True Stories (1986)

Director:

David Byrne

Writers:

David Byrne (writer)
Beth Henley (writer)

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

"It's a completely cool, multi-purpose movie."

Plot:

David Byrne of Talking Heads fame visits a typical (and fictional) Texas town, on the eve of the town's celebration of the state's sesquicentennial...

Plot Keywords:

Sesquicentennial | Texas | Absurd Humor | Low Rider | Auctioneer

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

David Byrne	...	Narrator / Lip-Syncher / Talking Heads singer
John Goodman	...	Louis Fyne
Annie McEnroe	...	Kay Culver
Jo Harvey Allen	...	The Lying Woman
Spalding Gray	...	Earl Culver
Alix Elias	...	The Cute Woman
Roebuck 'Pops' Staples	...	Mr. Tucker
Tito Larriva	...	Ramon (as Humberto 'Tito' Larriva)
John Ingle	...	The Preacher
Matthew Posey	...	The Computer Guy
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Miss Rollings
Freeman Beatty	...	Lip-Syncher
Evelyn Box	...	Hey Now Kid
Kevin Box	...	Hey Now Kid
Amy Buffington	...	Linda Culver

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | UK:PG | West Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

True Stories Venture

Trivia:

The "Puzzling Evidence" segment of the film was inspired by the Church of the Sub-Genius, a parody faith that David Byrne is a member of. In "church" lore, Puzzling Evidence is the name of the assassin of the religion's fictional founder, J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The movie supposedly takes place in the town of Virgil, Texas. However, in one scene where little children in 4-H shirts are dancing in a field, a water tower is briefly visible in the background that clearly says "RED OAK".

Quotes:

Miss Rollings: It's like how hot dogs come in packs of 10, and buns come in packs of eight or 12 - you have to buy nine packs to make it come out even.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)

Soundtrack:

Buster's Theme

Great mix of rock movie, comedy and characters

In the fictional Texas town of Virgil musician David Bryne arrives to make a documentary about the inhabitants. He meets a raft of characters at the same time as the town's `celebration of specialness'.

What is it? A documentary? A comedy? A rock film? It's not clear. However despite the unclear genre it still manages to be good – even if it's an unique film in terms of style. The comedy comes from both Bryne's and our bemused observation of the slightly kooky nature of small town life.

Bryne is a great narrator. He has a bemused quizzical air the whole time and many of his `to camera' lines are very funny if a little surreal. The characters themselves are almost worthy of Altman in terms of how quirky yet believable they are. Goodman is the best as the lonely ladies man looking for love. But other characters such as the lying lady (Allen) and the eccentric owner of the town (Spalding Gray).

If you don't like the music of David Bryne and the Talking Heads then you may dislike this as much of the second as it becomes mainly music and less Bryne. However it still manages to be funny. Overall this is much better than expected and fans of Bryne will simply love it.