CRAZY IN ALABAMA RATING: 7 /10 --> Good Movie
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Antonio Banderas' directorial debut. Whoop-dee-doo! Melanie Griffith starring in the role of a wannabee movie actress. Harumph...whatta stretch! Rod Steiger?!! Yikes! These were all the things going through my head as I approached the viewing of this film. Admittedly, I was not excited to see this movie. One of the few films that I see for the sake of my movie criticism. Having said all that, Banderas' directing was top-notch, Griffith pulled out one of her better roles in years and Steiger, well Steiger, you'll have to read on to find out.
PLOT: Set in the 1960s, a mother of six children murders her husband in cold blood after 13 years of mistreatment and heads out to Hollywood to take a shot at the big-time. Meanwhile, her favorite nephew Peejoe is left back home with some of her secrets and a dilemma, after he sees the local sheriff kill an innocent black youth.
CRITIQUE: This film combines various elements from a handful of other films, beginning with a solo THELMA & LOUISE theme, and actually manages to meche all of the different situations into a cohesive whole by the way of interesting characters, a sharp eye and direction from Antonio Banderas and a captivating performance by Melanie Griffith. Thank God, she actually plays something other than an airhead bimbo in this one! I also enjoyed the way it was shot with both stories intercrossing one another all the way through with overall effectiveness. I think the most credit has to be given to the director in this case, who was able to juggle the two plot lines with great aplomb, and bring out solid performances from all of his players. I thought that both the kid and Melanie stood out in the cast, despite my initial mixed reaction to his strong accent. Add to that an excellent ensemble of supporting actors, including the always effective David Morse, the surprising Meatloaf and the scene-stealing antics of the 'contender's brothe r, Rod Steiger.
Now when you consider that I wanted nothing to do with this film before actually seeing it, my recommendation should carry even more weight (At least to those who care : ). One thing which does worry me about this film, is the fact that it might never find a real target audience and get lost in the shuffle of this weekend's five opening films. If so, be sure to catch this movie on video because it really does offer many telling lessons on love, persistence and freedom. And even if you're not interested in these messages, you should at least try to see it because of the extremely well-handled directorial debut of Antonio Banderas, a strong performance from his wife, Melanie, and a hilarious supporting role by Rod Steiger, who takes the ball and runs with it! Not a major motion picture, but definitely one that ought to be savored as a major surprise.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Antonio Banderas has been married to the star of this film, Melanie Griffith, since 1996. His full name is José Antonio Domínguez Banderas. Griffith has been married four times in her life, including two separate occasions to the same man, Miami Vice's Don Johnson. Her first husband, Steven Bauer, played Al Pacino's good buddy Manny, in 1987's SCARFACE. They had a kid together named Alexander. The character which Griffith's mom Tippi Hedren played in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller THE BIRDS, was named Melanie. Her half-sister Tracy Girffith makes a cameo appearance in this film as well. Actor/singer Meatloaf's real name is Marvin Lee Aday. He has been married to the same woman since 1975. Her name is Leslie. Her name is Leslie. Her name is Leslie. According to director Banderas, three lines into Meat Loaf's reading of the script, he knew that he was the actor whom he was looking for. You might remember the teenage kid in this film, Lucas Black, from his role as Frank Wheatley, the "kid" from Billy Bob Thorton's SLING BLADE. He claims to want to be a bass fisherman when he grows older. Cathy Moriarty made her feature film debut at the age of 18 in Martin Scorsese's RAGING BULL opposite Robert DeNiro. When not before the camera, Moriarty can be found in Beverly Hills or Encino working at one of the three locations of Mulberry Street Pizzeria, which she owns. Actor David Morse stands 6'5". This film is based on the novel written by Mark Childress, the same man who adapted it to the screen for this film.
Review Date: October 18, 1999 Director: Antonio Banderas Writer: Mark Childress Producers: Meir Teper, Debra Hill, Diane Sillan and Linda Goldstein Knowlton Actors: Melanie Griffith as Lucille Lucas Black as Peejoe David Morse as Dove Genre: Drama Year of Release: 1999 --------------------------------------- JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com --------------------------------------- (c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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