Storyline

After Mary (Holly Fields) tells her boyfriend she's pregnant, he immediately enrolls in the Army and skips town, leaving her to fend for herself. With her friends Angie (Julie Bowen) and Laura (Jenny Lewis) along for the ride, Mary steals a car, fakes a kidnapping and heads down to San Diego to chase after her errant beau. It's a bumpy ride, however, as the girls are being chased by corrupt cops and homicidal hillbillies, not to mention their own flabbergasted parents.

Plot Keywords

pregnant teen, friend, boyfriend, mother, father, hillbilly, campy, charming, madcap, united states, highway, suburbia, car, san diego, pregnancy, road trip, friendship, teenage rebellion, car theft, chase, quest, growing up, pursuit, 1950s

Short Review

Enjoyable entry in the Rebel Highway series of TV movies based upon classic AIP juvenile delinquent films. This one was directed by the underrated Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, who also collaborated on "Matinee" which is a nice companion piece to this film in it's mix of nostalgia and commentary on the politics of the time. "Runaway Daughters" revolves around three teen girls who runaway after one of them becomes pregnant to stop the father from jointing the navy to avoid responsibility. There's drive-ins, overbearing parents, greasers and rock n' roll. Most of the a road picture of the girls running into various oddballs along the way. The film is greatly aided by a solid cast, which included Julie Bowen and Paul Rudd in very early roles and Joe Dante alumni Dick Miller, Dee Wallace, Christoper Stone, Robert Picardo, Belinda Balaski, Wendy Schaal, Joe Flaherty, Roger Corman, Fabian, John Astin, Rance Howard, Samuel Z. Arkoff, and Cathy Moriarty. Dante strikes just the right tone for this film, balancing camp and doing a loving recreation of a 60s juvenile delinquent film. This film is probably my second favorite of the Rebel Highway series, though I'd say it's a distant second to Robert Rodriguez' brilliant "Roadracers," still probably one of his best films.

Trailer

Streaming Service

1. Amazon Video : Rent from $1.99, Or $0.00 with a Prime membership

2. Vudu : [SD - Buy: 9.99, Rent: 2.99] [HDX - Rent: 3.99]