‘Gasoline Rainbow’ Review – Road Trip Tale Is An Ode To Adventure, Community & Self-Discovery

The siren call of the open road leads to a group of teens fleeing their small Oregon town under cover of night to have one last adventure together before the real world begins to pull them in separate directions. The Ross Brothers’ latest film, Gasoline Rainbow, is not just a coming-of-age film; it’s a journey into the universal themes of restlessness, wanderlust, and the uncertainty of the world. It’s a funny, sometimes cynical, film about misfits pondering their futures as they party by campfires and drive down moonlit roads with their hair blowing in the breeze and their favorite songs blaring from the radio. While the film doesn’t add anything new to the ‘life-changing road trip’ trope prevalent within the young adult genre, it’s a lovely ode to the period in life during which the real world seems full of possibilities and paralyzingly scary.

Our heroes, Tony (Tony Aburto), Nichole (Nichole Dukes), Makai (Makai Garza), Micah (Micah Bunch), and Nathaly (Nathaly Garcia), are determined to travel 500 miles to the Pacific Coast in a friend’s old, beat-up van. The film gives us quick snippets of the kids’ various issues, such as being the only Black kid in a small, predominantly white town, dealing with the fallout of a relative being deported, and the upheaval it has caused within the family, and acting as a parent to younger siblings because actual parental figures are largely absent.

The relatable and common thread that unites them is that they all feel like outsiders and weirdos. While the trip is primarily their last hurrah, it’s also a quest to find other misfits like them. A reassurance that even if they drift apart, plenty of others like them are eager and waiting to welcome them. One cannot praise the vulnerability and talent of these young actors enough. Their chemistry is palpable, and viewers get the genuine sense that they are individuals who have known each other for a long time. The film sidesteps interpersonal drama within the group dynamics to focus on the external factors and concerns hanging over the character’s heads. It’s genuinely them against the world.

The film’s inclusion of voiceover of the characters theorizing on life and their futures is used to perfection here in that they are peppered throughout the movie without overwhelming the narrative. The film leaves plenty of space for the characters to reveal things about themselves in conversations rather than essential things about them being revealed through voiceover.

Gasoline Rainbow is a bit of a love letter to Gen Z, a generation coming of age during a turbulent time when things seem worse than ever. The young characters’ restlessness and wanderlust are in part due to the uncertainty of the world itself. The Ross Brothers allow the actors to improvise scenes and use their actual names for their characters. This blurring of fact and fiction will resonate with viewers on a deeper level and endear the film’s characters to them even more. Yes, these are actors, but they’re speaking about their real-world concerns, fears, and issues. The film isn’t without hope, as the people the group encounters along their journey are kind and accepting and impart wisdom when needed. It adds much-needed hope to a film that would otherwise be bogged down with depressing ruminations and voiceovers about the uncertainty of life and the character’s places in the world.

Gasoline Rainbow is a coming-of-age film that is enjoyable, emotional, and grounded in the harsh reality of today. It’s a love letter to anyone and everyone who has ever felt unseen, lost, and a little weird. It’s a reminder that even the most wayward of souls deserve community and a home.

Gasoline Rainbow is currently playing in select theaters and is available to stream on MUBI.