This was a small-budget independent production from about 1980; I recall seeing it on HBO back when they were only on about 10 hours a day. It was a fictionalized story about Jack Kerouac ("On the Road") and his friend Neal Cassady, and Carolyn, the woman they both loved. Good casting: John Heard ("Cat People") as Jack, Nick Nolte as Neal, Sissy Spacek as Carolyn.

It's Sissy's last line that makes the movie, heard in voice over:

"Jack's weakness was that he believed the world was made by compromises, and Neal's, that he believed the world was destroyed by them. And as for me . . . I think compromises are like dental appointments. You're damned if you make 'em, and damned if you don't."

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-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
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