Earl (Breakdown)

"Sure whish I've been there, see the look on your face when your car ceased up on ya! Maybe next time you'll learn: Don't leave your hood open when you go in the store."

- Earl boasting to Jeff about tampering with his Jeep's Elecrtic cords.

Earl is the secondary villain from the 1997 Thriller Breakdown.

He was portrayed by M.C Gainey, who also played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from Dukes of Hazzard, Al from Are We There Yet?, and Hoyt from Stolen.

Biography
While Jeffery and Amy Taylor are traveling through the Grand Canyon from Boston to California in thier brand new Jeep, a beat up truck (owned by Earl) cuts them off just as Jeff was grabbing for something in his Jeep. When the couple stops at a near by gas station Earl confronts Jeff and complements on his new Car. Jeff responded that Earl's truck is what he really needs in the desert. Earl questions on why would he want a beat up pickup when he's got a ride like his Jeep. He even states that what a man needs out in the desert is a CB radio and ofcorse to run a CB radio is a handle. He thinks for Jeff 'Shit for Brains'. He then rants about Jeff almost rear ending his truck, though Jeff states that he pulled in right infront of him. Jeff concludes that he's sorry it evee happened and wishes for no trouble. Earl walks away and confronts Jeff's wife Amy, stating that she need's to be more carefull who she rides with in the future. After buying a six pack from the gas station store, he stands and watches the couple drive off.

Little did the couple knew that Earl was a accumpus of 3 other men who had just targeted the couple in a scheme which would later become a struggle of a life and death situation. No sooner does Jeff and Amy get back on the highway, then the Jeep unexpectedly breaks down on a lonly part of the road. Seconds later Earl races through, blowimg the horn and sounding his truck's loud exhaust. A couple miles later up a hill, he pulls around and watches the couple who takes notice but didn't take the matter seriously. A 18 wheeler arives (drivin by Earl's boss Warren Red Bar, who's the main villain in the film), and Earl drives away.

Sometime later after getting his Jeep running again and realizing something terrible happened to Amy, Jeff races to the scene of a river entrance (told by Billy another right hand man of Bar) in which Amy was taken, only to be confronted by Earl again who cuts off Jeff who was turning around back to town, and pointing a rifle at him. Jeff runs the Jeep into the gate and Earl starts chasing him. Jeff eventually lost his pursuer by driving the Jeep into the River. Earl then starts shooting at Jeff who escaped down the River. Earl and another accumpus (Al) starts towing the Jeep out of the river not knowing that Jeff was watching nearby behind some rocks. Billy then sneaks up behind Jeff and hits him in the head with a shotgun, knocking Jeff out cold.

Jeff is now inside the trunk of Billy's car who reveals to Jeff about his wife being a hostage and giving them a amount of money from their banking account. Billy states that Amy gave a exact dollar amount and he wants the same number from Jeff. Jeff began to hesitate and pushed Earl's temper who said Amy was lying to save herself. He points a gun at Jeffs face who screams out the dollar amount: $90,000. Earl then calms and demands Jeff to crawl out of the car trunk. The man behind all this is non other than Bar (who gave Amy a ride to call a tow truck for their Jeep that broke down) who wants Jeff's $90,000 in exchange for Amy. Jeff wants to know if Amy is safe but gets hit in the back from Earl's gun. Bar tells him that Billy just called in a accident on the interstate for the Sheriff of nearby town Braket to take car off. Bar notes that it will take about 20 minutes for him to drive to the interstate, with 10 minutes to see that there is no accident, and another 20 minutes to get back to town which altogether equals 50 minutes; the same amount of time for Jeff to get the $90,000. He even warns Jeff that he and his men will be watching his every move, and if Jeff calls in the callvery such as a unmarked police car, a plane, or anyone who's looks like a cop, he'll kill Amy and send pieces of her from time to time, and Jeff can keep his money.

Jeff eventually gets the money (but not the exact $90,000; instead he used money ribbons to pack stacks of $1 bills between two $100 bills), and bar tells him to start walking out of town and get in the first car that stops. Earl picks him up and binds him with duct tape. Earl begins gloating about how Jeff and his wife were easy targets, how he tampered with their Jeep and that his group intends to kill them anyway. Jeff cuts himself free with the letter opener and stabs Earl. After a brief struggle, Jeff takes over the vehicle, binds Earl, and forces him to reveal his rendezvous with Red at a local truck stop. They pass the town' sherrif, who sees the speeding, swerving pickup and stops the vehicle. When Jeff exits the truck with Earl's gun, the sheriff mistakes the situation and forces him to lie down. Earl frees himself and shoots the sheriff with a concealed gun. Before Earl can shoot Jeff, a wounded sheriff shoots and kills him. Jeff uses Boyd's radio to call for an ambulance and rushes to the truck stop.