The Open Road

Predictable reconciliation plot with some strong performances by leads Bridges and Timberlake. Kyle Garrett (Bridges) was a baseball superstar and a lousy family man. Retired, Kyle is thrown when his estranged son Carlton (Timberlake) shows up at an Ohio baseball convention to inform his dad that Carlton's mom Katherine (Steenburgen) insists on seeing Kyle before having a risky operation at a Houston hospital. It turns into a road trip--that gives them plenty of time to talk--thanks to Kyle's irresponsibility but director Meredith (whose dad is football legend Don Meredith) doesn't resort to melodrama to get his story across.