Back Roads (film)

Back Roads
DVD release cover
Directed by	Martin Ritt
Produced by	Ronald Shedlo
Written by	Gary Devore
Starring	Sally Field Tommy Lee Jones
Music by	Henry Mancini
Cinematography	John A. Alonzo
Edited by	Sidney Levin
Production company	CBS Theatrical Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	March 13, 1981 (1981-03-13)
Running time	90 minutes
Language	English

Back Roads is a 1981 American romantic comedy film starring Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. It is directed by Martin Ritt. It got middling reviews and grossed $11 million at the box office. It was produced by CBS Theatrical Films and distributed by Warner Bros.

Plot

Amy Post (Field) is a $20-a-trick hooker in Mobile, Alabama. One night she entertains Elmore Pratt (Jones), an ex-boxer who has just been fired from his job at a car wash. He cannot pay her for services rendered.

Pratt punches a plainclothes police officer. He and the prostitute drive away together, intending to head for California, bickering along the way.

Production

Field and Jones disliked one another intensely during filming. Ritt said that he regretted not being able to make this film work, blaming its failure on both the script and the stars' inability to get along. In her January 29, 2013 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Field said that she and Jones reconciled many years later when he approached her at an event and apologized for the on-set clashes. They then went on to co-star in the 2012 film, Lincoln, for which they both received Academy Award nominations for their supporting roles.

Reception

In his March 13, 1981 New York Times review, critic Vincent Canby wrote that there "seems to be a real rapport" between the two actors. Canby described the film as "extremely appealing and occasionally gutsy and very funny." Other reviewers were less kind. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times considered the movie formulaic and "heavily laden with schtick", giving the film two stars on a scale of four, although he did comment that Field "gives a performance that cannot be faulted." He considered Back Roads a "less-than-successful" effort by director Ritt.

David Keith, Michael V. Gazzo and Barbara Babcock were also in the cast.

External links

• Back Roads at IMDb