Montana Amazon

But it's right up there. Terrible from beginning to end.

I loved this movie. First and foremost for the acting of such original characters. Also, the look of the film is rich because of the locations and even the costumes. The amazing Olympia Dukakis as I've never seen her before--unforgettable. It's not a spoiler to say that Olympia has almost no lines; everything is done with grunts, looks and screams. All the acting is uniformly memorable, with a sexy and breakout performance from Alison Brie, and a surprisingly touching one from Haley Osment. The score and songs were energetic and fun, but never too dominant. An added plus is a very funny and gently ironic narration done by Phil Proctor, of Firesign Theatre fame.

A crazed grandmother on the lam with two teenagers. Other reviews summarize, so I won't repeat. This film is kind of a grab-bag of treats. Really good performances; you've never seen Olympia Dukakis like this. Alison Brie is sexy and hilarious as a kind of over-grown backwoods Lolita. Haley Joel Osment is genuinely touching, all grown up now. I don't usually like narration, but the narration in this was actually helpful and funny. The voice sounded familiar and as the tail credits rolled, I learned that it was the venerable Phil Proctor from the old Firesign Theatre. The movie kind of left me speechless at the end, it was so weird, unusual and touching. And very funny in many ways.

I randomly came across this movie one day. After seeing who's in it and reading the reviews here (8/10!!?) I thought I'd try it out. I'm still dumbfounded this exists. The performances are.... ok given what the actors probably had to work with. How this ever got billed as a comedy, I'll never know. Plucky music behind a scene doesn't make it comedy. Full of mental illness and murder, it felt like some bizarro world fear and loathing. Like a train wreck, i couldn't look away.

When a movie continues to rattle around in my thoughts for days after I've watched it, I know it's given me something to chew on. This was not an easy movie to watch. Damaged people. Well, of course, we're all damaged in one way or another. In some of us, it's more obvious, or it really hinders our ability to participate in "society." And yet, even these characters have a kind of grace. Ultimately, each of them even has a kind of integrity that gleams through the broken parts. Being human is hard enough when we come from a place that nurtures and supports us in positive ways. How do we begin to navigate that terrain when we've never been taught or modeled the skills for doing so? As awful as the situation is, this story is told with a quick, light, playful touch. No self pity, no commentary or judgment about these folks. It was an interesting little side trip.