WHAT THE PRESS HAS BEEN SAYING:
"Writer and star Josh Alexander is tuned into what his fellow late twenty and thirty somethings want to see, a kind of pulpy road pic with pop culture hipness galore. At times, purposely pretentious and other times dead on, "Backseat" is the kind of movie that will resonate with the somewhat forgotten Generation X. A moody soundtrack and good performances make this the kind of raw indie that ought to catch audience attention and hold it in place."
- Jonathan Hickman, Entertainment Today

".....Toss in a faithless girlfriend, a brick of cocaine, a tightly wound cousin, a stripper, and a guy who communicates only through the Web and you have some of the ingredients that give narrative spice to Backseat. But the heart and the pleasure of this movie reside in the conversations and in the moments in which nothing happens, or in th e off-kilter way that things happen when they do happen. Co-star and screenwriter Alexander has delightfully tapped into the realities that lie just this side of absurdity."
- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

"Backseat is the definitive road movie for the slacker generation. Wonderfully uncoventional and unstyled, Ben and Colton discusss everything from girls and drugs, to poststructuralist philosophy on their journey. Brilliantly written and brought to the screen, Backseat is a discovery for geeks and slackers everywhere."
- "Stadtpark", dein Oldenburger stadtmagazin, Germany

"There's an authenticity to the unexpressed emotions underlying the often-awkward exchanges and silences between these two newcomers that will likely resonate with arthouse auds… To be sure, slapstick misadventures ensue, but there's a sweetness and vulnerability beneath the surface of the boys' sometimes-blue bantering. "I might be crude, but at least I'm original," Colton points out to Ben. The same might be said for the modest movie that the actor who plays him has written and produced."
- Chad Greene, Box Office Magazine

"Culturally falling somewhere between "Sideways" and "Dumb and Dumber… "
- Variety

"Sideways: The Extra Funny Version Without the Wine Metaphors.....{and} what's most surprising about this "freshman" effort by Alexander, is how effortless it all appears. Alexander's humor is derived from a very real knack for comedy coupled with an equally acute understanding of his audience, so Backseat ends up a truly memorable, funny...yes...Guy Road Trip Movie."
- Laura Kyle, efilmcritic.com

"Alexander nails the pre-midlife crises of guys in their early 30s who find it hard to leave their youth behind… Bruce van Dusen's direction is nicely paced and appropriately character focused… and Alexander has a lively and clever writing style…. it’s a pleasant ride."
- D. Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

"… it sounds like Sideways – and in some ways it does resemble it, however this movie has it’s own charm and originality. Also you will be amazed at the great photography, the acting quality and how easily the movie will make you smile. I’m giving this film ‘FOUR BOXES’ OF POPCORN. (highest rating) ‘trademarked’."
- Lee Hartgrove, beyondchron.org

"… a combination of offbeat comedy and pseudo-realistic documentary — recalls such guys-on-the-road flicks as "Sideways" and "Swingers."
- Greg M. Schwartz, Jewish Bulletin

"Aside from the strange characters they meet along the way, a drug smuggling subplot, and one excellent, heavily armed confrontation, the film is not unlike a road trip you may have experienced yourself… and Backseat more often than not captures the kind of energy absent in movies that take months to film…. For a movie that bills itself as a "coming of age late" story, Backseat is almost defiantly ageless." - Jennifer Rice, Columbia Spectator


"… as a paranoid nerd and his mute text-messaging chum, Mark Rosenthal and Will Janowitz streak through the movie like off-brand bottle rockets." - Jim Ridley, The Village Voice


"… follows two guys in their late 20s who find themselves in the familiar vortex of prolonged adolescence.... But what perhaps sets the film apart from others of a similar bent, say Old School, is its aim to portray these men as more than cartoonish variations on the Overgrown Doofus model." - Jeef Berr, Creativity Online


"It's a better film than its synopsis would suggest, thanks to dialogue that finds a sense of itself even as the conversations that veer into abstract places, meaningless complaints and bizarre side trips. Van Dusen wisely underplays the kookiness and the punch lines, making it merely another part of their directionless lives, and Bogue and Alexander settle into their characters to make fine company for the trip... "Backseat" satisfies itself with small observations and minor breakthroughs of self-awareness. In the scheme of their lives, this journey is just a speed bump, jolting them awake for a brief moment. The rest is up to them."
- Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"...the combination of good acting, a clever soundtrack, sharp dialogue, and unexpected situations make this crew one to watch."
- Rise Keller, moviehabit.com, Denver

"Highlight of the festival was the charming road movie „Backseat”, whose director Bruce van Dusen returned to the helm after twenty years of absence. The refreshing aspect of this most amusing mixture of „Clerks “and “Sideways “ is its ensemble of late twenties, who look actually like normal humans – sedate, oblique, loveable. The story of two young actors, who make their way to Canada with an old rust bucket, to meet Donald Sutherland and ask him for a job in a film, is underpinned by a snappy Indierock Soundtrack and wonderful off-key dialogues about drugs, sex and French philosophy."
- "Der Schnitt", Germany

"Small, fine Indie gem laden with quiet humour about two guys nearing the end their twenties on a long journey; smart writing and great acting."
- "Nordwest Zeitung", Germany