Thursday, January 14, 2010

Homegrown

Released: 1998

Reviewed: 1.4.10
Star rating: 3 out of 5

John Lithgow (Malcolm/Robert), Jon Tenney (Pilot), Ryan Phillippe (Harlan), Hank Azaria (Carter), Billy Bob Thornton (Jack), Kelly Lynch (Lucy), Jon Bon Jovi (Danny), Judge Reinhold (Policeman).

Jack, Carter and Harlan are commercial pot growers working for Malcolm when he is killed in front of them by a helicopter pilot. Rather than lose their earnings for the last year by walking away they decide to harvest and cash out the crop which proves to be much more difficult than they thought.

This one starts off pretty good with brief background then the death of Malcolm in front of the pot farmers which terrifies them for obvious reasons. As they decide to harvest the crop and cash out things get interesting for a little while before the drama kicks in and the film starts to feel like it is going nowhere. Finally toward the end the film gets a bit more interesting with an either disappointing or deserved ending depending on your perspective.

Acting was decent from everyone with Phillippe doing an exceptional job as a paranoid pot newbie. Azaria was also enjoyable as the expert hippie farmer. Thornton, Bon Jovi, and Reinhold all deliver as usual while Lynch just felt out of place and disconnected from her role.

Camera work felt okay while film quality was horrible. Disclaimer: I was streaming this so the bad picture quality may have been poor bandwidth. Sets and backgrounds were good and supported the film well. Special effects were minimal but added good quality to the film.

Overall this was a decent film though I'm not sure how to classify it since it has drama, suspense, and some good dark humor but not enough of any one to fall solidly in a category. I know there are many out there trying to talk about the social statement the film is making, linking it to the War On Drugs, and generally making it more than it is. This is a simply entertaining, though not completely realistic, look at a seldom seen industry. With plenty of drug use, foul language, violence, nudity, and sexuality save this for the oldest teens and above.
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