Homegrown (1998)

Director:

Stephen Gyllenhaal

Writers (WGA):

Jonah Raskin (story) &
Stephen Gyllenhaal (story) ...

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

A comedy that goes to your head.

Plot:

Life is good for Jack, Carter and Harlan, three inept ne'r-do-wells who help run master dope-grower...

Plot Keywords:

Marijuana | Drugs | Cannabis

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Feb. 17

4:15 PM

SHOW

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

John Lithgow	...	Malcolm / Robert Stockman
Jon Tenney	...	Helicopter Pilot
Ryan Phillippe	...	Harlan Dykstra
Hank Azaria	...	Carter
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jack Marsden
Kelly Lynch	...	Lucy
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Danny
Kleoka Renee Sands	...	4-Year-Old Girl
Matt Ross	...	Ben Hickson
Judge Reinhold	...	Policeman
Leigh French	...	Waitress
Christopher Dalton	...	Old Farmer
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Sierra Kahan
Tiffany Paulsen	...	Heather the Stockbreeder
Jeanette H. Wilson	...	White Haired Woman

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug content and language, and for some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Aptos, California, USA

Company:

Lakeshore International

Goofs:

Continuity: After an establishing shot that shows Jack Marsden driving into San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge, the close-up of him in the BWM shows he's traveling on a different bridge - one that's constructed of grey metal trusses and girders, rather than the famous red-orange of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Quotes:

Carter: Do you know that you're acting exactly like Malcolm?
Jack: What's wrong with that?
Carter: Nothin'. It's just... kind of creepy.
Jack: Well, if I'm acting like Malcolm at all, you should be grateful.
Carter: Well, uh, yeh, Malcolm got himself killed.

Movie Connections:

References Ms. Pac-Man (1981) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Devil's Train

Oddball NON-COMEDY Entertainment

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.