A cross between an existential European character study and a giddy Hollywood musical, Percy Adlon's desert fantasy introduced the offbeat character actress Marianne Sägebrecht to English-speaking audiences and revitalized the career of Hollywood veteran Jack Palance. Adlon presents his truck stop as a metaphor for the washed-up hopes of those cast aside by America, whether by discrimination and economic hardship (C.C.H. Pounder's caustic Brenda) or by the times (Palance's cowboy/artist relic Rudi). The variety show that brings the motley crew together and affirms their status as an odd extended family would be embarrassing were it not for the film's arid, deadpan humor. Without resorting to the precious, Bagdad Cafe achieves the kind of elation one can get from a great musical.