The best road trip movies of all time

The best road trip movies you need to see

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

“Don’t ‘darling’ me!”

The Australian road trip movie that won an Oscar for Best Costume Design follows three Sydney-based drag queens who take their act across the desert plains of Australia, encountering a plethora of colourful characters along the way.

A silver screen classic, the film spawned a Broadway musical, made stars of its cast including Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and danced its way into the cult-status of Australian cinema.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

“We’ve gotta let Olive be Olive.”

The little indie film that won hearts worldwide, Little Miss Sunshine follows the Hoover family on a US road trip when their quirky daughter, Olive, decides to be in a beauty pageant.

With a stellar cast including Australia’s Toni Collette, as well at Steve Carell, Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin’s breakout role, get ready to laugh and cry as Olive dazzles her way to make this film Oscars gold.

Sideways (2004)

“To open a bottle of '61 Cheval Blanc is enough reason to open a bottle of '61 Cheval Blanc.”

The comedy-drama adapted from the novel follows two former college roommates, now older and somewhat disappointed with the direction their lives have taken, on a road trip through the Californian Wine Country.

Winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Sideways explores themes of ageing, attraction, philosophy, and of course, wine. 

National Lampoon’s Family Vacation (series of films from 1983-1997)

“This is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest. It’s a quest for fun.”

Who didn’t grow up laughing and cringing at the Griswald family and their various holiday escapades?

Headed by their well-meaning but over-zealous family patriarch Clark (Chevy Chase), the family are thrust into crazy situations across the continents - running into hillbilly cousins in their cross-country drive across America (Vacation), language barriers and accidental crime across the EU (European Vacation), or surviving the bright lights of The Strip in Nevada (Vegas Vacation).

It will make surviving your own family road trip seem like a breeze.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

“Somebody said get a life… so they did.”

The film that introduced the world to Brad Pitt needs no introduction. Starring Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the title characters, the two head on a road trip adventure that takes a turn when they become wanted and on the run for a crime committed along the way.

Winning Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, the movie has since been preserved by the US National Film Registry for being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’

The Blues Brothers (1980)

“We’re putting the band back together.”

Part musical, part comedy and 100 per cent star power, the film follows brothers Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Akroyd) on a redeeming road trip across America to save their childhood orphanage.  

Spawning a Billboard Top 20 album with hits like Shake a Tail Feather and Sweet Home Chicago, the cameo-laden classic (including appearances from Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown and Cab Calloway) features one of the most iconic cars on film.

Nomadland (2020)

“I’ll see you down the road.”

The triple-Academy Award winning film, including Best Picture, interweaves acting with real life nomads on a journey across the United States.

Starring Frances McDormand as Fern, the movie is a commentary on the ‘grey nomad,’ those at retirement age who are either thrust into ‘van life’ because of economic circumstances or choose it for the freedom and joy it brings.

Fern, who falls into the former category, is forced into van life, but soon finds camaraderie with those she meets on the road.

Green Book (2018)

“Inspired by a true friendship.”

Another Best Picture winner, this time inspired by a true story set in the American south in 1962.

The film is a road trip that follows an Italian American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) who is hired to drive and protect an African American pianist (Mahershala Ali) on a tour of the deep south in the height of racial intolerance. Facing injustice along the way, the two learn to respect each other and their differences, forming a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

Easy Rider (1969)

“A man went looking for America. And couldn’t find it anywhere…”

A film that eclipsed the counterculture movement of 1960s America, the movie follows two criminal bikies (Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, who also wrote the film with Terry Southern) and the characters and spiritual awareness they experience on their motorbike trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”

Adapted from Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel, the cult hit starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro has polarised audiences since its debut, but nonetheless remains a classic worth a watch.

The story follows a journalist and lawyer who abandon the Mint 400 motorcycle race they are meant to be covering in pursuit of a psychedelic and rollicking good time on the search for the American Dream.