The lack of character names in the previous paragraph is not a writerly conceit; the script declines to name them as well, presumably to make them universal symbols of a sort. This is, in its way, a Freudian slip on the part of the film's creative team. Because despite an engaging first hour, eventually the film devolves into a series of events that could generously be called 'archetypal' - and less generously, 'trite.'
Much of this drama stems from the film's addiction plot, which shares equal importance with the estranged-parent one. As is revealed in snippets of conversation in the first third of the movie, Father is driving Daughter to 'go visit an artist friend' (i.e., rehab) in the wake of her near-death by overdose the night before. This takes them on a trip through the American Southwest, where they encounter a series of quirky characters - a magical sex worker who wants to become a Broadway playwright, a tow-truck driver who moonlights as an astrologer - on the road to healing.
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