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
Lorna Scott	...	Vera Lisso
Dale Dickey	...	Glyndora
Robert L. Stephenson	...	Crazy Preacher Man
Carl Balton	...	Riley
Jane George	...	Crying Mental Patient
Sharyn Leavitt	...	Nurse Jackson
Andrew Trosmans	...	Jason (as Andrew Hawkins)
Beverly Nero	...	Theater Director
Gloria LeRoy	...	Peggy Ingram
Terry Brannon	...	Tom Ed
Donna Hardy	...	Mrs. King (Organist) (as Dona Hardy)
William Phipps	...	Rev. Barnes (as William Edward Phipps)
Rona Newton-John	...	Ty's Therapist
Carl Chase	...	Naked Men (Background Performers)
Joel Craig	...	Naked Man
Peter Dunaj	...	Naked Men (Background Performers)
Tom O'Berg	...	Naked Men (Background Performers)
Armando Sancho-Garza	...	Naked Men (Background Performers)
Scott Sturgis	...	Naked Men (Background Performers)
Matt Leavitt	...	Bar Musicians (Background Performers)
David Frazer	...	Bar Musicians (Background Performers)
Larry Dean	...	Bar Musicians (Background Performers)
Adam Feierstein	...	Mental Institution Orderly
Makenna Cowgill	...	Smiling Baby
Dr. Wayne Peavey	...	Songleader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Lewis Stephenson	...	Crazy Preacher
Ronnie Claire Edwards	...	Funeral Guest (uncredited)
Karen Pellant	...	Cowgirl (uncredited)
Dana Vitatoe	...	Cowboy (uncredited)

Directed by
Del Shores

Writing credits (WGA)
Del Shores		(play)
Del Shores		(screenplay)

Produced by
Victoria Alonso	....	producer
Max Civon	....	producer
George Conda	....	co-producer
Steve Cubine	....	associate producer
Monica Deeter	....	associate producer
James Echerd	....	associate producer (as Jim Echerd)
Matt Gohd	....	co-producer
J. Todd Harris	....	producer
Reuben Jacobs	....	co-producer
Scott Jones	....	co-producer
Jourdan Krauss	....	associate producer (as Jourdan E. Krauss)
Sharyn Leavitt	....	producer (as Sharyn Lane)
William Phipps	....	co-producer (as William Edward Phipps)
Linda Swartz	....	co-producer (as Linda Katzen Swartz)

Original Music by
George S. Clinton

Cinematography by
Max Civon

Film Editing by
Ed Marx

Casting by
Ferne Cassel

Production Design by
Steve Cubine

Art Direction by
Steve Cubine

Costume Design by
James Echerd		(as Jim Echerd)

Makeup Department
Veronica Lane	....	key makeup artist (as Verónica García)
Robin McWilliams	....	key hair stylist
Karen Toole-Rentrop	....	makeup artist (as Karen D. Toole)
Soo-Jin Yoon	....	key makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gina Robertson	....	second assistant director
Brian Terwilliger	....	first assistant director

Art Department
John Hagen	....	assistant art director
John Hagen	....	property master
Mark Jordan	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Gail Carroll-Coe	....	boom operator
Robert Gravenor	....	sound mixer
Gary Krivacek	....	supervising sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Rosemary Alexander	....	on-set still photographer
David Frazer	....	grip
Tom Gleason	....	assistant camera
Roy C. Granada	....	gaffer
April Lanci-Leseur	....	assistant camera (as April Lanci)
Curtis Pepper	....	gaffer
David Swett	....	first assistant camera
Dana Vitatoe	....	grip
Isabella Vosmikova	....	unit still photographer
Jason Young	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paula Avazian	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Monica Deeter	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Ed Marx	....	music editor
Margot Rose	....	co-composer: title song

Transportation Department
Chris Prescott	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Ed Baran	....	unit publicist
Peter J. Clark	....	script supervisor
Monica Deeter	....	production coordinator
James Echerd	....	associate Location manager
Kimberly Emerson	....	assistant production coordinator
Lizzie Knight	....	craft service
Karen Mann	....	production assistant
Jason Pickering	....	location manager
Chris Prescott	....	chief of security
Chris Prescott	....	first aid
Julie Sneed	....	production assistant
Tara Tremaine	....	production assistant
Corey C. Witte	....	assistant to producer

Thanks
Beverly Nero	....	very special thanks
Tammy Wynette	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Daly-Harris Productions
• Davis Entertainment Classics
• Sordid Lives LLC

Distributors

• Regent Releasing (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• here! Films (2004) (USA) (video)
• Regent Worldwide Sales (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• Optimale (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Optimale (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Vagrant Films

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies

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

Ensemble comedy with one terrific performance...

Del Shores directed and wrote this adaptation of his own play about how an elderly woman's (comical) accidental death causes her family and friends to rue her passing while digging up ancient misgivings. Low-budget film played the Palm Springs movie circuit for months but didn't hit many other towns; easy to see why, it's rather like an R-rated sitcom lost on the big screen. While Shores isn't exactly erratic as a director, he's possibly too flexible with his material and his group of actors, and the movie sometimes resembles nothing more than a stunt. There's not much plot (it's just an exercise in showcasing the worst possible sides of humanity for a dirty laugh), yet some good things do come out of this. Leslie Jordan pulls off a difficult transvestite role with un-self-conscious relish; not played for pitiable sympathy or all-out laughs, Jordan's Tammy Wynette-worshipping drag queen amiably walks a fine line--it's a portrayal dead-on in its accuracy, and Jordan is never a pain like the other characters. Delta Burke and Bonnie Bedelia visibly strain to punch up their scenes, while Olivia Newton-John opens the picture with a rousing song but is given nothing else important to do. Too many of the gags are recycled, rehashed and rerun, and the jokes tend to stem from various humiliations. Strictly as a curiosity, the movie certainly lives up to its oddball reputation, and there are some outré laughs for those in the proper spirit. ** from ****