Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Character studies don't come any better than this offbeat look at small-town self-delusion. Robert Altman, best known for sweeping epics like Nashville, shows us that even on a smaller physical scale he is an original, highly inventive director. The low-budget production uses 16-millimeter photography and a single set to create a desolate, lonely atmosphere that mirrors the characters' hidden emotional turmoil. Although we only glimpse a tiny portion through the store window, we get a perfect feel for the dusty isolation of dying McCarthy, Texas. Five and Dime also contains hidden elements of symbolism that you may not notice at first but add another layer to the brilliance of the film.

Still, as with any play, it's all about the acting. And here, the acting is impeccable, especially that of top-billed stars Sandy Dennis, Cher, and Karen Black. Dennis is Mona, the stubbornly (and dangerously) romantic leader of the Disciples; Cher is Sissy, the blowsy sex symbol with a painful secret; and Black is Joanne, a mysterious "stranger" who cracks everyone's delusions. All three are terrific and should have received more recognition for their roles herein. Great support is provided by the Marta Heflin, the delightful Kathy Bates, and Sudie Bond as the shrill, bigoted owner of the Woolworth's.

This is not a film for everyone. There is no action, by the traditional definition. But this examination fantasy and reality, how life is and how we would like it to be, is a haunting exercise in acting, direction, and emotional involvement.

Although I saw this film many years ago, and I have seen it only once, the memories are still strong and I often think back to the feelings and thoughts it thrust upon me. Too few movies I have seen in my life stay with me very long...this on one that has.

I am not sure if this was written a stage play. The fact that it only has one location suggests that it was. The characters are complex and have so much depth that I am almost sure it was. They have not been written as characters to be placed over a story, they are the story.

I saw this movie late one night. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was on a low. Maybe I was open to suggestion. Who knows? But. When I saw this movie, it stirred so many feelings within me, opened up my mind to so many thoughts and questioned so many things not only in my life but in the world in general that it could not have just passed without making it's mark.

If you like to watch movies that make you truly 'think' and which take you inside them...sometime to places you do not wish to go, then I whole heartedly recommend this one.

Take something away with you from this one and the world will be a better place....and you will be a better person.

This is a set-bound independent film deals with a small assortment of characters who assemble at the small title store in a nowhere, dusty Texas town. Some work at the store, and some have moved out of town, but they are reuniting on the 20th anniversary of James Dean's death. It seems GIANT was filmed nearby 20 years earlier, and one of their own even appeared as an extra in the film. Some have moved on since then, others haven't. And some have changed completely. I won't go further into the developments, as learning who is who and what is what is part of the film's journey.

Robert Altman directed this, both on the stage and then on film, and it's more interesting than I expected. I've never been a fan of Sandy Dennis or Karen Black, and so I've never gone out of my way to see this again after I saw it the first time. I am, however, a fan of Robert Altman. Altman has always been known for his great rapport with his actresses, and that quality serves him and his cast admirably in this. These are interesting, fully-fleshed out women, and the voices are very genuine. Sandy Dennis plays a variation of her usual emotionally fragile screen persona, but Altman manages to rein in her histrionic tendencies. Karen Black is much better than usual, in an unusual, but subtle performance. Cher famously made her first serious foray into dramatic acting here, and she's tough and terrific. A young and fiery Kathy Bates is also memorable. Stage veteran Sudie Bond rounds out the main cast.

I saw this earlier this year on TCM, and for the first time years ago on Showtime. I am always fascinated about the places where movies are filmed on location, and Giant is my favorite of James Dean's movies. It is easy to see when watching the movie that it is based upon a play with one set, but that doesn't detract from it. Even though the introduction warned about flashbacks, I wasn't aware just how quickly the movie would go between the present day of the story and two decades before. That meant I was confused for the first 15 minutes or so, so don't be surprised if you are too. Then I realized what was happening and stopped worrying about what time frame it was at any given moment. Rewatching it, having an idea about what is going on, did make it more enjoyable for me. Recommended.

One of Robert Altman's lesser known movies looks at a group of James Dean disciples getting back together on the twentieth anniversary of Dean's death. "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" very much has the feeling of a play, as the whole thing takes place in one enclosed location (a Woolworth's five & dime store). I notice that a major theme is gender roles in the small Texas town where they live: the women are have always been forced to suppress their emotions, while the effeminate man is not accepted at all.

A common trait of Altman's movies is that many people are talking at once. That's the case here, but it's accentuated by the mirrors, which show what happened twenty years earlier while "Giant" was getting filmed not far from the town. I guess that in the end, the movie deals with nostalgia and how realistically we view the past. I was born long after the '50s, so even though I can watch the movies and listen to the music, I can never fully understand what it was like to experience these things for the first time. Does this count as authentic nostalgia?

I'd say that the movie is worth seeing. It's not Altman's best movie by any stretch, but I think that it had very good character development. Starring Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black and Kathy Bates.

I was very glad to have watched this movie. It was both interesting, and compelling. The acting was superb, by Cher, Sudie Bond, Kathy Bates, and especially, Sandy Dennis. Karen Black was sensational in her role. What a great cast! And the story itself was great, also.