The River Rat (1984)

Inquisitive teenage girl in the modern-day South--selling fish with her grandmother out of their house on the river--forges a friendship with the father she's never known, just out of jail after 13 years. As the paroled ex-con who killed a man during a robbery, Tommy Lee Jones adds some hot-tempered fuel to these otherwise juiceless proceedings. Jones, playing the kind of loner who thaws out quickly, overcomes the manufactured grit and sentiment in this script and manages to give an interesting performance. Debuting director Tom Rickman, who also wrote the cliché-ridden script, allows many of the supporting players to overact mercilessly, while newcomer Martha Plimpton is used as the picture's 'noble conscience' (never a good idea). Rickman has so little faith in the 'family audience' he's targeting with this film, he has Plimpton's tomboyish Jonsy declare she "ain't no lezzy"--this so viewers can relax in the knowledge they're only watching an assembly-line sub-Disney movie and not anything more ambitious. The riverfront milieu is attractive, but the hick stereotypes and shady city-folk are enough to try anyone's patience. *1/2 from ****

Since this movie listing seems to be missing a plot / synopsis of the movie i'm commenting one : An entertaining tale of a father (Tommy Lee Jones) and daughter (Martha Plimpton) who run a bait/fishing shop on a river. They build a fishing boat together and is christened "The River Rat". The father is meanwhile harassed by his parole officer for information due to the father being the only survivor of a childhood crime involving a large sum of lost money. The father served time but the money was never recovered. After some history and character building has taken place, the movie transforms into a coming of age story combined with a competitive treasure hunt.

Tender story about a father and daughter. I wish TLJ would go back to making these quiet little movies instead of barking his way through mainstream action flix. Martha Plimpton is wonderful; it's too bad she doesn't do anything anymore.

"The River Rat" is too good a movie to lie in a corner without comment. Good grief, this was Martha Plimpton's first major role. For that reason alone it has a place in motion picture history. What a terrific talent, and what great contributions she has made to the art in roles both small and large. In this movie she combines with such recognized stars as Tommy Lee Jones and Brian Dennehy, and takes a back seat to neither. Her father-daughter scenes with Mr. Jones are warm and real. The depth all three of the lead actors brought to their characters was truly remarkable. In sum, the beautiful background of the mighty Mississippi River, an interesting story, some great acting turns, and, of course, Martha Plimpton make "The River Rat" a must-see picture.