Okay, Hear Me Out: Maximum Overdrive is Actually a Rom-Com (Sort Of)

Okay, so I know what you're thinking: Lauren, you're obsessed with rom-coms and now you're seeing them where they CLEARLY don't exist. But hear me out! "Maximum Overdrive" is… well, it's a MESS. But underneath all the killer trucks and Emilio Estevez's bewildered face, I think there's a REALLY weird, twisted little romance happening. And no, not between him and the 'Dixie Boy' truck stop. Think about it: Bill Robinson (Estevez) and Wanda June (the parolee). They're thrown into this insane situation together. They have to rely on each other to survive, facing down sentient soda machines and that terrifying goblin-faced Mack truck. Isn't that, like, the basic premise of a disaster rom-com? They start as strangers (okay, ONE of them is technically a prisoner) thrust into extreme circumstances. They bicker, they scheme, they fight for their lives together. And sure, instead of a meet-cute, they have a near-death experience involving a knife-wielding electric carving knife. But the connection! The tension! When they finally blow up the trucks in space (don't ask, just watch the movie), you can practically FEEL the unspoken 'I couldn't have survived this without you' vibes. Plus, there's that classic 'opposites attract' trope. Bill is a down-on-his-luck short order cook. Wanda June is…well, she's a Wanda June. What I'm saying is, she seems like a hardened criminal with a penchant for using her... um... 'feminine wiles' (as they probably said back then!), but in the end, she is willing to put herself out there to help save the other survivors. In a way, she reminds me of Sandra Bullock in "The Net" – underappreciated women who rise to the occasion. The way that they look at each other at the end... I'm convinced if the machines hadn't taken over the world, they'd have ended up running away together and opening a diner filled with bot-free blenders. Okay, maybe I'm reaching. But come on! A homicidal truck stop siege IS kind of a unique first date, right? Just me? FINE. I still think Stephen King unintentionally wrote the most bizarre, blood-soaked rom-com of all time. And I'm here for it. Thoughts?