Pickin' & Grinnin'

"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.

I saw this little GEM of a movie on a rainy night in Los Angeles, at the Hollywood Film Festival. A friend of mine had an extra ticket, so I figured, "what could it hurt?" If the movie was terrible, I could always hit the bar at the Arclight.

Fortunately for my liver, there was no hitting the bar, as this movie delivered something that Hollywood rarely provides anymore - originality. After sitting through an almost comically long opening credit sequence (and not funny in a good way), I found myself immediately taken in by the film's two lead characters - Milo and Johnny Jake Johnson. If ever the term "loveable Loser" fit, it would be with these two guys.

I'm not going to write a synopsis of the film, as I'm not a film reviewer and I will leave that to the professionals. I will take a moment to write that director Jon Gries (Uncle Rico in Napolean Dynamite) is fighting the good fight, by bringing an old school road comedy like this to the big screen. Kudos to you Mr. Gries for rolling up your sleeves and making a film that the studios would never touch!

There are so many consistently funny moments and just a great ensemble performance, with several of my favorite character actors sprinkled throughout. I'm not sure how Gries and the producers got some of these well traveled character actors (Geoffrey Lewis and Garrett Morris to name a couple), but I was really won over by the heart of this movie.

Great direction, story, music and performances make up this indie sleeper. One of the better experiences I've had at the movies in a long, long time...and not just because it was free.

This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in many years. Gritty and simple it still brings to life the complexity of love and the pursuit of one's dreams. Unlike many comedies that bring you to laughter in the first half of the movie and then taper off...this movie will make you laugh from start to finish. The two male stars are the perfect casting in what is a very well written and directed picture. There are cameos from several stars that just add to the laughter and entertainment of this picture. I recommend for anyone who has grown tired of CGI films with characters you don't care about and action sequences that could never happen. Could be the funniest movie I have seen since Caddy Shack or Airplane.

Funny adventurous movie that takes you on a ride with interesting characters and a few surprise celebrities and cameos,it has a good soundtrack,must see this film.

The characters are likable beer drinking red neck types many can relate to but they are original.

Lots of eye candy especially the blonde in the bikini in the beginning scenes.

I would go see this movie a second time.

You will see why its done well on the independent film showings after watching it.

Cant wait for the sequel to see what happens next!