Variety critic Jessica Kiang reviews "Northbound," a dramedy from director William Scoular starring Bruce Dern as an elderly rebel who enlists his straitlaced grandson to drive him from Arizona to Canada. The review finds the film amiable but formulaic, arguing it prioritises coziness over originality and follows a predictable emotional arc despite a spirited turn from Dern.

Dern plays Arthur, an octogenarian expelled from his care home after a golf-cart escapade, who persuades his grandson Kevin (Hunter Parrish) to drive him roughly 2,000 miles to Canada to reconnect with his ex-wife (Joanna Cassidy) and his struggling whisky distillery, rather than being shipped to another nursing facility. Kevin, unenthused by his law-firm job, agrees, and the pair's cross-generational bickering is enlivened partway through by a deaf hitchhiker, Adrien (Julia Fox); the review also notes supporting cast member Dylan Baker and a screenplay by Ashlin Halfnight, concluding the film is well-meant but ultimately weightless.