'Dallas 362': Trouble follows buddies along dusty trails

Being the kind of person who relishes a knuckle-mashing, cue stick-swinging bar brawl isn't a prerequisite for enjoying Dallas 362, a buddy and coming-of-age story that marks the directing debut of Scott Caan (son of James Caan). Anyone who knows what it's like to be young, lacking purpose but yearning for something solid should identify.

ThinkFilm 'Dallas 362' B- Director: Scott Caan Starring: Scott Caan, Jeff Goldblum, Shawn Hatosy, Kelly Lynch, Selma Blair Run time: 81 minutes Release date: March 25, 2005 Rating: R for pervasive language, drug use, some violence and sexuality. On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Dallas 362"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

That describes the sturdy "big-time, small-time" duo of Rusty (Shawn Hatosy) and Dallas (Caan), who are still doing in their 20s what they started doing side by side in their teens — drinking, fighting, hustling and killing time.

It's beginning to wear thin for both of them. Rusty's mom, Mary (Kelly Lynch), is pretty tired of picking them up at the lockup or stitching their wounds while they tell how trouble found them though they didn't go looking for it.

They're about to reach their crossroads somewhere in Southern California (where this film's 2003 origins are revealed by an artifact advertising regular gas for $1.55). Dallas is about to take the predictable next step of moving on to burglary. Rusty is coming to his senses with the help of a psychiatrist (Jeff Goldblum at his smooth and easy best) who's sleeping with Mary and somehow avoiding Freudian implications.

If that's all there was to it, Dallas 362, which refers to a mile marker Rusty reads from a Texas-bound bus, might be little more than expletives and shallow scenes following some cool opening credits that set the stage. But it's more, starting with the thoroughly credible friendship established by two guys who don't say much. The bond between them is quickly a given.

Caan (Ocean's Twelve) also wrote the screenplay, but the performances he gets out of his cast are more impressive. He penned the best and deepest role for Hatosy, who projects a quiet determination while making two touch choices. Opting against crime marks Rusty's first split with Dallas. Deciding to follow in the boot prints of the father who died on the rodeo circuit risks alienating his mother.

Ripples from a soundtrack that includes Blues Saraceno, Taj Mahal, the Stooges, Cymande, Queens of the Stone Age and the Von Bondies are underplayed to advantage except during the awkward angst-laden scene when Rusty waits for Dallas to return from pulling a job with somebody known as Ruben the roofer.

There's also a vein of humor that exceeds the profane by adding a touch of sadness. Some of that centers on a nerve-wracked gambling addict (Val Lauren as Christian) who drives a yellow Pinto and has a girlfriend (Selma Blair as Peg) who's nice to him when smoking the right stuff. He triggers a fatal shootout by crashing through a skylight at the feet of a massive bookie (Heavy D as Bear).

Caan, who has proven himself before as an actor, shows here that he's capable of seeing beyond himself and deserves another chance behind the camera.