Review: Prince Avalanche
Prince Avalanche
By Steve Wood
1988 – Alvin (Rudd) and Lance (Hirsch) are road workers in Garland, TX, their job – repaint lane lines down a long and lonely road.
The plot here is very simplistic; Alvin is in a relationship with Madison, who is also Lance’s sister, the only reason Lance is here is because Alvin is trying to have him grow up and show maturity and responsibility. Alvin likes to work alone, which is why he has this job, Lance is the complete opposite, leaving the work site during the weekends to try and get laid in town.
When Alvin receives a letter from Madison, he disappears one morning leaving Lance to wonder where he has gone, turns out that Alvin was in town calling Madison…who broke up with him. Alvin takes out his emotions on Lance, who doesn’t seem to understand anything about relationships, and constantly slips up and tells Alvin things about his sister regarding other men.
There was literally no point to this movie, the acting was good, but there was no reason for this. This felt like a cheap rip off of a Noah Baumbach type movie, but without the smarts. Furthermore, this was directed by David Gordon Green. You might recognize that name as he was the director of Pineapple Express, Your Highness, and Eastbound & Down. This was a HUGE departure for him, and it really didn’t pay off.
Besides the two main characters, there is a nameless truck driver who shows up a few times, and each time providing our guys with booze, and some small talk. There is also an older woman who Alvin stumbles upon while rummaging through ashes of a burned down house. These characters didn’t add anything to the story, nor did they influence our main characters in any way.
I can appreciate the obscure, odd, weird, or any other non-conforming adjective I can think of, while this TRIED to be different, it simply fell flat.
2/10