Tail Lights Fade (1992)

Rating: C+

Dir: Malcolm Ingram
Star: Tanya Allen, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Breckin Meyer

Two couples race cross-country to Vancouver, to harvest a large volume of dope before the police or gangsters find it. Spinning off this relatively slight plot, we discover some hidden agendas, while the slowly-revealed background includes Elizabeth Berkeley as the scheming Eve. The characters are nicely drawn, with each having flaws and virtues, and all the actors seem well-cast, in roles with which they look comfortable. As they get closer to their goal, the tensions rise nicely, which makes it a shame that the ending is hugely unsatisfactory, almost as if the writer got bored and drifted off to do something else – probably negotiating music rights for the soundtrack, which is obviously much more important… Still, for a cheap road film, it is not without charm — the cameo appearances by Hello Kitty and Bad Badtz Maru are merely an additional bonus!