TITLE: Across America in 90 Days
GENRE: Comedy/Adventure
SUBGENRE: Biopic
FORMAT: Movie
BASIC PROMPT:
Plot:
On May 19th of 1903, a lively debate was taking place at the University Club of San Francisco. Club members discuss the merits of the newfound invention and popular fad of the wealthy, cars. While some are receptive to the automobile, nearly all agree that it is an overpriced and complicated hunk of junk that is just a impractical trend and soon the rich will come to their senses and continue to use their faithful steeds to travel through the city and country.
As the discussion ends, one man chimes in from a chair in the corner. He strongly refutes the belief that cars are a simple fad, and believes that they are the future. This is not based off of expertise or involvement in the auto industry, for this man was just a very enthusiastic fan of cars and wouldn't take to their being slandered by ignorant snobs. This man is Horatio Nelson Jackson, a doctor from Vermont who stopped by after searching for gold and silver in Alaska. The "Snobs" find this statement to be odd and politely disagree, but Horatio humorously escalates the conversation, taking every criticism as a personal insult and valiantly defending the car as if his wife's honor is on the line when the snobs just want to move on. One of the snobs makes a bet to Horatio, if he believes so much in the car then how about traveling from the west coast to the east coast in 90 days in one, all for a reward of $50. The other members laugh at this offer, seeing it as an obvious joke, but Horatio takes it completely at face value and accepts, proclaiming he shall be the first man to travel from San Francisco to New York in a car. Bewildered, the club members accept and so begins the first road trip in American history.
The scene changes to Horatio conversing with his wife and explaining of the bet he undertook. The scene sort of sets the tone for the movie as expectations are set up about this being some sort of dramatic confrontation between spouses of the sudden impulsiveness of the decision, but Horatio's wife just nonchalantly accepts and wishes him luck, then taking the train back to Vermont.
Horatio then begins what at first looks like an epic montage of preparing for his trip, only to spend the entire montage looking lost and just asking himself questions, not having the first idea on what the hell to do. Knowing his limits, Horatio decides to enlist the aid of a partner for the expedition, his friend and car mechanic Sewall Crocker. At first Sewall is against the idea, viewing it as a frivolous waste of time, however Jackson's casual offering of thousands of dollars in salary quickly changes his tune and Sewall gets invested in planning the journey, slowly finding himself genuinely attached to the adventure and wanting to be an explorer like his childhood heroes Lewis and Clark.
Sewall suggests Horatio buy a Winton as the most optimal car for their journey. Horatio purchases it from a Wells Fargo banker who has the only Winton in town. The banker is a scummy man who overcharges for the Winton which has gone through considerable wear and tear. But because Sewall suggested he get a Winton and Horatio was loaded, he just bought it at an overcharged price and named it The Vermont. Sewall and Horatio get into preparation for the journey with Sewall teaching Horatio how to drive and maintain the car to hillarious hijinks of driving wildly through a dense turn of the century San Francisco. After many days of preparing, the two set out on their journey, the score makes it out to be the start of a very epic and grand journey, only for most of the bystanders being very disinterested and apathetic to the whole venture while the Winton humorously breaks down every couple of dozen feet, with Sewall forced to make quick repairs as the music starts, and then they go off again only to break down.
From here the journey is not a standard structured film but is more of a loose narrative that focuses on the experience that Horatio and Sewall go through rather than an organized hero's journey. There is a broad narrative of the growing friendship between Horatio and Sewall and the many comedic struggles they go through in completing the journey where at several points it looks as if all is lost before a stroke of great fortune aids the two in continuing forward. The overall point of the movie is something along the lines of "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey." While the historic accomplishment of the men is important, what matters about the film is the journey they took in crossing America and seeing so many wonderous sights and interesting people they never could have accomplished through horseback and railroad.
Some important plot points story beats are:
- The screwball humor of The Vermont constantly breaking down every few miles and the persistence and creativity that Horatio and Sewall used to keep it running.
- The experience of The Vermont traveling through many small towns of America where the town went into hysteria at the sight of an automobile, the first time they had ever seen one in their lives with everyone in town rushing to see the sight and acting like it was the greatest thing they ever saw in their life.
