Ulee's Gold

Now I see why this is such a good movie, the plot is simple and people can relate to these same problems that many families experience. I was very thankful to find this video on sale it's worth every gold penny! Ulee's Gold has Peter Fonda as a Florida beekeeper who returns to take care of family while his son is in prison. Problems are many dealing with the mother of his two granddaughters the mother is battling a drug problem, plus dealing with dangerous thugs who are former friends of his son. These problems all turn to gold in the end as you will find during this film that the Fonda character discovers his soul with the strength and courage that helps everyone begin life anew. Great performance from Peter Fonda a golden globe winner. This was the movie debut of Jessica Biel, believe me she is a future babe.

This movie is great in a number of ways. For a start, it shows Peter Fonda is a truly accomplished screen actor and not merely Henry's son, Jane's brother or Bridget's dad. It is a pity that he has had so few good roles to play over the years and his acting career has been largely disappointing. However,he totally brings the character of Ulee to life . Ulee is a decent man trying to do the right thing and when you see this film you are behind him all the way, willing him to overcome all the obstacles he encounters.This film, while a mostly straightforward simple tale,lifts the spirits and is a direct result of how positive the script is. Peter Fonda should make more films like this or he soon might find himself looking for the few good 'grandfather' roles out there in the movie world.

Excellent tale about a man who gets involved with 2 men intent on getting their hands on a stash of stolen loot from an armored car robbery. Unique story with an actor I haven't seen since he hit middle age. Peter Fonda still has the same soulful eyes he had when I first saw him in "Wild Angels" back in the mid-60's. His acting has improved considerably over the years; I thought his old underground films were somewhat amateurish back then. This was a fine movie which reminded me a little of his western "The Hired Hand" from some 20 years ago. Well worth watching.

A pretty good little movie. The pace is a little slow, and often not much seems to be happening. This is not a bad thing here. Hollywood is usually so formulaic that they must not be discouraged when they try something a little different. Everything worked well here, the acting, the photography, the direction. Yes, Peter Fonda turned in a fine performance. I wonder if as much would have been made of this if Fonda hadn't spent most of his career playing in total stinkers, though. The small-time crooks, Fonda must deal with (including his son) are such losers they seem directly imported from an Elmore Leonard novel. Special mention for the child actress Vanessa Zima (Penny Jackson). She performed wonderfully in her role, full of soulful and meaningful looks. Either she is a very good child actress, or the casting director did a great job finding a girl who looks the part.

For me, 90 % of the american movies of the 1990's stinks. Ulee's gold is a part of the 10 % left of very good and intelligent movie. The photography is wonderful and the members of Peter Fonda's family are all great (the two bad boys are weak). For me, this is the cultural United States portrayed in a movie. Not all that Titanic or Star Wars stuff, but this kind of movie where people and realistic characters are important. And it's a great come back for mister Fonda.