End of the Road

Queen Latifah tries her best to hold her family and her film together in End of the Road, but it proves an unreasonable burden for any one person.

This formulaic thriller about a family road trip from hell lacks the subtlety and surprise to develop any deeper rooting interest in the journey or the destination.

The story opens with Brenda (Latifah) loading up her weather-beaten suburban to move from California to Houston with her two intractable teenage children and her wisecracking, weed-smoking younger brother, Reggie (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges).

Widowed and strapped for cash, Brenda crosses the desert with hopes for a fresh start. But her first stop at a desert convenience store leads to a scary run-in with some harassing rednecks.

Things get worse later, when the family’s stay at a seedy motel is interrupted by a possible murder in the next room, and a bag of stolen drug money left behind, which tempts the impulsive Reggie.

That leads to involvement by a grizzled sheriff (Beau Bridges) who warns of cartel activity in the area. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he mutters during the investigation. Moviegoers will be able to relate.

At any rate, Brenda and her family just want to be on their way but keep getting lured back into the maze of strangers with conflicted loyalties and ulterior motives.

End of the Road is a film about good people caught up in a very bad situation, which in this instance describes both the actors and their roles.

Wooden dialogue and stereotypical characters — including a parade of thinly sketched villains and stock periphery scoundrels — lead to some clunky exposition and inhibit much of the intended emotional impact.

Veteran television and music-video director Millicent Shelton keeps the pace lively and captures the rugged rural landscapes with visual flair. However, the screenplay, sprinkled with muddled social commentary about racism and law enforcement, doesn’t generate much suspense.

Brenda’s old-fashioned resilience and determination can only do so much to combat a story that grows progressively more contrived and outrageous as it speeds along. By the time you reach the third car chase, you’ll be seeking an exit ramp.

Rated R, 89 minutes.