Picking Up the Pieces (2000)

A small New Mexican village discovers a severed hand that is considered a miracle of God, when it actually belongs to a murdered spouse with a husband in search of it.

Director:

Alfonso Arau

Writer:

Bill Wilson

Stars:

Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, David Schwimmer

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Tex Cowley
Sharon Stone	...	Candy Cowley
Maria Grazia Cucinotta	...	Desi
Cheech Marin	...	Mayor Machado
David Schwimmer	...	Father Leo Jerome
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Officer Bobo
Alfonso Arau	...	Dr. Amado
Danny De La Paz	...	Lalo Taxi Driver
Andy Dick	...	Father Buñuel
Fran Drescher	...	Sister Frida
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Flaco
Elliott Gould	...	Father LaCage
Eddie Griffin	...	Sediento
Mía Maestro	...	Carla
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Constancia

Storyline

Woody Allen plays Tex, a kosher butcher. Sharon Stone plays his unfaithful wife Candy. Tex catches Candy in the act and in a fit of rage he kills her. To conceal his crime he cuts up her body and buries it in the desert in New Mexico. However, when her hand surfaces, a blind woman trips over it and it restores her sight. The hand is then considered to be the "hand of the Virgin." Despite the church's fallen priest objecting, the ambitious mayor of the town creates an international three-ring circus of miracle-seekers, TV crews, and born-again local prostitutes all interested in the hand. All of this goes on while Tex is desperately trying to recover the hand before the sheriff finds it and uses it as evidence against him.

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Plot Keywords:

hand | miracle | new mexico | butcher | police | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Kushner-Locke Company [us] Metropolitan Filmexport (French)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

First on Max

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 63,517,620 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comala Films Productions, Kushner-Locke Company, The, Ostensible Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cheech Marin said this is the worst film he's done.

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Quotes

Tex Cowley: She had a boyfriend before me who was in with the mob, and she testified against him and, you know, he didn't take it too kindly... So we came out to Texas, eh, primarily for the air... Actually, we, eh, we wanted to keep breathing it...

User Reviews

Let's point the finger, shall we?

"Picking Up the Pieces" is one of those nonsense stories that gets morphed into something really neat. In this case, Sheriff Tex Cowley (Woody Allen) tries to bury the body of his wife, but accidentally leaves her hand above the ground. I should identify that her hand has the middle finger sticking out. When a blind woman stumbles upon the hand, she regains her vision, and then the hand starts performing all sorts of miracles.

Yes, it's a totally outlandish idea, but they do some really funny stuff with it. I especially liked the scene with "Ortiz". One might say that this movie looks at the interconnectedness of everything. Maybe. But overall, I'd say that it's an excuse to have fun. And it sure is something to see Woody Allen in a small Texas town. Also starring Sharon Stone, Cheech Marin, David Schwimmer, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Kiefer Sutherland.