Daddy and Them (2001)

What an odd little film. I expected something a little out of the ordinary, having been a fan of Billy Bob Thornton since Slingblade, and this ALMOST worked but didn't quite - ultimately let down by Thornton's inability to end the movie.On the plus side, all the performances are good, apart from a rather hysterical turn from Brenda Blethyn, there are some nicely observed family dynamics, a few great comic lines, and the whole movie is lit brilliantly - making it visually interesting instead of potentially dull.On the minus side, it's film you have to be patient with to discover its good qualities. The dialogue is offbeat and interesting but the plot feels like a long short-film. And then the ending... what a botched job! There's a PERFECT ending which would have made this a succinct, quite special little film. Instead Thorton goes to another scene. And another AND ANOTHER and... who knows how many, because at that point the DVD we were watching got stuck in protest and we all agreed that we'd seen the best of Daddy And Them, and that we should hit eject before we became hostile.

After reading a number of IMDb reviews, I looked forward to this movie. I'm from the deep south, Mississippi, and love southern stories with eccentric characters. However, I did not identify with much in this movie. First of all, the dialogue is so heavy on the f-word that I felt embarrassed and annoyed. Southerners have more dignity and elegance. These are characters I would never want to live next door. I don't really know people quite so rude, and openly discussing sex in public is a no-no for southerners I have known. Of course, maybe I know more of those for whom the Bible-belt actually has meaning. Even when the moments become more tender towards the end, the scenes are too long and soon become boring. For me, the movie "Sordid Lives" offers a better depiction of colorful southern characters, and if you really want an odd role for Andy Griffith, see "Rustlers' Rhapsody." I can see why there was a problem with distribution of this picture. After we'd seen "Daddy & Them," my little southern group agreed that the movie is "a little less than OK."

First off, let me say that I am a southerner.I'm also a fan of Billy Bob Thornton, but I can't say that all of his movies are works of genius. When he's good, he's very, very good...etc.I watched "Daddy and Them" and thought I had really stumbled onto a gem! Also written and directed by Billy Bob, it portrays two of the most dysfunctional families ever. They are his immediate family, plus his wife's (Laura Dern), who've gotten together because Uncle Hazel (Jim Varney, in a very small, thankfully non-Ernest role) has been arrested for attempted murder.To top it off, these people are the epitome of Arkansas rednecks! Diane Ladd is in it, as is Andy Griffith. Since it's a Billy Bob-er, the language is kinda raw, and it's a real hoot to see and especially hear old Sheriff Andy get down and dirty! He plays BB's elderly, semi-senile father.Very humorous, with more than a few belly laughs... up until 1:10, or thereabouts, then the whole thing just collapsed! It went into a final half-hour or so of boring, self-absorbed pseudo-psychological angst and apologia claptrap. What a come-down! I guess it was intended to make the film "relevant," or something, but what it really did was to make it a semi-disaster.I'd recommend looking at the first 2/3rds, then, when BB starts to become a self-analyzing motormouth, turn it off and play Scrabble, or something.

Ruby (Laura Dern) and Claude Montgomery (Billy Bob Thornton) is a very insecure jealous couple, because of their past sentimental life: Claude has had an affair with Ruby's older sister Rose (Kelly Preston), when Ruby was a young girl; and Ruby has had many muscled boy-friends in the past. When Claude's uncle Hazel (Jim Varney) is arrested for attempting of murder a local, Ruby and Claude travel with Rose and Jewel (Diane Ladd) to Arkansas to give their sympathy to the Montgomery family. While traveling, Jewel recalls all the time many events between Claude and Jewel, irritating Ruby. Finallt they arrive in their destiny in the breast of the Montgomery, a low middle class family with total lack of communication. "Daddy and Them" could be called "How to Waste a Magnificent Cast in a Dull Movie". Having names such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Dern, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Kelly Preston, Diane Ladd and the always boring with her horrible crying timbre of voice, Brenda Blethyn, I really expected an excellent dark comedy. However, the result is a complete disappointment, with a very tedious screenplay. It seems that Billy Bob Thornton, without Angeline Jolie in his personal life, is living based on his magnificent past and presently is down of the hill in his career, with very bad choices in his movies. With due respect, some IMDb users surprisingly liked this flick, and apparently most of them are from the south of USA. Maybe this kind of humor, with this horrible accent, works in that area. But for an overseas viewer not used with such culture, it is an uninteresting and tiresome film. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Tudo em Família" ("All in Family")