Motorama (1992)

This allegorical comedy from scriptwriter Joe Minion (After Hours, Vampire's Kiss) offers a unique twist on the standard road movie formula. It tells the story of a young boy named Gus who grows sick and tired of parental squabbles and decides to steal his dad's red Mustang and hit the highway on a cross-country journey. The country presented in this film, however, is not the U.S., but a fictional land with states such as Bergen and Essex - a land with parallels to a giant board game. While on the road, Gus spots a billboard inviting him to play the "Motorama" game, a promotional effort by a major gas station that promises winners $500 million dollars. In order to win, one simply has to collect enough game cards from Chimera gas stations all over the country to spell out the word "Motorama." As Gus approaches his goal of collecting all eight letters, he has assorted adventures, many of them strange and a few that are distinctly unpleasant. The film features cameos from several notable cult favorites, including character players Jack Nance and Dick Miller, actress Drew Barrymore, and even the pop singer Meat Loaf.