The Good Old Boys

I love this movie.A story of a man who lives life like he wants to,even if it doesn't make sense to family and friends.He wants no responsibilities but will be responsible for all his actions.His time is gone ,but he will hang on as long as he can rather than conform.We need more movies like this.

Tommy Lee Jones captures entirely,the people,places and phrases I grew up knowing and loving.Happy go lucky,always ready to lend a hand.I wish I was him,or knew him better I would love to hear more about him and Snort Yarnell.They truly are good Ole boys,and we need more of em.

Tommy is adorable in this film. He smiles so much in this film, and is a delight to watch. Great performances by all in this film.

Tommy Lee Jones directs himself and a sensational cast in this western. I couldn't believe how wonderful it was, and went to imdb to see who directed it. The look and feel of this movie are perfect, and every moment rings true. It also looks great. Jones' eye is superb, and the shots are brilliant without calling attention to themselves. Terrific.

As I recall from trade mags, back when this flick first came out, TNT approached TLJ to be the lead, but at the time, he was pondering his future in the film industry and was considering directing. He wanted more than Turner and his execs were offering as the lead actor, but agreed to sign on to the project for less if he could be given free reign to direct, which was a bargain for the price. What ensued was The Good Ole Boys as we know it.

The product is a Western equally worthy of mentioning in the same short list as Unforgiven, Silverado, 3:10 to Yuma and recent others. It is a classic Western that is as priceless as anything given to us from both Johns Wayne and Ford.

In the opening scenes, we watch a cowboy as he and his horse graze the high country; a scene that could occur at any time within our frontier history. He eventually heads home and then we are drawn into a turn of the century frontier settlement juxtapositioned with the old west; sweeping sky lines and open ranges slowly encroached by the advent of Westward Expansion and technology.

The story shows us how a cowboy out on the vast range, isolated by big sweeping scenes, with only his horse to keep him company, enters into the new century. After he sojourns back to the land of his roots, a beautiful and memorable story unfolds with the likes of Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Sam Sheppard, Wilford Bremly and the (as far as I know) debut of Matt Damon waltz into the story to reveal hopes, dreams, missed opportunities and current dilemmas. Soon our cowboy is thrust into the new world with new problems. His leisurely life amongst cattle, horses and campfires is soon a distant memory. The choices he acts upon effect all those around him, and then while his input and decision unfold, he then must decide if he will stick around in this New World to witness the results or return to the wide-open country.

This story falls within the framework of time-honored classics; where we get to see the impact of certain choices made and the ramifications as they unfold. We witness familial love and hard decisions. What makes this most memorable are the aspects of very good story, memorable performances, and great visuals/sound score.

Currently TLJ enjoys worthy accolades for his roles in The Valley of Elah and No Country For Old Men, which should lead to inevitable Oscar nominations. His vision and performance in The Good Ole Boys, certainly worth-while for fans, should round out his current body of work.

8 of 10

I just wanted mainly to comment on another reviewer's review, in which he thought the ending was unrealistic. It just happens that the author, Elmer Kelton, grew up on West Texas ranches and probably knows at least as many cowboys as that reviewer and is a well respected Western author. I would like to see more of his books made into movies. I was working in the Ft. Davis area during the summer the movie was being made there. Tommy Lee Jones is also a West Texan and seems to know how to portray them well on screen. My favorite scene is when Hewey Callaway and his friend rope the old car at the rodeo in San Angelo. Also a very funny one is the one where Hewey shakes the dog urine off a weed onto the pants leg of the Fat banker, resulting in the dog urinating on his leg.