Stars and Bars

This fish out of water film has Daniel Day Lewis, uptight Englishman, thrown into a dysfunctional family of Southern hillbillies lead by Harry Dean Stanton. Not unlike Stanton's similar misfire movie "Twister", the story is slight, but not as stretched as "Twister". Both movies have offbeat characters on parade. "Stars and Bars" begins with a rather unflattering view of New York City, and then relies on Georgia backwoods stereotypes for both dark and slapstick humor. This film would certainly have to be classified as an acquired taste, and there are plenty of dead spots throughout. Nevertheless, the quirky characters, played by some good character actors, is enough to recommend for admirers of the strange. - MERK

It may be a far cry from classic screwball comedy, but even during its many forgettable moments this fish-out-of-water farce isn't a total write-off. Certainly there's nothing in it to justify the cold-blooded lack of confidence that killed it at the Box Office: the throwaway release it received is usually reserved for lame dogs someone wants put out of misery, and in this case it worked.

At least the film never pretends to be anything more than what it is: a self-consciously wacky social comedy with an outsider's exaggerated, broad-as-a-barn-door view of American manners, starring Daniel Day Lewis as a dapper English art appraiser who runs into an oddball collection of cartoon Confederate rebels while investigating a lost Renoir in backwoods Georgia. All the film needs is a laugh-track to become a respectable TV sitcom (a degenerate Beverly Hillbillies?), but director Pat O'Connor doesn't show much aptitude for low comedy, and the laughs collapse into a feeble slapstick conclusion, leaving the door wide open for a sequel which will never be made.

I stumbled across this film on HBO years ago, and am so glad I recorded it, as I could never find it on DVD. I have always been a big Daniel Day Lewis fan, and this is unlike anything else I have ever seen him do. It is hard to believe this is the same year he appeared in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being;" what a contrast! It truly demonstrates his range and willingness to completely inhabit any role he takes on. Make no mistake- it is a really quirky film, but there are hilarious moments, and the supporting cast contribute to the overall effect. Just go with the flow!

The cast includes Daniel Day Lewis and Joan Cusack, who one thinks could turn out stunning performances with the worst scripts. This isn't the case.

The main reason I actually wanted to watch this movie twice is because of the in-jokes that only Southerners, and Atlantans especially, would get.

In one scene at an Atlanta hotel, the Marriott Marquis was transformed into a parody of another major hotel which once had a "lake" in its lobby, and a long-standing restaurant with an overworked Civil War theme.

I highly recommend seeing this movie at least once if you lived in Atlanta in the 80's. It's also good, I would think, if you've had experience with stubborn patriarchs and traveling art buyers, but that's probably a smaller group.

I remember standing in a long line to see this in Manhattan, and thinking that the New York parts were a perfect representation of the city at that moment in time. It's a weird vehicle for Daniel Day-Lewis, apart from his ability to play a perfect British upper class twit - I don't think he's done a comedy since (and certainly not before). The use of Joan Cusack as leading lady and love object is bizarre, too - up until this point she'd been relegated to kooky sidekick/friend of the heroine roles (Broadcast News springs immediately to mind), something she went back to almost immediately after this film. It's strange all around, but also a funny time capsule of sorts. I too wish it was out on DVD.