Ever had one of those stuffy cubicle jobs where you do the same mundane tasks over and over (think about the movie "Office Space")?
It seems people will go to great lengths to cure boredom. Josh Caldwell and Hunter Weeks are two prime examples of just how far someone might be willing to go to break out of their routine.
The two friends quit their corporate jobs to travel across the country — going 10 miles per hour.
Caldwell rode a Segway, a two-wheeled scooter you stand on, from Seattle to Boston. Weeks followed behind at the same speed in a car to film the trip and to tell what turns out to be a truly moving story.
"10 MPH" tugs at the heart of traditional American values.
It might be true that it's no longer easy to hitchhike across the country and start a new life, but that is essentially what Caldwell and Weeks do. Audiences will enjoy the pioneer spirit that is central to the film.
The organization of the documentary works well with the story it sets out to tell.
Viewers who need to brush up on their geography are provided with a map as the team enters each new state. This allows the actual distance traveled to remain in the forefront of the story.
Viewers get a chance to see the country from a very different perspective than they might be accustomed.
At the beginning of the film, the views from a car window at 10 mph and at 60 mph are juxtaposed next to each other to show how different the experience is at a slower speed.
The documentary takes viewers down the less traveled paths. Audiences might change their opinions about states such as Kansas, which are often thought of as boring.
Although the focus of the documentary is the distance a person can travel on a Segway, it brings other things into the background. "10 MPH" examines the everyday people of our country.
In each state, a different group of people is featured.
These chance meetings along the way are what really give the film its inspirational quality.
Check out "10 MPH" at the East Lansing Film Festival at 2 p.m. March 26 — even if your life's goal is to have a corporate job.
The screening of "10 MPH" at the East Lansing Film Festival is the world premiere of the film. For more information, visit www.10mph.com.
