- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 0767823346
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,132 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's clear why Melanie Griffith saw Mark Childress's bestselling book, Crazy in Alabama, as the perfect vehicle for herself. The role of Lucille, a beautiful, battered wife in rural Alabama who dreams of glamorous movie stardom, is tailor-made for her. Griffith's husband, Antonio Banderas, has done quite a respectable job guiding her in this, his directorial debut; her performance--compelling, funny, and warm--is her best since Something Wild. (She also looks simply smashing.)
Otherwise, the film is a curious amalgam of genres: an antic, surreal Southern Gothic comedy combined with a deadly serious civil rights parable. As the movie opens, in the summer of 1965, Lucille (Griffith) has just murdered her abusive husband and is blowing town for Hollywood with his head in a Tupperware container. Scenes of her wacky cross-country road trip are interspersed with incidents back in Alabama involving clashes between protesting blacks and murderously intolerant whites. One can't imagine how these two seemingly disparate narrative lines will come together, but they do, in a surprisingly effective manner. The moral of both stories turns out to be: "You can bury freedom, but you can't kill it." Stand-out performances by Robert Wagner, as Lucille's Hollywood agent; Rod Steiger, as a quirky Southern judge; Meat Loaf, as a brutal, bigoted Southern sheriff; and Lucas Black (Sling Blade) as Lucille's highly principled young nephew, give the film an additional boost. --Laura Mirsky
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Tale of a Decade,
By A Customer
This review is from: Crazy in Alabama (DVD)
This DVD is in my library of Great films because it was entertaining but at the same time had a moral I'd like my son to understand.It was comedic in its dealing with the theme of the decades of the 60's and the 70's ( and even today) yet at the same time dealt seriously and respectfully with the topic. There was one theme, of a group's search for recognition of humanity and inalienable rights in the story of a young woman who kills her husband for her freedom and a younger Black man who gives his life in a similar cause. The two ongoing stories were handled in a unique and entertaining manner. I will watch this DVD over again and enjoy it many times in the future. I will watch for other films directed by Antonio Banderas.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best movies of 1999!,
By FloozyFlapper1926 (Somewhere in the 20's) - See all my reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising Excellence!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Crazy in Alabama [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"Crazy in Alabama" is set in the early 1960's and combines several plots expertly: the Civil Rights Movement, spousal abuse, and parentless children. Antonio Banderas directs brilliantly. Melanie Griffith is a vision of loveliness and her performance is worth seeing all by itself! The bottom line is, no matter what the consequences, we must do the right thing.
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