As frequent travelers, AAA professionals know how a setting and overall aesthetic can leave an impression. Check out the top five film choices, ranging from road trip comedies to films based on travel books. The following movies received multiple recommendations and are listed in alphanumeric order:
• “The Bucket List,” directed and produced by Rob Reiner, is one part buddy comedy and one part drama written by Justin Zackham. Starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, the 2007 movie follows two terminally ill men who are on a quest to fulfill their bucket list of things to do.
• “National Lampoon's Vacation,” directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes, is based on a short story Hughes did for National Lampoon magazine movie about a cross-country road trip gone awry. Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo and Imogene Coca, the 1983 film follows the Griswold family traveling from Chicago to Walley World theme park in California.
• “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” inspired by the 1939 short story by James Thurber, tells the story of a man daydreaming of adventure. The 1947 movie is directed by Norman Z. McLeod and stars Danny Kaye. Ben Stiller directed, co-produced and starred in the most recent version, which was written by Steve Conrad and released in 2013.
• “Under the Tuscan Sun” brings Frances Mayes memoir—wherein she buys and then restores a villa in the Tuscany region of Italy—to life in the 2003 film of the same name. The romantic travel comedy was directed, produced and written by Audrey Wells and stars Diane Lane and Sandra Oh.
• “Wild,” is based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” which details Strayed's 1995 hike and inner journey on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which runs from the Mojave Desert near the U.S.-Mexico border toward Washington and the U.S.-Canada border. The 2014 film is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, written by Nick Hornsby, and stars Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.