Sisters Go on Treasure Hunt in a Contrived ‘Cadillac’

There’s not a whiff of reality in “Cadillac Ranch,” in which three adult sisters find themselves on the run while off to hunt for ill-gotten treasure hidden by their ne’er-do-well, long-absent father (Jim Metzler) some 20 years earlier.

The title of this overly contrived and under-inspired comedy-adventure comes from 10 vintage Cadillacs buried fins up on a Texas field alongside old Route 66; you can figure out for yourself where the treasure might be secreted.

Suzy Amis stars as the eldest sister, a stripper with a reckless, wild streak, and the youngest is played by Renee Humphrey, a soon-to-be bride and brand-new lawyer. Humphrey incredibly agrees to help her eldest sister in opening up the safe of Amis’ employer (Christopher Lloyd), who conveniently happens to be the film’s bad guy. Amazingly, the seemingly more sane middle sister (Caroleen Feeney) joins in, but then she has already agreed, albeit reluctantly, to her younger sister’s pleading that she ante up half the $2,500 bail for their elder sister, who has been jailed for breaking and entering and who has been out of touch with her family for years.

These actresses try hard to breathe some life into what is no more than a string of cliches, drawn from a zillion other movies, but they’re done in by Jennifer Cecil’s lousy script and get little help from director Lisa Gottlieb, who seems to encourage them in distractingly phony Texas drawls. Lloyd and Linden Ashby, who plays a hunky gas station attendant/poet, fare no better than the women. Those Cadillacs may qualify as junk sculpture, but this picture is just a piece of junk.

* MPAA rating: R, for some language and nudity. Times guidelines: The film’s language and brief bits of nudity in a go-go club are mild, but its overall amoral tone is unsuitable for youngsters.

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‘Cadillac Ranch’

Suzy Amis: CJ Crowley

Renee Humphrey: Mary Katherine Crowley

Caroleen Feeney: Frances Crowley

Christopher Lloyd: Wood Grimes

A BMG Independents release in association with Legacy Releasing of a Davis Entertainment Classics & Water Street Pictures presentation of a J. Todd Harris/Water Street Pictures production. Director Lisa Gottlieb. Producers Harris and Harvey Kahn. Executive producers John Davis & Stephen Nemeth and Robert William Landaas & Chip Duncan. Screenplay by Jennifer Cecil. Cinematographer Bruce Douglas Johnson. Editor Dan Loewenthal. Costumes Kari Perkins. Music Christopher Tyng. Production designer John Huke. Art director Randy Huke. Set decorator Sally Nicolaou. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes.

* At selected theaters in Los Angeles and Orange counties.