Grand Theft Parsons (2003)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

David Caffrey

Writer:

Jeremy Drysdale (writer)

Release Date:

18 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

It's better to burn out than to fade away.

Plot:

There are times when it's right and proper to simply bury the dead. This is not one of those times.....

Plot Keywords:

Black Comedy | Buddy Movie | Road Movie | Blonde | California

Cast

Jamie McShane	...	Radio Announcer
Johnny Knoxville	...	Phil Kaufman
Danielle Sapia	...	Girl at Joshua Tree Inn
Gabriel Macht	...	Gram Parsons
Robert Alan Beuth	...	Reporter
Sara Arrington	...	Crying Girl
Scott Adsit	...	Music Expert
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Nurse
David Caffrey	...	TV Interviewer
Alexa Sheehan	...	Nurse 2 (as Alexa Motley)
Wesley Mann	...	Doctor
Marley Shelton	...	Susie
Christina Applegate	...	Barbara
Jim Cody Williams	...	Truck Driver
Kay E. Kuter	...	Undertaker

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug references and some language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Cabazon, California, USA

Company:

Morty-Stevie G Productions

Trivia:

The tattoos that 'Jonny Knoxville' has in the film are a mixture of real ones and ones made for the movie. For instance, the tattoo of the word "Madison" (the name of Knoxville's real-life daughter) over his heart is real but the bigger ones on his arm are not.

Goofs:

Continuity: The motorcycle cop's motorcycle is knocked over but, in subsequent shots, is standing up again.

Quotes:

Uniform Cop: So what'cha doing here?
Barney: We're, uh, meeting someone off a flight.
Uniform Cop: You're meeting someone off of a flight?
Barney: Yes.
Uniform Cop: In a hearse?
Barney: Yes. It's a, surprise.
Uniform Cop: Which part's the surprise, um, the fact that you're in a bright yellow hearse? The fact that you look like something out of a horror film? Or, the fact, that you're a half mile away from the terminal and they're gonna have to walk across two runways to reach you?
Barney: The first part.

Soundtrack:

Rhinestones In The Ashes

The Angel's Last Ride

"Grand Theft Parsons" is the story of the kidnapping of Gram Parsons' body by Phil Kaufman, his friend and road manager, to fulfill the country music legend's wish to be cremated in the California desert. Thanks in large part to terrific performances by Johnny Knoxville (as Kaufman), Christina Applegate, and Michael Shannon, and side splitting cameos by Mary Pat Gleason, Jonathan Slavin, and Clint Culp, writer Jeremy Drysdale and director David Caffrey manage to pull off the rarest of feats – a factually based black comedy that not only succeeds, but triumphs, hilariously yet tastefully.

The tale begins with Parsons' drug overdose in the cheap motel in Joshua Tree, California. Kaufman dupes the reluctant Larry Osterberg (Shannon), a drug addled, yoga practicing hippie, to drive the latter's psychedelic hearse to the LA airport to pick up what Osterberg thinks is an empty coffin. The comedic chemistry between these two, as they encounter crisis after crisis trying to snatch the body and bring it back to Joshua Tree, is perfect - reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy. Among the obstacles they have to contend with are Parsons' gold digging ex-girlfriend (Applegate), who needs a death certificate to cash in on an informal will leaving her everything, and Parsons' father (Robert Forster), who has flown from New Orleans to pick up the body.

The movie is not without flaws. The Applegate role is purely fictional, and Parsons' real father died when he was a boy. But these characters add humor to the plot and depth to the characterization of Parsons (like all 70s rock stars, he was considered something of a womanizer), so they can easily be overlooked in the name of artistic license. And, there are some parts of the story that are not credible at all. I doubt that a body could be loaded for transport without a valid death certificate, and I've never seen a hotel bathroom that could be locked from the outside. But these are minor cavils.

Whether you're a Parsons devotee (like me), or have never heard of him (like my father, with whom I watched the film), I can just about guarantee that you'll enjoy "Grand Theft Parsons".