La tête dans le carton à chapeaux

One doesn't tend to expect much from an actor's directorial debut, especially from a relatively young actor and especially from one who seemed to have risen to fame at least partially by being, um, well, a studmuffin. One also typically expects a movie in which a husband directs his wife in a lead role to be fairly shallow or at least unbalanced. I crossed this movie off my list pretty early, expecting a forgettable Griffith-overload creation and little more.

Wrong! It's well-acted, engrossing, funny, and uplifting without feeling schmaltzy or (despite its farfetched plot) artificial. Every so often you want to rewind a bit, to hear some extra-cute bit of dialog again, or savor an especially well-done shot. (The camera work and sets, both indoor and outdoor, show unusual care, flash, and detail; this didn't dawn on me for most of the first hour but a rewind made it obvious.) Overall, 9 stars out of ten. But:

I wouldn't urge anyone to see this movie for Melanie Griffith. She does a fine job, but she's not what puts it over the top. As with quite a few recent films, I found that the performances of the extremely well-chosen supporting actors were a big part of what held the film together and made it so much more than it might have been. Most notable here is Rod Steiger as the judge, who captivates utterly; John Beasley as Nehemiah -- though his character could have stood a lot more development; and the perpetually underrated Meat Loaf as the slimy sheriff. Performances like Steiger's make you want to ransack the video store to rent all his older films.

Finally, I believe Lucas Black is destined for greatness. I couldn't watch him without remembering River Phoenix as Chris in "Stand By Me."

Why this film doesn't even rate a Maltin summary is beyond me.

Crazy in Alabama is one of those films that slipped through the cracks right before the new century, but it does have some assured direction from Antonio Banderas and a great performance by this then wife, Melanie Griffith.

Griffith plays her usual semi-ditz with a heart of gold, but with a southern accent this time. She's just murdered her husband, left her entire litter of children with her mother, and, in turn, forced out her two nephews from living under that roof. The film follows her journey to L.A. to become a movie star as her husband's decapitated head (which she carries in a hat box) taunts her from beyond the grave and her nephews get mixed up in southern, small town police brutality and race relations in the 1960s.

Because Crazy in Alabama is about two very different storylines, it can sometimes feel a bit tonally bizarre. One minute, you're watching Griffith nab a role on Bewitched as her husband's decapitated head taunts her and the next, you're seeing a young black boy murdered in cold blood by a crooked cop. It's an uneasy mix of comedy and drama that don't always go well together, but there are enough interesting ideas, good performances, and directorial flair to keep it entertaining.

... the first being a rather original piece of Southern Gothic - oppressed wife and mother of seven children poisons and decapitates husband in order to free herself to become a star in Hollywood, and the second a by-the-numbers Civil Rights tract. The first movie is completely daffy and charming, and the second is... just there. Although the Civil Rights angle is fairly well-acted, it's everything you've seen in at least 20 other movies -- it's like the Lucille story is the candy and this part is the medicine. As Lucille, Melanie Griffith is sooo adorable (which is quite a surprise for anyone who finds her babydoll voice more irritating than nails on a blackboard) and as for the others who appear here, it's just pleasure upon pleasure: the seldom-seen, ever-brittle Cathy Moriarity as Lucille's sister-in-law, Fannie Flagg as a sympathetic and much-married diner waitress, Robert Wagner as Lucille's Hollywood agent, Rod Steiger as the judge at Lucille's murder trial, and on and on. If the filmmakers had just stuck to making the Lucille story, this might have been a classic.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this film but afterwards I was glad I had watched it. Great performances, esp. from Meatloaf and Lucas Black. He's going to be a star when he's older! When I saw that Antonio Banderas had directed it, I thought "Oh, here's another one of those films where the actor/director has to put his wife in the leading role.. blah blah blah" but it was a really good film. Overall, I give it a 8/10.

I loved this film.

I am not normally a fan of Melanie Griffith, but she is superb as the Southern Belle, Lucille.

Antonio Banderas does a brilliant job behind the camera, telling two stories both about the difference between Justice and what is Just.

Rod Steiger is superb in his cameo role as the judge.