David Lynch has claimed he favors using classic American cars in his films because they fill the widescreen frame so perfectly. One can see the director’s theory put to the test in “Cinematic Driving Duos Revisited,” a four-and-a-half-minute supercut by movie fan Roman Holiday that samples driving scenes from Lynch’s own Wild At Heart and 146 (!) other films, ranging from 1943’s Adam’s Rib with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn to 2013’s The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Most of the couples you’d expect are here: Thelma & Louise, The Blues Brothers, Cheech & Chong, etc. What is striking about these movie moments is how uniform they are. Nearly all of these shots are taken from the same exact vantage point: smack dab in front of the vehicle, looking across the hood and directly through the windshield at the passenger and driver as they argue, flirt, converse, or simply stare ahead at the road.
The juxtapositions are occasionally enlightening. Mike Myers is a one-man motif in this supercut, for instance. One moment, he’s smiling and clapping next to Tia Carrere in Wayne’s World; the next he’s bored and miserable alongside Nancy Travis in So I Married An Axe Murderer. And then there’s the Austin Powers trilogy, which must have taken place entirely in the British spy’s customized “Shaguar.” For those uninterested in automobiles, the video at least serves as a nice showcase for Mongo Santamaria’s cover version of “Green Onions.”