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13 out of 17 people found the following review useful:

Cool and Funny

Author: Alex-372 from The Hague, The Netherlands
1 April 2003

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.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

Follows in the footsteps of a classic

Author: Jim Baldridge from Kankakee, Illinois
29 October 1998

This is a pretty good movie heavily influenced by John Huston's "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Humphrey Bogart, but original in its content and conflict. It is not so much a comedy as a quirky drama, like Treasure, though its point is not as sharp at the end. You should see Treasure (again) before or after seeing this.

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

a fun romp

Author: donndahlia from Florida, USA
27 December 2003

A fun romp...a lot of good twists and turns! (and we were not even baked!)

Didn't know this movie even existed until watching the extra trailers on a Monty Python DVD...(oddly it was there along with The City of Lost Children, and The Adventures of Baron Munchauhsen)

The plot keeps you wondering throughout.

The acting was awesome...Hank Azaria shows his talent again, Bill Bob is Billy Bob...(wecis?)

Definitely worth watching.

6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:

Don't be fooled.

Author: (billybrown41@hotmail.com) from Kimberling City, MO.
21 May 2001

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.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Takes a while to get into, but a decent drama in the end

Author: robsellke from Illinois
4 September 2000

The first half hour of "Homegrown" was rather boring and not absorbing, but as the film progressed, so did my interest in the characters and the plot. Several scenes are really scary and you fear for the main characters who you actually grow attached to. The story is about three hired hands on a hidden illegal marijuana farm in southern California. They witness the murder of the farm's owner, Malcolm (John Lithgow), and they take over the weed for their own. The three rather simple-minded farm hands soon get swept up into a scary world of mafia and local interest, while all of the time trying to convince everyone that Malcolm is still alive. While the movie had several faults and a slow beginning, it turned out to be worthwhile. 7/10 stars.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:

a fun romp

Author: donndahlia from Florida, USA
27 December 2003

A fun romp...a lot of good twists and turns! (and we were not even baked!)

Didn't know this movie even existed until watching the extra trailers on a Monty Python DVD...(oddly it was there along with The City of Lost Children, and The Adventures of Baron Munchauhsen)

The plot keeps you wondering throughout.

The acting was awesome...Hank Azaria shows his talent again, Bill Bob is Billy Bob...(wecis?)

Definitely worth watching.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:

Quality production of an amusing story line.Well worth the effort to see it

Author: Michael Hartley from Jacksonville, Florida USA
16 October 1998

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.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

Oddball NON-COMEDY Entertainment

Author: roscopekoe from NYC, NY
18 June 2004

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.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Flawed, but pretty good

Author: kellytunes from United States
1 April 2008

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This movie will never be confused with Casablanca or The Godfather, but it's not the bad film that a previous reviewer thinks. Is it a touch far-fetched? Sure. But is life really like that in Humboldt Co. California? Yeah, pretty much. Marijuana is grown in many places, and the money the growers and dealers make does go to other places than just their own pockets. So the bit in the diner with Hank Azaria and Judge Rheinhold is not far fetched at all.

I found the character Malcolm a bit much, but the characters portrayed by the other principle actors (Billy Bob Thornton, Hank Azaria, Ryan Phillipe, Kelly Lynch) were pretty much spot-on, as far as I could tell (and I have been around the trade a bit). As far as the mob connection and the growers being all in a twist about things--well, I don't know. There is certainly a degree of "pride of ownership" with the hardcore growers, but a profit is a profit.

As to the ending, well, I've often said I thought it was sad--but that's just my take on things. A shame to see a ton of ultr-primo weed go to waste (even if it is fictitious weed).

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

the final scene is a dream of mine

Author: real movie views from United Kingdom
15 February 2008

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

what a great little film, lots of good roles from some random stars. Basically there are these pot growers that get caught up in a comical adventure. At points the film makes you believe everyone is going to end up dead! Which adds to the comedy. When the character of John Lithgow (3rd Rock) re-appears - its impossible not to imagine the trip, this may have caused, like a total paradox. The film is full of twists and turns that keep you guessing all the way to the end. Billy Bob Thornton Astronaut Farmer) is brilliant, in fact looking back, the character is fairly similar in the fact he holds the family of pot growers together. Everyone involved in this film should get a big thumbs up.

As i say' the final scene is a dream; however a nightmare at the same time. I love it when Hank Azaria (carter) says at the end do you think we should do this every year? I felt my self wishing they would.

I'm not going to say this film is good for everyone, but as a lover of stoner movies i give it 10/10. - My advice have a joint ready; kick back and enjoy!

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