Grand Theft Parsons

Parsons was mythical in his own right. Sure, he was the father of country-rock and hung around the stones....etc...etc...

The movie is mythical in it's own right. Being as Phil Kaufman was the only one to really know who/what/why/when/how...I think it does alright by his accounts of the events. Heck, he was one of the producers of the movie! Knoxville and Shannon play off each other well. Applegate is always a pleasure to watch!Macht really does look like Parsons! The soundtrack and score are awesome. The filming locations seem accurate...the point is this....if you are looking for a reverent account of the death and last wishes of an icon, forget it! If you want good Saturday afternoon escapism that has a rock-n-roll lineage, this movie more than fits the role Sit back and enjoy...I have more than once!

I had the pleasure to see this film at the Dublin International Film Festival and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This film is NOT a story about Gram Parsons life. It begins as Gram Parsons is found dead and follows his friend Phil Kaufman's attempts to steal the body with the intention of burning it in the desert as per Gram's wishes. Sure this film takes liberties with certain facts and characters but the film makers are trying to tell a story and it certainly is a witty, whimsical and entertaining film that deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

The performances are almost all excellent with Johnny Knoxville giving an understated, almost subdued performance (not at all like his Jackass persona) as a man carrying out his friends final wishes.

At a Q & A after the film the director and producer revealed that Gram Parsons family were shown the film and loved it and so allowed his music to be used on the soundtrack. I can think of no greater compliment of the film to be said than that.

It may be about a stolen corpse, but ‘Grand Theft Parsons' is anything but morbid. It's a charming, heartwarming tale in which the central living character's integrity and loyalty goes beyond the grave – or rather, beyond the desert bonfire.

The film is loosely based on the true story of country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons and his road manager Phil Kaufman. When Parsons dies of a drug overdose, Kaufman is grimly determined to fulfil his late friend's wish to be cremated in the desert - even if that means stealing his coffin and evading a diverse posse of pursuers in a bright yellow hearse driven by an addled hippy.

Some have complained about the liberties taken with the true story of Parsons' incineration in the wilderness by Kaufman – but as the real Kaufman makes a cameo appearance in the film, one may assume that he didn't mind. In any case, the truth-bending is clearly acknowledged in captions at the start of the movie.

There are some truly superb performances. Johnny Knoxville proves that he can be much more than an annoying prankster with a thoroughly convincing portrayal of Kaufman, Christina Applegate is magnificently repellent as Parsons' avaricious ex-girlfriend, and Robert Forster lends a warm, weary dignity to the character of Parsons' father. Best of all, though, is Michael Shannon's hysterically funny turn as the hapless hippy hearse driver, gradually realising the terrible truth about the situation he's stumbled into.

It all adds up to a frequently hilarious and delightful film, hugely enhanced by a glorious soundtrack featuring plenty of the real Parsons.

When so many big budget Hollywood shells get voted 8 or better here, I am amazed that so many can hate a film just because it doesn't take itself seriously, or according to one film-school dropout "failed to explore anything". And then what about the "fan of Gram Parsons for a long time" who complains that "when i found out they were making a film about him i was very exited ... was sickened by what i saw, This film wasn't about his life, it was about the aftermath of his death. I thought it would be a descent film about Grams Life and Music". So this one hates the film because he didn't bother to take the time to find out what it was about prior to watching it. Well duh! Do not be scared off by the low rating. The obvious reason all the Gram-fans have to vote it down is because as we all know "true fans" always take the object of their fandom seriously, and this film doesn't take itself seriously. It is very low-key, except Applegate, who as usual, is eye-candy. Speaking of Applegate, wasn't she in Anchorman? Now there was a film I saw only half of. Let me put it this way; if you loved Anchorman, you probably won't like this. If you're an uber-Gram-fan, you probably will hate this. If you just want a few chuckles, and are willing to laugh at stereotypes like a mellow, stoned hippie, a red-neck cop (though what a red-neck cop is doing in LA, I'm not sure), a little tugging at your inner yin-yang, then watch this. And no, absolutely contrary to the gram-fans, this isn't slapstick. It is actually the opposite. It is actually almost too mellow, and the best lines come out of nowhere.

Movie trivia fanatics will remember the play Dustin Hoffman's character wanted to stage in "Tootsie." Written by his roommate (played by Bill Murray), it was called "Return to Love Canal," about the (apparently) true story of a couple who returned to live near the toxic waste site, knowing what was there. "It really happened," Hoffman's character says earnestly to anyone who will listen.

"Grand Theft Parsons" is also based on a true story, one equally bizarre and yet compelling -- after country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons died in 1973, his road manager and buddy Phil Kaufman stole the corpse to cremate it in the desert, as part of a pact the two made in life. But just like "Return To Love Canal," "Grand Theft Parsons" does not have a leg up on being great drama simply because it is based in fact.

The film works hard at building momentum and dramatic tension by bringing in former girlfriends, Parsons' father and the inevitable cop or two, but none of these elements really have much to do with the heart of the story. In the end, "Grand Theft Parsons" succeeds modestly in making us feel the emotions that accompany friendship between men who have been on a long, strange trip together. And actually, we get two versions of that kind of friendship: the bond between Parsons and Kaufman, and the Butch-and-Sundance partnership that emerges between Kaufman and the drug-addled hippie who supplies the hearse used in the body heist.

There's a sweetness to "Grand Theft Parsons," but it's not as satisfying as it might have been if more of the back-story had been told.