Nice and uplifting movies like The Straight Story are a welcome sight in a world that's evermore cynical and meanspirited. David Lynch, a man known for sex and violence, was an usual choice to direct a real-life story about an elderly man riding his lawnmower across state lines just so he could visit his ailing brother. Still, despite some wonky acting from some of the non-professional actors, this is one of the director's finest film. Sissy Spacek is pretty great in her limited screen time as Richard Farnsworth's daughter, while Farnsworth's last performance is probably his BEST performance. He's just remarkable, playing a thoughtful man who's near the end of his life. His often-watery eyes have often inspired one of us to have watery eyes watching this film. So spend some quiet time looking up at the stars as you slowly motor across the heartland while our 623rd podcast glides through the G-rated loveliness of The Straight Story.

Well, Actually: to clarify what the Salon reviewer Charles Taylor wrote about this movie, he said "it's as wonderfully strange as anything Lynch has done".

Preparing for a long road trip across the midwest? Buy some Sparkplug Coffee! They give our listeners a onetime 20% discount. Just our "HYES" promo code. So it's "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".

Rate and review our podcast on your app. Look for our shows on YouTube. The address in your browser should be "@hyesellis". Comment, like and subscribe to our channel. We're also on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Bev is on Threads with that same handle. And hit us with an email or two ([email protected]).