[usr 3.5]
In the boring desert of New Mexico, a single mother raises her two teenage daughters, Shade and Trudi, whose deepest desire is to leave the dead calm town. Shade is the type to escape in her extravagant fantasies while Trudi is so rebellious it could drive her away.
The movie “Gas, Food Lodging” arrived in theaters back in 1992, that’s 26 years ago for those who are bad at math and do not want to pull out a calculator. That’s the same year “A League of Their Own,” “A Few Good Men,” “Sister Act,” and one of our favorite Disney movies, “Aladdin,” debuted on the big screen, which is why “Gas, Food Lodging” got lost in movie land with few viewers. Don’t be surprised if you never heard of the dark chick flick. Either way, you now have a chance to watch this rather depressing but still worth watching coming of age story.
The story centers on Shade – yes, that really is her name – played by Fairuza Balk, a 16-year-old girl who wants to make her mark on the world or at least find one person who understands her. Her single mother Nora (Brooke Adams) doesn’t have time to understand her youngest daughter while trying to keep her two daughters fed and keeping electricity turned on in their trailer park by working as a waitress. Shade’s 18-year-old sister Trudi (Ione Skye) doesn’t even want to understand her younger sister. Trudi is too busy with boys to help out around the house or be there for her sister.
Shade wants to grow up but finds herself in her tiny town somewhere in the desert of New Mexico. She finds solace in Mexican movies at the local theater and a love/hate relationship with a local guy Javier (Jacob Vargas), working at the theater. With Trudi as her only role model, Shade tries to seduce a different local boy with no luck. Meanwhile, Trudi’s boyfriend breaks up with her and she moves on to a British traveler who carves glowing rocks out of nearby caves. After a passionate night in the cave, the boy never returns for Trudi, leading her to believe her bad luck with boys is still on a winning streak.
Since Shade has little success finding love for herself, she moves on to finding blind dates for her mother and then searches for her father. The girl just can’t sit still, mainly because the dead little town they live in offers nothing in the way of entertainment beyond the theater and a bar. Which explains why Trudi ends up pregnant from the British guy with him still nowhere to be found. Trudi decides to give the baby up for adoption and leaves for Dallas to have the baby, then decides to stay for a second chance at life, leaving Nora and Shade alone to navigate life. The movie ends with one mystery solved but life for the girl is anything but wrapped up in a pretty bow.
The film is a slow drive down Route 66, not particularly interesting but a few intriguing stops along the way. Nothing about this movie is as exciting as the other movies that came out the same year. It’s more Lifetime made-for-TV but in a good way. The acting was decent and the abysmal plot was true to life, which can be depressing, dark, and often difficult. While the tone is melancholic, the movie is torrid, like a secret you try to hide from your family. Worth the watch if just to know your coming of age story was probably easier than the characters in this movie.
Now available on a Special Edition Blu-ray
