Homegrown

What a great film. Any movie that can be advertised to look like a CHEECH AND CHONG-type weed comedy and than turn around to be a stone-cold suspenseful drama is automatically an A+ in my grading book.

Billy Bob Thornton is as usual unbelievably good. I am a huge fan of his work, ONE FALSE MOVE is probably one of the most low-scale thrillers in the history of film, a well-written flick which doesn't rely on cheap thrills for quality and leaves out the shocking violent portion of the film until the last scene. His performance in A SIMPLE PLAN should have earned him more than an Oscar nomination, and SLING BLADE was possibly one of the best indie flicks I've ever seen. He is a talented actor/screenwriter/director and brings a great deal of flair to this movie.

Azaria and Philippe bring good supporting roles as well, and Ted Danson is hillarious as a hot-tempered Mafioso. Lithgow has a small role, but brings interesting twists to the film whenever on screen.

All around I was surprised by HOMEGROWN, for originally I expected it to be a comedy on par with HALF BAKED and DAZED AND CONFUSED, while the only comedy intended in the flick is tongue-in-cheek, the best kind of all.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. I tend to like Billy Bob movies and this was no exception. Good cameos by actors, playing roles much different than what we usually see them as. Believable too. I especially liked the community angle of the growers. I also live in a small community and it was funny to see the town stand behind each other the way they did.

The first half hour of "Homegrown" was rather boring and not absorbing, but as the film progressed, so did my interest in the characters and the plot. Several scenes are really scary and you fear for the main characters who you actually grow attached to. The story is about three hired hands on a hidden illegal marijuana farm in southern California. They witness the murder of the farm's owner, Malcolm (John Lithgow), and they take over the weed for their own. The three rather simple-minded farm hands soon get swept up into a scary world of mafia and local interest, while all of the time trying to convince everyone that Malcolm is still alive. While the movie had several faults and a slow beginning, it turned out to be worthwhile. 7/10 stars.

Another example of a really good small film that didn't get the promotion or distribution it deserved. Billy Bob Thornton just gets better and better. This little film about the Northern California Dope Growers, is great. I disagree with the categorization of the film as a comedy. It is more of a drama with moments of comic relief, but it certainly entertains. There are no great life lessons to be taken from it. (well maybe there is one lesson. If you're doing something illegal, it's best not to have a gunfight in the parking lot thus calling attention to yourself) An incredibly good cast, cleverly written and well performed I'd give this one a solid 8.

This is a pretty good movie heavily influenced by John Huston's "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Humphrey Bogart, but original in its content and conflict. It is not so much a comedy as a quirky drama, like Treasure, though its point is not as sharp at the end. You should see Treasure (again) before or after seeing this.