Homegrown

This is a pretty good movie heavily influenced by John Huston's "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Humphrey Bogart, but original in its content and conflict. It is not so much a comedy as a quirky drama, like Treasure, though its point is not as sharp at the end. You should see Treasure (again) before or after seeing this.

Well, it's a weird movie. That Stephen Gyllenhaal seems to LIKE weirdness, really.

The fact that the film is billed as a comedy should not be considered an indictment. A film is made because someone decided to try to share this particular story with you--NOT because he wanted to add another movie to some given drawer/shelf in a video rental store, nor because he wanted to make things easy for the marketing department.

I know the film wasn't well-promoted, but looking at the movie itself, I think it's actually a pretty innovative piece of work.

What really makes the film work is the ambiguity and (ok, I admit it) PARANOIA of it.

If you've found yourself wondering what any particular scene adds to this movie, I fear you've fallen victim to lack of imagination. The characters never know "who knows what," and that is the single most essential premise of the movie. The film uses a far stronger perspective of first-person perspective than such bubble-gum fare as the Matrix. When the hapless dope-growers meet the first distributor they're looking to do business with, they don't know whether he's "in on everything." When BB Thornton talks to Sienna, he has no idea what SHE knows about the situation...and in fact, no matter how you choose to interpret that particular scene, you really ought to acknowledge that perhaps the "reality" (cinematically speaking) is the complete opposite of what you first thought when you watched it. Almost every meaningful dramatic scene in the film is completely ambiguous in possible interpretation. At least up until the climax.

This is a film that truly does get better with repeated viewings, IF you have the patience for a movie that doesn't spell everything out for you. If you want a heavy musical score and a didactic moral "point," stick with Spielberg. He'll never disappoint. If you want to WONDER what the characters are really up to in a film, check this one out.

The cast is terrific, the story is novel if not earthshaking, and the polish and presentation are first-rate. It has a few minor editorial flaws--I could've done without Lithgow's late appearance, or some of the "feel-good" moments laced into the script early on, but I certainly don't think someone else would have done a better job with the concept and script...unless Kubrick or Fassbinder were still alive.

8.5 out of 10.

This film was marketed as a comedy but anyone who went into it expecting "Half Baked" was probably dissapointed. Instead of a mindless stoner-comedy, we get a good solid film that is equal parts drama/comedy/thriller. It's the story of a group of pot farmers who, after seeing their boss murdered, decide to cash in the crop for a cool 3 million. Needless to say, things turn out to be a bit more complicated than expected and getting the money takes a back seat to getting themselves out of this bind that they have done such a good job of getting themselves into.

The three central characters, Jack (Billy Bob Thornton), Carter (Hank Azaria) and Harlan (Ryan Phillipe) are working for Malcomn (John Lithgow), manning the pot farm, when Malcom is killed by his own helicopter pilot. Thinking they know way more than they actually do, they decide to take charge of the situation and finish out the job. Jack poses as Malcomn (none of Malcomn's customers have ever actually seen what he looks like) and becomes the natural leader while Carter and Harlan bumble around doing the grunt work.

Things go a little over Jack's head when mob boss "Gionni the wop" (played hilariously by Ted Danson) enters the picture. Pretty soon it's paranoia time for the three stooges and their mutual girlfriend Lucy (Kelly Lynch), fighting off rippers, avoiding hitmen, and trying to find a buyer, all without getting caught by the feds (all the local cops are paid off).

There are many plot twists in Homegrown and the acting is great from a huge ensemble cast. Hybrids like this rarely work completely and Homegrown does sputter occassionally. There are a few scenes that leave you wondering if they are supposed to be funny. One thing that is highly overlooked and misunerstood about this film is how it makes you feel just like the characters. It totally succeeds in putting you in the same boat with them and making you feel the same things that they are feeling.

All in all, I give this movie a 9/10 and I highly reccomend it. It DOES NOT glorify the use and distribution of marijuana (many would like to argue that point) but merely uses it as a backdrop for what is going on. Give it a run. I especially reccommend this one to Billy Bob Thornton fans. He is so perfect in his role that you can almost smell the weed on him.

The first half hour of "Homegrown" was rather boring and not absorbing, but as the film progressed, so did my interest in the characters and the plot. Several scenes are really scary and you fear for the main characters who you actually grow attached to. The story is about three hired hands on a hidden illegal marijuana farm in southern California. They witness the murder of the farm's owner, Malcolm (John Lithgow), and they take over the weed for their own. The three rather simple-minded farm hands soon get swept up into a scary world of mafia and local interest, while all of the time trying to convince everyone that Malcolm is still alive. While the movie had several faults and a slow beginning, it turned out to be worthwhile. 7/10 stars.

What a great film. Any movie that can be advertised to look like a CHEECH AND CHONG-type weed comedy and than turn around to be a stone-cold suspenseful drama is automatically an A+ in my grading book.

Billy Bob Thornton is as usual unbelievably good. I am a huge fan of his work, ONE FALSE MOVE is probably one of the most low-scale thrillers in the history of film, a well-written flick which doesn't rely on cheap thrills for quality and leaves out the shocking violent portion of the film until the last scene. His performance in A SIMPLE PLAN should have earned him more than an Oscar nomination, and SLING BLADE was possibly one of the best indie flicks I've ever seen. He is a talented actor/screenwriter/director and brings a great deal of flair to this movie.

Azaria and Philippe bring good supporting roles as well, and Ted Danson is hillarious as a hot-tempered Mafioso. Lithgow has a small role, but brings interesting twists to the film whenever on screen.

All around I was surprised by HOMEGROWN, for originally I expected it to be a comedy on par with HALF BAKED and DAZED AND CONFUSED, while the only comedy intended in the flick is tongue-in-cheek, the best kind of all.