- The slapstick humor of the two men traversing through harsh weather with an open roof car and finding creative ways to get through hostile environments.
- Horatio and Sewall making frequent stops at isolated homesteads across the way and meeting many wacky and colorful characters.
- A running gag of Horatio frequently writing to his wife and saying "Well it's been pretty rough so far, but once it gets to the next town it'll get easier." and repeating the same thing each letter despite the increasing difficulty.
- The pair bent sent 108 miles wildly off course due to purposeful misdirections by a woman so her family could see a car.
- The Vermont breaking down in an open field and being towed to the nearest town by a kind rancher and his horse.
- A man who had no idea that car's exist coming across the sight of The Vermont and having a panick attack because he believed it was a train that was about to run over him, making a mad panicked dash to release his horses before they were run over, only for The Vermont to casually pass by.
- Horatio's wild travels in running or biking to previous towns to get parts to fix the broken down Vermont or get back something he lost.
- Bud getting seperated from Horatio and Sewall in Chicago and having a wild adventure before reuniting with the two men.
At the end of the first act, Horatio encounters a man who offers to sell him a dog to become their mascot. Horatio, wanting a mascot because it was a cool idea and he liked dogs agrees, and thus Bud joined the team. In the middle of the movie, the road trip becomes a race when word of the trio's journey spreads across America and they become instant celebrities. Seeing as how they actually having a shot in completing the road trip, two auto companies Packard and Oldsmobile decide to enter the race to prove that their cars are the best. Horatio, Sewall and Bud do not learn that they are part of a race for many days. When they do learn, while Sewall panicks, Horatio is unphased, believing that they already have what it takes to win and he thinks its neat that he became part of an impromptu national race. While the movie is hinted at changing to a wild and wacky race, this is anti-climatically halted when it's quickly shown that Horatio has no chance of being beaten due to the Packard team sabotaging themselves by taking a scenic route through highly difficult terrain and Oldsmobile starting so late that they were barely crossing the Rockies as Horatio and Sewell reached the Appalachian.
After 63 days, the trio manage to successfully reach New York City, being hailed by the public as heroes. Horatio and Sewall part their ways with Sewall heading back to San Francisco on train (Humourously stating he's had enough car rides for one lifetime) while Horatio goes home with his wife to Vermont in The Vermont with the two formally adopting Bud as part of the family. Horatio's brothers would come in their own cars to help him and his wife return home when The Vermont broke down, but their own cars would break down and Horatio using all he learned from Sewall would fix The Vermont and tow both his brothers cars home, showing his growth. The closing shot of the film shows the Jackson family triumphantly parking The Vermont in their garage, only for the car's drive chain to snap off and fly onto the ground, the only part of the car which had survived with no difficulty throughout the trip. The last line is Horatio realizing to his horror that he never got the $50 from the bet.
Cast:
Horatio Nelson Jackson: A very eccentric and odd man of sorts, Horatio is the unconventional protagonist and hero of the story, having started the journey just to prove a point to strangers he had just met and willing to spend a good chunk of his fortune to win just $50. Horatio has two sides to him, the ridiculously relaxed and nonchalant Doctor who just takes whatever life throws at him without complaint and the heavily passionate and driven explorer who refuses to give up and double's down on the most minute and pointless challenges. While seemingly like a crazy man, Horatio is a decent person who is loyal to Sewall and does his best to play his part in completing the journey.
Sewall K. Crocker: The straight man and audience surrogate of the film, Sewall is a blue collar everyman who joins Horatio on his journey at first for monetary reasons but later through sharing the trials and experiences of the trip becomes just as passionate about completing the journey. Sewall is a simple and practical man who is very resourceful and is often stumped by Horatio's whimiscal actions. Ideally played by Ron Howard.
Bud: Bud is the faithful canine companion to Horatio and Crocker who is introduced in the middle of the film and becomes a sort of mascot for the adventure and emotional support to help the duo through hard times. He is a very good boy. To be played by a white American Bulldog.
