The Movie

Daddy & Them is Billy Bob Thornton's follow-up to his Academy Award-winning Sling Blade, with the actor once again also donning his writer/director cap. His tale centers around Claude and Ruby Montgomery (Thornton and Laura Dern), a married couple who are living the epitome of a "white trash" existence in small-town Arkansas. Claude works odd jobs, lives off of a constantly unpaid credit ticket at the local convenience store, and is covered with a bevy of tattoos, including one of a rose... as in Rose, Ruby's sister (Kelly Preston), who is also Claude's ex-girlfriend, a fact that never goes unnoticed by an insanely jealous Ruby. But Ruby hasn't cornered that particular market: Claude is incensed over the series of "muscle men" that Ruby dated before him, even if such "muscle men" might never have truly existed, and is consistently obsessed with his own limited physique. Meanwhile, the pair joins up with Ruby's mother Jewel (Diane Ladd) and Rose to travel 80 miles away to attend the trial of Claude's Uncle Hazel (the late, great Jim Varney), who is being charged with attempted murder in an unrelated case. Also showcased are Claude's father O.T. (Andy Griffith, in a marvelous performance), Hazel's wife Julia (Brenda Blethyn), a British psychologist who attempts to give the Montgomery's a healthy dose of realism, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Ben Affleck as Elaine and Lawrence Bowen, Hazel's lawyers and a married couple who bring up their own dysfunctional issues quite loudly at a Montgomery picnic. And everybody in the family abuses alcohol. Constantly. And when mealtime conversation becomes too difficult, too emotionally draining, Mama slaps a mechanical monkey that dances the Macarena in order to shut everybody up.

This is one of the slightest, strangest, and quietly enjoyable flicks I've seen in awhile. Daddy & Them certainly does not go far in terms of plot, but as a character piece and ensemble drama there is much to admire. The movie is more often than not better as a sum of its parts rather than a consistent whole. I enjoyed scenes, bits of dialogue, and throwaway bits that seemed to go nowhere but added to the entire environment that this film conjured. The tone of the film is breezy and lazy, and if the film lacks in plot and narrative development, it revels in its individual moments. Thornton enjoys pointing the camera at his actors and letting the realism of these characters shine through.

I don't know how Daddy & Them would have played out at the box-office; the film revels in character-driven quirkiness instead of that type of forced, obvious humor that mainstream audiences tend to enjoy, and this probably would have limited the appeal of this film. Certainly, Miramax didn't have much faith in the film. It was shot in 1998, its release schedule constantly being delayed, and was finally dumped onto cable in 2003. The film is finally getting a DVD release in 2004, nearly six years after its filming, and while the film may not appeal to everyone, Daddy & Them remains a worthwhile endeavor. This is a slight, sad, sweet, and funny little film.

The DVD

Video:

Daddy & Them is presented in a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen-viewing allegria! This is a very pleasant looking transfer. The overall image looks very sharp, with fine detail and lacking telltale shimmering, jagged edges, and other line noise. Colors appear smart and warm, with excellent contrasts, warm flesh tones, and deep black levels. The transfer is free of compression and pixellation noise. Grain structure is slight but noticeable throughout the film. The quality of the print used in the transfer was quite clean; it's hard to believe that a movie this good looking was shot for such a small budget. My only nitpick would be occasional if minimal edge-enhancement throughout the picture, but this is a minor complaint in an otherwise stellar transfer.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and is a clean, bright delivery of the source material. Daddy & Them isn't exactly the type of film that commands a brash, aggressive, and dynamic audio presentation, but the material is well-served by mix included here. Dialog levels display excellent clarity. Orchestrations and the country/rock score come across very well, with fine fidelity and solid range. There isn't an excessive amount of immersive or enveloping activity; surrounds and LFE are used sparingly, and directionality is somewhat limited. This is altogether fine; the audio sounds superb and serves its purpose well for this movie.

Extras:

Actor/writer/director Billy Bob Thornton and producers Bruce Heller and Bob Salerno provide a feature-length audio commentary, and the overall tone is low-key, candid, humorous, and informative. The trio provides a good amount of friendly camaraderie and background material about the production. It's a good commentary track: despite the constant ribbing and jokiness, there's obvious a lot of love for this picture. I could use a little less Billy Bob commenting about his package, but there you are.

There's a four-and-a-half minute Behind-the-scenes Special that provides a brief look at the production. It's quick, glossy, and altogether over way too quickly, but it makes for a fine if inconsequential addition. Also included on this disc are five deleted scenes with optional commentary. Finally, The Return of Carl is a four minute "outtake" in which Billy Bob Thornton revives his Sling Blade creation.

Finally, there are sneak peeks, trailers for Buffalo Soldiers, Wakin' Up In Reno, The Osbornes - Second Season, Under The Tuscan Sun, Chump Change, and My Boss's Daughter.  

Final Thoughts

Whatever you may think of this film, always remember that Billy Bob Thornton got the Sheriff of Mayberry to say the word "cornhole" on film. You gotta love the movies!

Anyway, Miramax has assembled quite a decent package for its DVD release of Daddy & Them. The presentation of the film is excellent, with a fine transfer and very acceptable audio mix. They have also thrown in some quality extras for fans of the film, which is more than one could have expected from a low-budget production that never found an audience in theaters. If you have enjoyed Thornton's other works, you will most likely enjoy Daddy & Them. It's a funny, moderately enjoyable slice of life, and definitely deserves a look. The DVD definitely does the movie proud.