Sordid Lives (2000)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Del Shores

Writers (WGA):

Del Shores (play)
Del Shores (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 May 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A black comedy about white trash.

Plot:

As three generations of a family in a small Texas town gather for a funeral, we learn the hilarious, sad, trashy truth of the "Sordid Lives."

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Texas | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Drag | Alcohol

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Olivia Newton-John	...	Bitsy Mae Harling
Kirk Geiger	...	Ty Williamson
Sarah Hunley	...	Juanita Bartlett
Newell Alexander	...	Wardell 'Bubba' Owens
Beau Bridges	...	G.W. Nethercott
Earl Houston Bullock	...	Odell Owens (as Earl H. Bullock)
Beth Grant	...	Sissy Hickey
Delta Burke	...	Noleta Nethercott
Leslie Jordan	...	Earl 'Brother Boy' Ingram
Mitch Carter	...	Bumper
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Latrelle Williamson
Sharron Alexis	...	Sara Kaufman
Ann Walker	...	LaVonda DuPree
Mary Margaret Lewis	...	Ethel (as Mary-Margaret Lewis)
Rosemary Alexander	...	Dr. Eve Bolinger

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Daly-Harris Productions

Trivia:

This film contains many of the original actors from the long running stage-production, with the actors who originated the Bonnie Bedelia and Beau Bridges roles (Mary Margaret Lewis and Mitch Carter) playing the receptionist Ethel and security guard in the mental institution.

Goofs:

Continuity: In our first view of the corpse, it is wearing red lipstick. In the very next view, the lips are pink. Then they are red again in subsequent scenes.

Quotes:

Sissy: I don't care, quite frankly! I am tryin' to quit smokin'! And the two of you are gettin' on my nerves!

Movie Connections:

Version of "Sordid Lives: The Series" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad

Small Town Americana

Rather than being plot driven as in most films, "Sordid Lives" is character driven. Some ten to twelve main characters who live, or have lived, in a small town in West Texas chat, argue, hug, gossip, lament, reflect on, laugh at, debate, divulge, confer, confide in, and generally shoot the breeze, as they go about their drab existence, in preparation for a funeral. Adapted from a stage play, this film comedy is, not surprisingly, heavy on dialogue. The characters have their own unique quirks and personality idiosyncrasies, and are interesting for the most part.

Sissy (Beth Grant) is an older, fussy woman who stings herself with a rubber band on her arm, as a way to quit smoking. Latrelle (Bonnie Bedelia) and LaVonda (Ann Walker) are Sissy's two nieces who argue with each other about everything. Then you've got Noleta (Delta Burke), a tacky trailer park type married to G.W. (Beau Bridges), a man whose two wooden legs caused the death of Sissy's sister. Then there's Brother Boy (Leslie Jordan), Latrelle and LaVonda's brother, who is confined to an institution because he is a flaming transvestite who dresses like Tammy Wynette. Brother Boy is a hoot in that bizarre outfit, and with that deadpan expression and slow Texas nasal twang. To complicate matters, Latrelle's son Ty (Kirk Geiger), is a gay actor who is trying to recover from his boyhood in provincial West Texas.

I liked the first half of the film better than the second half, which trends in the direction of plot absurdity, as two characters enter a bar with guns, and one character threatens to set fire to himself.

With its absence of background music, its exaggerated acting (over the top at times), its indoor sets, and absence of scene transitions at times, "Sordid Lives" feels very much like a TV sitcom. The costumes are colorful and charmingly tacky. Cinematography is conventional. Olivia Newton-John sings a couple of gospel hymns. But I could have wished for more country/western music.

If the film has one overall weakness I would say that it is its flamboyance. Characters, dialogue, acting and plot tend to be overstated; there's almost no subtlety. It's like they were trying a little too hard.

Still, the down-home humor renders lots of laughs for viewers. And underneath all the hubbub, these characters have genuine heart and soul. "Sordid Lives", ultimately, is a film whose theme is love and acceptance.