acted that I’d have followed her journey if I had to. There are a few strangely written lines here and there, but each scene is written fine enough on its own with some interesting conversations thrown in. 

This is why I say the movie should work. All the pieces are there. They’re just not arranged in a way that makes a picture worth remembering. Most of the first half mainly consists of TJ and Jake on the road, coming across a few inconsequential characters and settings in a procedural A to B to C to D journey. There’s buildup to the two coming to blows, in a way that adds a lot of unspoken depth to Jake as a character. But once that passes and is no longer relevant, there’s still a whole half of a movie left to go. 

At that point, What We Find on the Road has to introduce Laheen’s character and proceeds to try and squeeze in a whole slew of philosophical musings between her and TJ, the likes of which hadn’t really been too present on the road but suddenly skyrocket in the homestretch. And even these aren’t going to leave you thinking for any longer than the scene you’re in, either because they’re not that profound or – again – you’ve heard them said in other stories.

The ultimate confrontation between TJ and his father is the best acted bit of the film, but even it doesn’t stay in your head afterwards. TJ has been bringing some mysterious box with him whose contents have been a mystery, but the answer as to what’s in the box – insert Se7en joke here – is both painfully predictable and underwhelming. In the film’s closing minute, there’s a seed of an idea that TJ has now gotten the closure he needs and can finally pursue a much more open future, but none of the context is ever explored enough to give that seed the water it needs.

And … yeah, that’s pretty much all I have to say. Again, What We Find on the Road isn’t an awful movie at all. It’s decently directed, decently acted, at times decently written, has a solid soundtrack of obscure songs that enhance the mood, and has a very good heart. I could tell all of that from the trailer, which is what made me want to cover the film in the first place. But the movie just can’t break out of its been-there-done-that shell or leave any sort of a lasting impression, even as far as films focused on smaller, gentler, or more slice-of-life experiences go. I’m sure it’ll have some fans, but it saddens me to say that I’m not one of them.

What We Find on the Road (originally titled Polara) will be released on digital and on demand in the UK on November 18, 2024. The film is now available to watch on digital platforms in the US and Canada.