Three for the Road
Encyclopedia
Three For the Road is a 1987 road trip themed comedy
starring Charlie Sheen
, Alan Ruck
, Kerri Green
, Sally Kellerman
and Blair Tefkin
.
, and who has political aspirations of his own. He is asked to transport Robin (Green), the Senator's delinquent daughter, to an institution for girls. He asks his aspiring writer roommate T.S. (Ruck) to come along for the trip. Robin is initially drugged by her father and put unconscious into the back of their car, but as soon as she wakes up she tries everything and anything to escape.
Eventually a romance develops between Robin and Paul, and he begins to take her claims of her father's abuse more seriously. Along the way they pick up Missy (Tefkin), a southern belle who has her eye on T.S. They make a detour to locate Robin's estranged mother Blanche (Kellerman), hoping that Robin can live with her. Blanche refuses, clearly out of fear of the repercussions of her powerful ex-husband.
Robin eventually ends up in the institution, but her friends devise a ruse to break her free. This is quelched by the unexpected arrival of the senator, but at the last minute Blanche arrives and threatens to expose his dastardly deeds, including the rape of a babysitter. Thus Robin goes to live with her mother, free to explore the romantic possibilities with Paul.
and Green in Lucas
and The Goonies
.) Ruck would continue acting in smaller roles until cast in the TV show Spin City
(opposite Sheen in later seasons); Green, who had played the romantic lead to Sheen in Lucas, did not appear in a mainstream movie again.
Writer Richard Martini
has asserted that the screenplay was dramatically altered from his original. Instead of being a rebellious troublemaker, the character of Robin was shunned by her conservative Republican Senator father because she was an outspoken liberal activist who stages protests. When she finally finds her birth mother she discovers that she was a drug addict who never wanted a child. Martini paid a visit to the set and met Sheen who said "Forget it - the reason I did this movie was I loved your script, but they've re-written it and it sucks now." Martini was then not invited to a screening and instead saw the film in a 3,000 seat theater with only 8 people in attendance. Martini discusses these experiences on both his own website 1 and in an entry at imdb.com 2
The theme song "We Got Our Love" is performed by actress/singer Holly Robinson. A soundtrack was issued (on vinyl only), but due to the failure of the film it too bombed.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
, Alan Ruck
Alan Ruck
Alan Ruck is an American film, stage and television actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Stuart Bondek on Spin City.-Early life:...
, Kerri Green
Kerri Green
Kerri Lee Green is an American actress.Green was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey. She grew up in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and attended Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey....
, Sally Kellerman
Sally Kellerman
Sally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
and Blair Tefkin
Blair Tefkin
Blair Tefkin is an American actress and singer-songwriter.She may be best known for her role as Robin Maxwell on the 1983 science fiction miniseries V, the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle, and V: The Series...
.
Plot
The movie centers around Sheen as Paul Tracy, aide to a United States SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, and who has political aspirations of his own. He is asked to transport Robin (Green), the Senator's delinquent daughter, to an institution for girls. He asks his aspiring writer roommate T.S. (Ruck) to come along for the trip. Robin is initially drugged by her father and put unconscious into the back of their car, but as soon as she wakes up she tries everything and anything to escape.
Eventually a romance develops between Robin and Paul, and he begins to take her claims of her father's abuse more seriously. Along the way they pick up Missy (Tefkin), a southern belle who has her eye on T.S. They make a detour to locate Robin's estranged mother Blanche (Kellerman), hoping that Robin can live with her. Blanche refuses, clearly out of fear of the repercussions of her powerful ex-husband.
Robin eventually ends up in the institution, but her friends devise a ruse to break her free. This is quelched by the unexpected arrival of the senator, but at the last minute Blanche arrives and threatens to expose his dastardly deeds, including the rape of a babysitter. Thus Robin goes to live with her mother, free to explore the romantic possibilities with Paul.
Reception
The movie was a critical and commercial dud, grossing approximately $1,500,000 in the U.S. The film effectively ended the mainstream acting careers of Green and Ruck, who had been rising Hollywood stars whose past projects were huge successes (Ruck in Ferris Bueller's Day OffFerris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
and Green in Lucas
Lucas (film)
Lucas is a 1986 American teen tragicomedy film directed by David Seltzer and starring Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen and Courtney Thorne-Smith. The film is particularly notable for being the screen debut of actress Winona Ryder.-Plot:...
and The Goonies
The Goonies
The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure-comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg. The premise surrounds a band of pre-teens who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon hoping to save...
.) Ruck would continue acting in smaller roles until cast in the TV show Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
(opposite Sheen in later seasons); Green, who had played the romantic lead to Sheen in Lucas, did not appear in a mainstream movie again.
Writer Richard Martini
Richard martini
Richard Martini is an award-winning American film director, producer, screenwriter and free lance journalist. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University with a degree in Humanities, attended USC Film School and is a 2008 graduate of the Master of Professional Writing Program at...
has asserted that the screenplay was dramatically altered from his original. Instead of being a rebellious troublemaker, the character of Robin was shunned by her conservative Republican Senator father because she was an outspoken liberal activist who stages protests. When she finally finds her birth mother she discovers that she was a drug addict who never wanted a child. Martini paid a visit to the set and met Sheen who said "Forget it - the reason I did this movie was I loved your script, but they've re-written it and it sucks now." Martini was then not invited to a screening and instead saw the film in a 3,000 seat theater with only 8 people in attendance. Martini discusses these experiences on both his own website 1 and in an entry at imdb.com 2
The theme song "We Got Our Love" is performed by actress/singer Holly Robinson. A soundtrack was issued (on vinyl only), but due to the failure of the film it too bombed.