10 MPH - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The documentary received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80 percent of five professional critics have given the documentary a positive review, with a rating average of 7.4 out of 10. As of January 2010, the Internet Movie Database, reports a score of 6.7/10.

In Wired Magazine, Dylan Tweney wrote that 10 MPH “...is about more than just a couple of geeks with their high-tech toy: It's lighthearted and entertaining, with an overarching message about accomplishing your dreams and doing your ‘thing.’” Jeff Inglis of the Boston Phoenix compared it with other accounts of American road trips, writing; “What Caldwell and Weeks have made is a road movie, in the tradition, perhaps, of Charles Kuralt’s “On the Road” reports for CBS News, or maybe more like William Least Heat-Moon’s backroads peregrinations in Blue Highways.”

The documentary also received praise in the West Seattle Herald, where Bruce Bulloch called Caldwell and Weeks “savvy storytellers” and applauded 10 MPH for being a “witty counterpoint to the hyped-up rhythms of American life.” Bulloch further commented of 10 MPH, that despite its slow tempo “ has a seductive vitality about it – the last fit of reckless abandon of a disappearing youth.” Noting that while the popularity of documentaries has risen in recent years; “They're generally politically charged forays into the troubling issues of our times. ‘10 MPH’ heads off in another direction, taking us, regardless of age, on a sentimental journey to the cusp of adulthood when a sense of adventure was still an important virtue.”

Of a more critical opinion, where The Christian Science Monitor, which commented, “The duo's hook for a movie is to document their gimmicky journey from Seattle to Boston on a Segway scooter. We never truly get inside the heads of these unlikely pioneers but scenic photography and lively side characters make for a diverting trip.” On a similar note, Lisa Kennedy of the Denver Post, reflected that “The narration can be a tad earnest. The aesthetic is decidedly DIY. Still, "10 mph," with its wit, beckoning shots of splendid landscapes, and impromptu interviews, might have you humming Woody Guthrie, This land is your land, this land is my land.”

In a favorable review in the Boise Weekly, Travis Estvold wrote “Though piloting a Segway seems a bit gimmicky, it does what the filmmakers probably intended: It attracts plenty of attention. But it also does something that may not have been intentional: The voyage of the battery-powered machine takes a backseat to the personalities of the filmmakers and the characters they meet along the way.” In the review Estvold complemented the documentary makers for somehow capturing “every cross section of Americana as they ever-so-slowly wound their way from the home of the Space Needle to the city of Fenway Park.”

In an article on upcoming releases in 2007, the Boston Globe mentioned 10 MPH, calling it an “..amusingly offbeat documentary.” In the Idaho Statesman, Chad Dryden remarked; “10 MPH succeeds on many levels. For one, it’s a terrific American travelogue, taking the viewer through small-town charm, purple mountain majesty and the big city’s vibrating pulse. More importantly, it’s an inspiring story about cutting through the stagnancy of 21st-century life to follow your dreams.”

Calling the documentary “Charming and maddening”, Jordan Harper raised concerns with the main concepts of 10 MPH, writing in the Dallas Observer, “...for good and ill: The American dream has been determined, and that dream is to become famous not for talent or beauty, but simply for doing something peculiar; if you can't be the American Idol, be one of those jackasses from the auditions. The guys seem nice enough, and there are plenty of sweet slices of Americana, so you might find yourself torn. It's hard not to be drawn in by the film's good-natured vibe, but there's no getting around the urge to smack these guys and tell them to make their next movie about anything except themselves.”