To me, this movie is perfection.

One of my all time favorites.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I'm from the south and though I'm sure people are like these people in the film, I don't know of any. The reason for the 8/10 was because of Jim Varney's performance. It was refreshing seeing him in a different light even though I grew up on 'Ernest P. Worrell', who is still my favorite. I understood what BBT was going for but I don't think he got there. There was too much bickering between Ruby and Claude, with jealousy as the constant instigator, and too much bad language for my tastes. And this may not be fair, but I took off a star because of the foul words Varney had said. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that he said them. I wanted more scenes with Varney but I'm guessing that because of the cancer and him needing surgery changed all that. BBT did the right thing in adding Varney to the cast. The courtroom scene is one of my favorites in the whole film. I wish Varney was still alive. He had a lot more in him and he was a tremendous talent. "The good ones die first". I can see from the others on IMDb that the reviews are mixed. It wasn't a bad movie but BBT did better as 'Sling Blade'.

I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical about Thorton writing and directing this movie. And since I was (still am) going through a complicated divorce when I saw the movie, it made me cringe a few times in the first half of the movie. Up until Julia had her outburst - after that, things started to converge. Without giving away too much, I'll say that I can easily compare this movie to a symphony that is unconventional in the sense that it doesn't have a climax where a naive audience expects it to be. However, the first half being full of dissonance and stark tones, that almost magically become resolved into a harmony.Seeing as though the IMDb patrons gave this movie only barely more than a 5 score, what I am going to say now will be controversial: I think Thorton is a freaking genius, and I am glad I watched this movie. For me, this is a solid 8 stars.

This is a flat-out great movie. If you've ever lived in the Deep South (deeper than Boca Raton) you'll love this film. I stumbled across it on DVD, although I'd never heard of its big screen release. The cast alone would make the movie worthwhile: Billy Bob, Andy Griffith, Laura Dern, Kelley Preston, Diane Ladd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Affleck, John Prine & Jim Varney.The haunting squalor of the Arkansas setting, which ought to be depressing, lays naked the cleverness of the dialogue. Billy Bob's ear as a writer is as flawless as his delivery as an actor. Andy Griffith deadpanning in his role as patriarch of a hopelessly dysfunctional Ozark family is the funniest freaking thing I've seen since Alan Arkin in "The In-Laws." Cameos by Jamie Lee Curtis & Ben Affleck as fish-out-of-water attorneys work wonderfully. Laura Dern's red-line energy is the perfect comic foil for Billy Bob's perfect understatement.This is a gem of a film and as real as a whacked-out comedy set in the South can be.

Just watched this movie and felt compelled to comment about it. I have seen Sling Blade and was moved by Thornton's ability to portray a character. Well he didn't let me down in this one either! When I saw John Prine, I almost flipped! I missed seeing his name on the box when I rented it, and it really made the movie! I am a really huge fan of Prine, but never knew he made this movie. I only wish there had been an opportunity for him to sing during the movie, but the song afterward was great. If you watch the DVD version, make sure you listen to the commentary Billy Bob makes when John Prine wakes him up on the hood of the car. I most certainly agree with him that Prine does, indeed, steal the movie!