The Open Road goes over the hump a bit in the road trip genre and comes out with a solid film with solid performances. Justin Timberlake plays Carlton, a minor-league baseball player whose mother Katherine (Mary Steenburgen) has to get heart surgery but refuses to sign off on it until she is reunited with her ex-husband Kyle (Jeff Bridges) who is also Carlton's father. Along with his ex-girlfriend but still good friend Lucy (Kate Mara), Carlton heads to a baseball signing for Kyle in Ohio and after convincing Kyle to go to the hospital head to the airport. The only problem is Kyle "lost" his wallet and the film follows the trio on a road trip back to the hospital. The film has one too many scenarios and some solutions to problems seem too simple but the cast make them work. Bridges is strong once again but Timberlake shows again in Open Road that he does have acting chops. Even Mara doesn't fall flat in her sometimes underused role. Now with it being Starz, hopefully the film will find the audience it should of found if given a wider release in theaters. **1/2