The Good Old Boys

Tommy Lee Jones rides past a church and tells his horse that he really likes the congregation's singing.

Me too, but for the life of me I can't find the name of the hymn.

If Jones had left full details of the sound track in the credits I would have give this a 10. But he didn't, so I won't.

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

Perhaps I liked this movie because it reminded me very much of my father and mother. My father was an itinerent cowboy and a championship rodeo rider in the early part of the 20th Century just like the role Tommy Lee Jones played as Hewey Callaway. And he had a side kick much like Sam Shepard's character Tarnell. My father met a lady like Sissy Spacek when he was 31 and married her. Tarnell also got married but he was killed in a rodeo two years later and my father gave up rodeo riding.

Life was very much like in the movie in those days. You found people that would go out of their way to help others and the bankers in the movie were typical of bankers in those days, mean as hell.

The acting in the movie was excellent. Everyone in the movie played roles that were very typical in those days and they did a good job of it. The only gripe I have with the movie is that the ending was unreal. I won't give it away but I have known many cowboys but I never knew one that didn't want to settle down.

One of the funniest scenes in the movie was when the outhouse was knocked down with the grandmother in it. That was a common prank in those days, to knock over an outhouse. The grandmother was a pistol. I knew old women just like her.

The author either had some experience or he really did a great job of research because the story (except for the ending) accurately depicted conditions in those days.

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.

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.