MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SPACE TRUCKERS (1996)
Guys, don’t be mad—but I had no idea ‘trucker movies’ were a thing! I always lumped films like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) into the more generic genre, ‘road movies,’ but there’s something special that trucking movies are doing in particular that set themselves apart from the average journey of So-and-so traveling to Such-and-such for reasons. Most of these trucker movies are about getting something from point ‘A’ to point ‘B,’ with plenty of hijinks and surprises to keep things interesting. I find focusing on the object(s) being transported over the characters themselves to be interesting. Let me be clear, the overwhelming majority of stories where people are traveling for any reason is to showcase how those characters are changed by their trip/mission/objective/whatever.
But there’s something about how the material products being delivered in trucking movies are so central to the plot, typically acting as the incentive that gets the rest of the narrative ball rolling. Reminds me of Westerns that make cattle drives the main accelerator of the narrative, like THE COWBOYS (1972). These kinds of movies, whether they be about rough-necked cowfolk or highway men, always bring up themes of independence and individuality. Then, of course, you can’t forget about the consumerism of it all. These themes really give you something to chew on, even when you’re watching something as corny (and I don’t mean that in a bad way) as Stuart Gordon’s 1996 movie, SPACE TRUCKERS.
The filmopens with a demonstration of some wicked killer robots for a real sadist (and the second most evil man in this movie) E. J. Saggs, the CEO of what is only ever referred to as The Company. Saggs wants these tin men in order to take over Earth, and goes so far as to turn against Nabel, the inventor of the machines (and first most evil man) by ordering the robots to kill him. Cut to a remote truck stop in the middle of space where the film's hero, John Canyon (yes, that’s his name, really) is rolling into after hauling a bunch of square hogs (that is, hogs that are cubic in shape). John, the last remaining independent trucker, stops by a diner to flirt with the waitress Cindy No-last-name-given after getting into it with Keller, the man who gave him the hog job (crazy string of words I just wrote, I know), after delivering the cargo late. To Mr. Canyon’s shock and horror, she’s already being chatted up by Mike Pucci, the younger and less experienced foil to John’s grizzled highwayman character. All hell breaks loose after a fight ensues and Keller is accidentally sucked into the vastness of space.
John, Mike (for some reason), and Cindy escape arrest by accepting a job to haul what they believe to be a bunch of sex dolls to Earth. Spoiler alert; they’re not sex dolls (it’s the killer bots). After taking off into the cosmos, the trio is picked up by space pirates who are captained by none other than Dr. Nabel who is now a cyborg going by Macanudo. I would say we’ve jumped the shark, but there are no sharks in space. The robots start to activate after the pirates begin to pilfer the cargo. In the calamity, John, Cindy, and Mike all escape back onto John’s beloved Pachyderm 2000rig that’s still packed with mechanized soldiers. In a display of sacrifice fit for a hero, John urges Mike and Cindy to take an escape pod as his truck hurls into Earth’s atmosphere, disintegrating the remaining robots before the whole cabin explodes. John escapes the explosion (because of course he does, he’s the protagonist in a cheesy sci-fi, goddammit) and the crew are touted as heroes. Saggs makes his reintroduction at the eleventh hour of this film, attempting to pay off the trio so they don’t go blabbing about who exactly was responsible for these evil ass machines. Mike throws the briefcase full of cash through a window (not out of, but through, like this man shatters the glass and everything, it’s actually pretty funny). Surprise! The brief case had a bomb in it that Saggs detonates the second it lands on his car, killing him instantly. My favorite part about the ending is that none of the main characters really celebrate Saggs’ death, they’re genuinely shocked and kind of horrified because they had no idea they were about to be assassinated. Uncharacteristically realistic for a movie as unserious as this.
When it comes down to the viewing experience, SPACE TRUCKERS was a lot of fun. This isn’t some serious cinema that requires multiple watches to appreciate the writing and nuance. It’s a silly movie about three unlikely heroes saving the planet from a robot invasion. Not to mention the film is gorgeous, and I mean that unironically. I hate that specific brand of sci-fi aesthetic that’s super angular and chic, it’s just so boring. But the settings in SPACE TRUCKERS border on maximalistic. Every set is filled with details that give the viewer an idea of what life is like as a space trucker. Something I found especially charming was how the diner Cindy works at curves upwards, the patrons and staff alike keeping themselves planted on the floor through the use of magnetic soles. The way characters were styled was also fascinating. Instead of leaning into the futurism of it all, a lot of folks were dressed relatively normal for what you’d expect at an American-coded space station catered towards intergalactic truckers. There were deviations from this (of course), Cindy easily had the most interesting style out of all the characters, and there were extras in both the pirate ship and at the station who were wearing their finest futuristic garb. Visually, SPACE TRUCKERS checks every box for me and I would confidently say that even if the story isn’t to your standards as a Very Serious Cinema Person, you won’t be bored watching this movie.
It wasn’t all goofs, though. John’s character was surprisingly balanced with him having the rough edges you’d expect from a tried and true trucker with the ability to think with a shocking amount of nuance and empathy (especially compared to when the audience first meets him). In many ways, John’s the poster boy for independent men who march to the beat of their own drum, but he doesn’t embody individualism the way other characters like him do. He’s a man of the people, for the people, and Dennis Hopper’s performance as Canyon makes SPACE TRUCKERS worth watching on its own. This movie is a blast and a half, and I hope you give it a chance if you haven’t seen it yet.
