In the 1969 classic road movie Easy Rider, Wyatt (Peter Fonda) dies after a gunman shoots his chopper’s gas tank — causing the motorcycle to evaporate in a fiery explosion that kills the rider instantly. Yet if the new Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl commercial filmed by Joel and Ethan Coen of The Big Lebowski and Fargo fame is any indication, maybe Wyatt didn’t die after all. Maybe he managed to escape with his and and Billy’s (Dennis Hopper) big score, retire and invest his drug money in something nice.
After all, according to the iteration of Wyatt seen at the end of the ad, he’s driving a brand new Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster that experts assume will exceed $112,125 in market cost. Then again the Coen Brothers’ “Easy Driver” commercial is less about Wyatt’s new ride and more about the colorful characters who populate the biker bar where it takes place. Grizzly riders of all shapes and sizes who, as indicated by the gentleman requiring his reading glasses before selecting Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” on the jukebox, are getting old.
Judging by the high number of odd, endearing characters the Coens manage to squeeze into the minute-long commercial, their upcoming Western miniseries will probably be just as fun. Of course, considering the genre and the time period, Mercedes-Benz likely won’t be a feature.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
