Sordid Lives [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

King of the Hill In Hyperdrive.......2008-02-24

"Watching writer and director Del Shores's Bible Belt parody, Sordid Lives, is like driving through the boondocks, finding only honky tonk radio and listening to one of those raunchy tunes; it's weird, it's funny and you find yourself humming along." Scott Holleran

We know we can't choose our relatives and aren't we glad someone else has this group? White Trailer Trash may not be apropos for this collection of oddities because these people are so damn funny. Don't think their intention is to be funny, but they are all just a little bit left of center. They are living their lifestyles or not, but they are doing this in their own way.

The beginning of the movie starts at a slow pace but soon builds to a crescendo that will have you laughing til your sides hurt. Sissy Hickey is on the phone discussing the demise of her sister. A rather unfortunate incident of tripping over the wooden legs of her married lover in a third rate motel. Now, the two daughters, Latrelle played by Bonnie Bedelia, and Noletta played by Delta Burke, are arguing over whether mom should be buried in her fur wrap in the middle of summer. This done over a table full of southern fried food sent in by neighbors. The talk turns to Noletta's husband, the lover with the wooden legs, mom's son-in-law. And then turns to Boy Brother, their younger bro, who dresses in women's clothing and has spent the past 20 years in the insane asylum. Latrelle's son is in Hollywood and acting in gay plays. The curious incident of the wooden legs has made the family a laughing stock and how to deal with this?

In the meantime Boy Brother and his psychiatrist, Dr Eve Bolinger, are undergoing his therapy. Dr Bolinger is going to cure Boy Brother of his homosexuality and make her so famous she will appear on Oprah. However Boy Brother is not cooperating, He does not want to change. So, there appears to be a stand-off.

The problems of each family member and the collective are enough to make a grown man cry. However, in this case, we may be down on our knees gasping from our laughter. How this family comes together is a mystery and the country western singer, played by Olivia Newton John , sings the family back home. Not a laugh a minute but funny enough to keep us all off-base.

"Like a live-action version of "King of the Hill" in hyperdrive, features some ornery down-homers who remain convinced of their common sense even when every move puts them in deeper doo-doo. The doo-doo that they do so well is adultery, with the latest round of musical beds in the tale's unnamed small town having resulted in the death of old Peggy, who tripped over the misplaced wooden legs of her married lover, G.W. (Beau Bridges)." Ken Eisner

Highly Entertaining and will become a cult classic. prisrob 02-11-08

White trash have their problems too.......2006-01-08

As SORDID LIVES opens, Sissy (Beth Grant) is awaiting the funeral of her sister Peggy, who recently died in a cheap motel room after tripping over the detached wooden legs of her adulterous lover, G.W. (Beau Bridges), and smashing her head against the bathroom porcelain. As if Sissy doesn't have problems enough in the wake of five failed marriages, she's struggling to quit smoking, popping Valium like candy, and having to cope with the dysfunctions of assorted family members. Niece Latrelle (Bonnie Bedelia), whose husband is off with Jimmy Carter building homes for the poor, is in denial over the homosexuality of son Ty (Kirk Geiger), an aspiring actor out in L.A., and contesting the decision of her sister LaVonda (Ann Walker) to clothe Mom in her favorite mink stole for the burial in 110-degree Texas heat. Meanwhile, Peggy's son Earl (Leslie Jordan), a homosexual transvestite, has been confined to a mental institution for the past twenty years. Out in SoCal, Ty is suffering a sexual identity crisis, and is on his twenty-seventh therapist.

SORDID LIVES, a politically correct film espousing gay rights in a heavy Texas accent, won't appeal to everyone, but several of the performances are surprisingly excellent. Jordan is positively superb as Earl, who spends his life dressed up as CW singer Tammy Wynette, and has a permanent gig entertaining his fellow inmates in the asylum.

Also exceptional is Rosemary Alexander as the sexually frustrated Dr. Eve Bolinger, the institution psychologist assigned to Earl's case. Eve's career, as well as a lucrative book deal and an appearance on Oprah, are all dependent on her ability to successfully de-homosexualize her charge. Therapy has not progressed well after sixty-eight sessions, and Eve is prepared to take Earl's problem in hand, so to speak. The single, on-screen session between Earl and his shrink is brilliantly scripted and worth the price of the video rental, and then some.

A very nice touch is Olivia Newton-John as Bitzy Mae Harling, an ex-con and local bad girl, whose timely live performance of topical songs augments recorded Tammy Wynette vocals. Delta Burke as Noleta, G.W.'s unhappy spouse, is also effective, as is Sissy's striking hairdo.

Sometimes, the film's humor becomes shrill and a little forced. For that reason, I'm lopping off a fifth star. However, though SORDID LIVES is perhaps not suitable for screening at a Southern Baptist potluck, it's one that may offer a pleasant surprise if selected off the rental store shelf as a "well, why not?" afterthought.

The gem movie of the the queer community.......2004-01-24

This wonderful, touching, witty and fun movie has become the highlight movie in Palm Springs where it has been running for years. To the gay community in and outside Palm Springs is has become the signature of accepted diversity. Everyone is queer in some sense, including the heterosexuals, so everyone can find her role model in life. The actors perform splendidly and the music backs them up to create a perfect blend of the American "anno da zu mal" feeling of the 50's and the gay communities of today.

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