Gas Food Lodging

1992

Gas Food Lodging

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

74%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,361

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Gas Food Lodging Photos

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Movie Info

Based on a novel by Richard Peck called Don't Look and It Won't Hurt, Allison Anders's melodramatic coming-of-age tale Gas Food Lodging takes place in Laramie, NM, a small town right off the highway. Nora (Brooke Adams) is a truck-stop waitress who lives in a trailer park with her two teenaged daughters, Trudi (Ione Skye) and Shade (Fairuza Balk). While Trudi sleeps around and defies her mother, Shade spends her time at the local cinema and wishes she could have a dad like a normal family. One day, Trudi hooks up with a visiting geologist (Robert Knepper) and spends a magical evening in a cave with him. However, he turns up missing and Trudi finds herself pregnant. Meanwhile, Shade's romantic advances are rejected by Darius (Donovan Leitch), but she finds something new with film projectionist Javier (Jacob Vargas). Shade's attempts at finding a husband for her mom are unsuccessful, but Nora ends up meeting satellite TV installation man Hamlet Humphrey (David Lansbury). Features a cameo appearance from Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis, who also wrote the original music.

Rating:

R
Genre:

Drama, Romance
Directed By:

Allison Anders
Written By:

Allison Anders
In Theaters:

Jul 10, 1992 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Sep 23, 2003
Runtime:

100 minutes
Studio:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Cast

Brooke Adams
as Nora

Ione Skye
as Trudi

Fairuza Balk
as Shade

James Brolin
as John

Robert Knepper
as Dank

David Landsbury
as Hamlet Humphrey

David Lansbury
as Hamlet

Donovan Leitch
as Darius

Chris Mulkey
as Raymond

Jacob Vargas
as Javier

Laurie O'Brien
as Thelma

Julie Condra
as Tanya

Adam Biesk
as Brett

Leigh Hamilton
as Kim

Diane Behrens
as Hostess

J. Mascis
as Cecil

Tiffany Anders
as Persi

Jeff McDonald
as Long Haired Boy

Sissy Boyd
as Rocio

Jeffrey McDonald
as Langhaariger

William "Bill" Kemp
as Jock

Graci Lund
as Girl

Shirley Smith
as Bubbly Mother

George R. Parker
as Trucker

Jeff Miller
as Rock Boy

View All

Critic Reviews for Gas Food Lodging

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (3)

The relationships of the women with their men and boys gives Gas, Food, Lodging its twists and turns, but its ultimate message is female bonding.

May 15, 2018 | Full Review…

Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
One of the major achievements of Anders' impressive debut is that it touches all the right issues of contemporary working class women without ever being stridently anti-male.

Jul 5, 2006 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
The down-to-earth quality and the earnest performances by Ione Skye and Fairuza Balk as small town sisters ground the film.

May 26, 2006 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
The story of this fractured family has a ring of authenticity, but lacks the hands of an artist to shape it into something more profound and affecting.

Feb 14, 2004 | Rating: 67/100

Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
"an original look at familiar material"

Jul 29, 2002 | Rating: 3/5

James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

View All Critic Reviews (15)

Audience Reviews for Gas Food Lodging

Feb 01, 2010

I found this a bit depressing....kind of feeling that Hope, too, had finally flown the coop. Having said that, it IS a good film. It was a widely-acclaimed independent film in its day & has an interesting story to tell with a fine cast to tell it. It's just a bit depressing, that's all.

mirabella 1 Super Reviewer
Jan 20, 2010

Can't remember it too clearly as it has been a few years but I remember liking both Brooke Adams and Ione Skye.

John B Super Reviewer
Jul 09, 2008

Excellent indie outing with some outstanding performances.

Anthony V Super Reviewer
Jan 22, 2008

This is an old favourite of mine. I upgraded from VHS to DVD quite some time ago, but never quite got around to rewatching it until now. What can I say? This is one of those rare movies that I think I enjoyed more over time rather than think it is not as good, or like it as a nostalgia piece. This is for sure one of Fairuza Balk's best roles - she is an actress I think could have gone a long way, I am surprised she wasn't more successful. She is perfect here as Shade, living in a caravan park with her mother and her troubled older sister, Trudi (Ione Skye - also a good role for her). I think the good thing about rewatching it now is that I can identify now with all three of the women, rather than just the daughters. These are very well written women characters, and this film has a lot of depth. Donovan Leitch is also excellent here as Darius, and also the guy who plays Javier (I am unsure who he is). The rest of the men don't fare so well here, but this really is a movie for and about woman. Highly recommend it and have changed my original score of 4 to 5!

Nicki M Super Reviewer