Crazy in Alabama (1999)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Antonio Banderas

Writers (WGA):

Mark Childress (novel)
Mark Childress (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Sometimes you have to lose your mind to find your freedom

Plot:

An abused wife heads to California to become a movie star while her nephew back in Alabama has to deal with a racially-motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff.

Plot Keywords:

Alabama | Hollywood | Star | Murder | Abusive Husband

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Melanie Griffith	...	Lucille Vinson
David Morse	...	Dove Bullis
Lucas Black	...	Peter Joseph 'Peejoe' Bullis
Cathy Moriarty	...	Earlene Bullis
Meat Loaf	...	Sheriff John Doggett (as Meat Loaf Aday)
Rod Steiger	...	Judge Louis Mead
Richard Schiff	...	Norman the Chauffeur
John Beasley	...	Nehemiah Jackson
Robert Wagner	...	Harry Hall
Noah Emmerich	...	Sheriff Raymond
Sandra Seacat	...	Meemaw
Paul Ben-Victor	...	D.A. Mackie (as Paul Ben Victor)
Brad Beyer	...	Jack
Fannie Flagg	...	Sally the Waitress
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Joan Blake

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, thematic material, language and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-8

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Green Moon Productions

Trivia:

Two of Lucille's children are played by Melanie Griffith's real-life children: Dakota Johnson and Stella Banderas.

Quotes:

Peejoe: Uncle Dove, do you really think Aunt Lucille stole that car?
Dove Bullis: Absolutely. Baby sister wants a car, she's gonna get one!

Movie Connections:

Features "Bewitched: It Takes One to Know One (#1.11)" (1964)

Soundtrack:

These Boots Are Made For Walkin

Decent performances and well made, but contains too complex of a script. **1/2 (out of four)

CRAZY IN ALABAMA / (1999) **1/2 (out of four)

By Blake French:

"Crazy in Alabama" is actually very well constructed; with good performances by a strong supporting cast, including David Morse ("The Green Mile"), Rod Steiger ("End of Days")" Meat Loaf Aday ("Fight Club"), and a compelling leading performance by director Antonio Banderas' wife, Melanie Griffith. Based on the novel by Mark Childress, who also wrote the screenplay, the movie suffers not from poor quality of filmmaking, but from the filmmakers trying to cram way to much material in the 111 minute movie.

The performers are hard at work here, but they can not possibly conquer the problems the production experiences due to the overcrowded script, which actually includes three separate stories of equal importance. The first details a woman named Lucille (Melanie Griffith), who dreams of becoming a famous actress in Hollywood after chopping off her cruel husband's head. She commits the murderous act to escape his overbearing clutches. "There are a lot of ways you can kill a person. There are fast ways, and there are slow ways. Chester was killin' me the slow way for thirteen years." Obviously Lucille preferred the fast way when it came to putting an end to her spouse.

The next story revolves around a civil right movement in Alabama. A young black teenager, Taylor Jackson (Louis Miller) is killed by a local prejudice sheriff named John Doggett (Meat Loaf Aday), who angrily pulls the innocent victim off a fence after he and his friends protest against the prohibition of swimming in the city pool. The late boy's parents attempt to lead a civil right crusade while trying to build a case to make Doggett pay for his crime.

Through another story is where these stories are linked. We see these events through the point of view of a young man's realization of life in the South without parents. This character, named Peejoe (Lucas Black), is the nephew of Lucille. She trustingly reveals all her secrets to Peejoe before she heads for Hollywood. He is also the only witness the violent act of Sheriff Doggett, placing him in the middle of the civil rights movement. Peejoe is not the center of the movie, however, and his character is completely unneeded and only adds additional complexity to the screenplay. He is simply an excuse to interlock the other two plots, and the attempt does not work.

The stories by themselves are very interesting, with inventive and original ideas and some thought-provoking messages. The film feels convincing in its development of the setting and atmosphere; the 1960's are captured with intrigue. Although it is his first feature film, Antonio Banderas, also a well-known actor starring 1999's Viking drama "The 13th Warrior," he should have realized the complexity of the plot as a negative contribution. There are movies in which multiple stories make the production unique and innovative, like "Traffic," "Magnolia," and "Pulp Fiction," but those movies blended their narratives together carefully, "Crazy in Alabama" only makes excuses for its actions.