Pickin' & Grinnin'

I was one of the lucky ones that got to see Pickin' & Grinnin' at the Lone Star Film Festival this past weekend. I was a little disappointed that Jon Gries wasn't in attendance, as 'Real Genius' is one of my favorite films, but my disappointment didn't last long, as this movie is laugh out loud funny.

Like Cheech & Chong meets Napolean Dynamite with guitars, the Johnson brothers are used to the "family heirloom of failure". After Milo gets his heart broken by his girlfriend, he goes into a deep, trance like depression. Milo's brother, Johnny Jake Johnson - sees this an opportunity to take to the road in, "Gomer" the family Winnebago, in hopes of traveling cross country to Nashville, with dreams of winning the "Sing-A-Ling" championship.

I'll be the first to say that the road movie genre is well traveled territory, but when a movie has characters that are this interesting, and a story that zigs when you think it will zag, you get Pickin' & Grinnin'.

This must be how people felt like when they saw Napolean Dynamite before it hit theaters. I feel like I just saw a great band that hasn't hit the radio yet. Can't wait to see it again!

I seriously can't wait for this on DVD. I laughed so hard the people in front of me in the theater moved rows away. The entire cast is just amazing. The story is a true testament to slack jawed yokels everywhere. When directors and producers have a vision as true to life,as pathetic as it may be, only good can come from it. Cheers, no jeers.

Great music, phenomenal story and script. I seriously love this cast. I can only pray to Uncle Rico that he uses Johnny and Garret in a Smokey and the Bandit remake....I will die happy if this happens. MUST SEE Pickin' and Grinnin'.

When amateur country plucker Milo, played by Garret Mathany, accidentally runs over a desert rabbit and a chicken (don't worry, they're hilariously fake), he decides his touring days are over. As if vehicular poultrycide isn't bad enough, he comes home to learn that his girlfriend has dumped him, and suddenly he realizes that his entire family was, is, and always shall be doomed to failure. Offset by his absurdly optimistic brother Johnny Jake, played by Johnny Dowers, what follows is a bizarre and very entertaining road movie with some of the oddest characters since Peewee's Big Adventure.

And I'll let you in on a little secret. Among the bizarre characters are the great Billy Gibbons (guitarist for ZZ Top, if you don't recognize his face you're sure to recognize his beard & "cheap sunglasses") and Mr. Footloose himself Kenny Loggins who appears as a weird hallucination in Milo's delusional fantasies.

As Milo and his brother Johnny Jake travel across the country in their Winnebago playing lame gigs to earn gas money, they pick up the oddest passengers and stumble into the oddest situations which I won't even try to explain.

The story is a lot of fun, and believe it or not there's a nice message to it which materializes at the end when Johnny Jake delivers his big monologue. I'm a big fan of underdog stories especially when they present an interesting new spin, and "Pickin & Grinnin" definitely does that. The music is even pretty good, even if you're not a fan of country/folk. The actors wrote and played the music themselves, and there's some mean mandolin playing by Two-Pint (played by David E. Lane).

If you like funny road movies and comedies about musicians, be sure to check out this flick. Also worth checking out are "Thunderstruck" (2004) about a bunch of aging AC/DC fans who attempt to travel across Australia to bury their buddy next to Bon Scott, and "Grand Theft Parsons" (2003) the supposedly true and definitely funny story about two guys who steal the body of singer Gram Parsons and drive him all through the desert.

And it goes without saying that you must see the Christopher Guest classics: "This Is Spinal Tap" (funniest heavy metal movie ever) and "A Mighty Wind" (funniest folk music movie ever).

"Pickin' & Grinnin'" is a road picture, reminiscent of Hope/Crosby, filled with spacious southwestern vistas, two brother's putting the pedal to the medal-comically and vocally-and a kick ass soundtrack. This film brings together great writing from Garret Mathany and Johnny Dowers, (lead characters, Milo and Johnny Jake Johnson) along with the musical chops of David E. Lane (Two Pint) and director, Jon Gries. W. Earl Brown ("Deadwood") provides great comedic timing as Parson and Frances Bay steals every scene she's in. "P&G" left me smiling for days and reciting lines ("I'm gonna say this in a loving way..."), I hope become part of film history.

My girlfriend and I (I'm a filmmaker at UT and she's a theatre major) went to see Pickin' & Grinnin' on the recommendation of a friend of ours who was working the festival and saw it at the Saturday screening.

We loved this movie and I have to say, what a great job the DP did with the red camera. This film gave me hope that an indie film could have a 1970's film look, if shot on the red.

A road comedy with original music, that follows two down and out brothers trying to make one last gasp at fame, via a cable access talent show - "The Sing-A-Ling". Traveling cross country in the family Winnebago, they pick up a rag tag group of passengers, all of whom contribute to the journey in one comic way, or another.

I talked to director and Lost actor - Jon Gries after the screening and he was very supportive and friendly. The cast was great and gave an honest and entertaining Q&A after the film. They even signed a poster for my girlfriend, which was a nice touch.

We look forward to sharing this film with our friends, but for now we are taking credit for discovering this one.

Thanks for the poster and the great screening. Oh, and I can play this game as long as you can, with over 1,500 people on the facebook page numb nuts.