Daddy & Them

Amazon.com

Billy Bob Thornton's white-trash comedy has loads of appeal, beginning with a delightful cast playing the most dysfunctional Southern family outside a Faulkner novel. Thornton and Laura Dern play married couple Claude and Ruby Montgomery, whose true love is stymied by petty jealousies over her old boyfriends and his long-ago romance with Ruby's sister, Rose (Kelly Preston). When Claude's Uncle Hazel (Jim Varney) is arrested, the duo join their extended clan in Little Rock to provide support for him and his defense team (a stormy couple sharply played by Jamie Lee Curtis and Ben Affleck). But cooperation is an alien concept to this family; in no time they're bickering, drinking, and deflating dreams. Typical of Thornton, this is serious yet funny stuff, and the actors--including Andy Griffith, John Prine, Diane Ladd, and Brenda Blethyn--work that fine line between drama and comedy with admirable inspiration. --Tom Keogh

Description

Academy Award(R) winner Billy Bob Thornton (Best Adapted Screenplay, SLING BLADE, 1996; MONSTER'S BALL) has crafted another must-see motion picture as writer, director, and star of this darkly humorous comedy treat! Also starring Laura Dern (JURASSIC PARK), Diane Ladd (28 DAYS), and Kelly Preston (THE CAT IN THE HAT), it's the entertaining story of a dysfunctionally funny family from Arkansas that rallies to support their uncle (Jim Varney -- THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES) when he's charged with murder. With Hollywood favorites Andy Griffith, Ben Affleck, and Jamie Lee Curtis in an amazing cast of stars, you'll love the amusing give-and-take dished out by this outrageous collection of characters!

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't finish it.......2007-06-20

If you think unrelenting ignorance is funny then this is the movie for you.

Pour a glass of wine, build a fire, and enjoy. .......2007-01-15

Filmed in Little Rock, Arkansas, this film is a languid telling of a Southern family's domestic travails.

All the characters appear to be enjoying themselves most of the time, except Ben Affleck and Jamie Lee Curtis. And John Prine, who seems to be enjoying himself all the time.

Prine's gravelly voice is a treat. Wait for the credits to roll and you will finally get to hear him sing ("In Spite of Ourselves"--just right for this film).

The soundtrack is stunning, especially the acoustic "Dixie," soft and reflective, strummed while Billy Bob reflects on himself.

The director's commentary is very well done, with Billy Bob Thornton adding a lot of detail and insight into how he made the film.

Pour a glass of wine, build a fire, and enjoy.

vulgar ... waste of money.......2006-11-23

The only reason this DVD got a "one" was because they do not give the option of zero or negative number ratings. This is one of the worse movies I have ever attempted to see (I say "attempted" because I took it out after 20 minutes!). The language and theme is true gutter. I cannot understand anyone giving this a good review. The only thing I can imagine is they have a vested interest in the good rating ... maybe they have some to sell and write a good review just to get rid of them. Don't waste your money.

Hillbillies and their Discontents.......2006-10-15

Its a little known Billy Bob Thornton film, put out by the Weinsteins,
I assume, in their days at Miramax before Disney dumped them out of the
company. I've never heard of it. It must've went straight to video.

Billy Bob wrote and directed Daddy and them. It seems a little
autobiographical.

I'm just a little way into the movie. Laura Dern and her husband Billy
Bob are down and out and living in a little house with no money.

Billy Bob is 52 but he's playin' a guy about thirty. Laura's nearing 40
in reality, but she's playing someone who is a post-teen.

It opens with Billy Bob wearing a hat backward and chasing Laura around
the yard. But its primitiveness is what makes this movie worth talking
about.

Their dialog is so remorselessly hillbilly that I have to share. Laura
complains that Billy Bob's tattoos aren't tattoos at all but cover ups
of the names of former loves he's had that he don't want Laura to see
anymore. He replies that he wouldn't have bothered coverin' em up if
she hadn't bitched so much about them.

Which leads her to complain that he shouldn'ta f****d her sister like
that, it makes bein' married to him extra hard. To which Billy Bob
replies, "Sure I f****d your sister, but what was I supposed to do? You
was only 13 at the time and if I'da f***d you, theyda put me in the
hoosegow."

It goes on like that. I suspect the Weinstein Brothers sent this one
straight to video cause it was too embarrassing to release. I'd call
this an unintentional comedy, only I don't think it is. Billy Bob
intended for this to appear to be an unintentional comedy.

Billy Bob doesn't like her folks, including Diane Ladd, Laura's
real-life actress mother and Bruce Dern's ex-wife. The movie is one
long dysfunctional family feud. Billy Bob emphasizes family and its
discontents. Andy Griffith is O T Montgomery, Billy Bob's Daddy.

Its about family, you see, and it don't get much better than that.

It has an extraordinary cast. Jamie Lee Curtis, Brenda Blethyn, the
English Actress who played Mrs. Bennett recently in Pride & Prejudice,
and Ben Affleck.

I haven't actually finished watching the movie yet, but with its mix of
bowling alleys, liquor stores, family dinner tables and just down home
country, I just got a feelin' this one can't go bad on me.

Relate-able Dysfunction.......2005-11-19

I loved this movie! I saw John Prine in concert and he
mentioned it, or I would have never found it, nor purchased
it. It was never released at the theater, straight to
video from what I understand. Anyway, the movie is a
great story of this southern dysfunctional family. The
opening language is a little "rough" but ends up being
pretty funny. I could relate to how the family acted
with each other. "Uncle Hazel loves you, but he can't
stand a one of you!" I wish the movie would have received
more attention. It is a good story with many laughs.

Average customer rating:

Couldn't finish it
Pour a glass of wine, build a fire, and enjoy.
vulgar ... waste of money
Hillbillies and their Discontents
Relate-able Dysfunction

Daddy and Them [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00008RWVM