Homegrown

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.

Homegrown is a very nice and inspirational film about three farmboy dope growers and their "community" of likeminded folk. After their boss Malcolm (John Lithgow) is assassinated, the hapless and frequently high trio have to try and improvise to get paid.

Homegrown is also a strongly feminist movie, in the best sense of the word, in that all the women are in fact the real actors behind the events as they unfold. What do our three hapless heroes do when they get in trouble and need a place to crash? Lucy (Kelly Lynch) is the first port of call, and she isn't afraid to use sex to get any info she needs. Who is really taking care of business when the community is threatened to be invaded by mafiosi?

All in all, this is a very inspirational movie. It makes you feel you want to go out and grow some of your own herb. I can see how a lot of people got nervous about a movie where the main characters are pot growers. However, if you take into account that pot is just another plant, it's hard to see what the trouble is about. The producers tried to sell this as a "comedy", and there are plenty of laughs, but don't wait for canned laughter or any other cues.

There are several marijuana inspired songs, Bob Marley's "Smoke Two Joints" and Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie", just to name two.

It is more of a caper/suspense/comedy movie.

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.

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.

Another example of a really good small film that didn't get the promotion or distribution it deserved. Billy Bob Thornton just gets better and better. This little film about the Northern California Dope Growers, is great. I disagree with the categorization of the film as a comedy. It is more of a drama with moments of comic relief, but it certainly entertains. There are no great life lessons to be taken from it. (well maybe there is one lesson. If you're doing something illegal, it's best not to have a gunfight in the parking lot thus calling attention to yourself) An incredibly good cast, cleverly written and well performed I'd give this one a solid 8.