This dynamic Jonathan Demme comedy, set during the time of the Citizens Band radio craze of the 1970s, interweaves the different stories of several characters in a small town. At the center is Paul Le Mat, a CB vigilante named Spider who incurs his wrath on anyone who misuses the airwaves--his chief beef being his unnatural attachment to his father, Papa Thermodyne (Roberts Blossom), who becomes decent and kind only when he is sitting at Spider's microphone. Other characters include a small-time prostitute on wheels and a cattle-truck-driving bigamist (Charles Napier), known by the handle name Chrome Angel, whose two wives unwittingly discover each other when he has an accident. The movie uses the CB trend as a metaphor for lack of direct human communication, alternating between darkly comic and poignant moments. Demme has created another insightful and illuminating character-driven slice of Americana that is made complete with down-to-earth hipness and hard-edged goodwill.