Daltry Calhoun
In small town Tennessee, a ne'er-do-well man (Knoxville) wrestling for control over his fading golf club is reunited with his estranged daughter, a 14-year-old musical prodigy.
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- Cast:
- Johnny Knoxville , Elizabeth Banks , Juliette Lewis , David Koechner , Kick Gurry , Beth Grant , Sophie Traub
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Reviews
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Don't Believe the Hype
Absolutely the worst movie.
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Katrina Holden Bronson, daughter of actor Charles Bronson, wrote and directed this unbearable hick comedy about a good ol' boy sod & seed salesman in Tennessee named Daltry Calhoun, whose TV commercials--with their tag line, "Get high on grass--the legal kind!"--have made him a local icon; unfortunately, strange spurts of growth on Calhoun's own land are causing him business problems, while his ex-girlfriend and their illegitimate teenage daughter, down on their luck, have moved themselves into the main house. Sorry film is just a bushel of half-baked, half-finished comic scenes, leaving some good actors stranded and top production values wasted. Quentin Tarantino served as co-executive producer, perhaps without getting a good look at Bronson's tatty script, which is rife with Sophie Traub's 'wise' narration in an attempt to plug up the holes. Bronson has a good ear for soundtrack selections, and Juliette Lewis tries to liven things up as a store clerk with the hots for Johnny Knoxville's Daltry, but end results are forced and fatuous. NO STARS from ****
...which was not nearly as funny as it (the ringer) could have been. But I, unlike some, enjoy when actors come out of their shell. Also, what is wrong with having a movie that just has heart. I am not a simpering watery eyed girlie man but i like "its a wonderful life", and every now and again i like to watch a movie that doesn't require a whole lot of effort and just leaves you feeling good. Secondly I would like to point out that Johnny Knoxville is showing his range and that one day people will tire of jackass (of which I am a big fan) and he will fade away unless he strives to break out into other roles. As for Juliette Lewis, who has amazing range(Natural Born Killers to The Other Sister) I totally believed her character. I have met people like that in the South and in California where I am from.We have become so used to sophomoric comedy and explosions that we fail to recognize a good movie that just leaves you with a smile.
Johnny Knoxville gets slammed for his acting, and it would be fair to say he isn't the best actor in the world, nor is he ever likely to be - this coming from someone who is a massive fan of his. But this film proves, certainly more than the 'actually better than it should be' Dukes of Hazzard that he can actually act.This movie didn't do much for me on the first viewing - Which doesn't sound like much of a recommendation - but I would urge people to give it a chance. I found with each subsequent viewing, it just gets better and better. Everyone is the cast, from Knoxville to the supporting cast members, plays their parts brilliantly and makes their characters believable. For me, Knoxville really shines when in his scenes with Sophie Traub who plays June. There is a very endearing awkwardness to his character and he is very likable in this role. The other actors - especially the aforementioned Traub and the criminally underrated Juliette Lewis help to round out a solid cast. I would say that there do seem to be rather too many plot threads going on at one time, and perhaps the film would benefit from a few of them being trimmed and the film just concentrating on Daltry and June's relationship, but other than that, this film is actually well worth your time and effort to watch.This isn't the best film in the world, nor is it ever likely to become so, but if you just want to see a sweet, well acted 'Sunday afternoon' type movie then give it a chance. Not every film has to be 'The Godfather', not every film has to change your life or make a difference. Sometimes all you want is to be entertained, and this film certainly does that.
Not much going on with this movie. The movie lacks substance, direction and people that can act. There were many directions this movie could have gone but it didn't take on any real direction at all. I believe it could have been a real "feel good" type of flick but after it was over I didn't feel anything. Without Sophie Traub's performance as June, this movie wouldn't rank more than a 1 but because she did bring some character to it I gave it a 3. Knoxville's performance was disappointing especially after recently viewing him in Ringer.