THE STORY/PLOT:
The story is not really all that important to this spoof. It is more of a character study like other movies that I love that show the humor in human nature (A Mighty Wind and the other Christopher Guest troupe movies,and Fargo, etc.).

This one is about two married couples, best friends, who take a vacation to Reno. It is the context within which the movie shows who the characters are--small-town Southerners from Arkansas who are a bit crass, unsophisticated, and easily impressed. I'm not saying that being from a small town in the South defines you as an unpolished hick, because some do break out of that mold, but it certainly predisposes many people. I'll borrow a phrase from Jeff Foxworthy, "You might be a redneck if..." to characterize the players in this movie. Having been born and raised in Snyder, TX, I know one when I see one and I might be one.

THE ACTORS AND THEIR CHARACTERS AND THE HUMOR:
I can't deal with the actors and the characters they play and the humor separately. The characters are the reason for the movie and they are what makes it funny.

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Billy Bob Thornton plays Lonnie Earl Dodd. (Billy Bob was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, so I'll bet he knew some Lonnie Earl characters in person.)

Lonnie Earl is a yokel through and through. Maybe the best example of that is the scene that shows him asking the bell captain at the hotel in Reno about the hookers there. "I understand the hookers in Nevada are free." The bell captain replies very slowly but emphatically, "Legal!" He stares directly into Lonnie Earl's eyes to see if he can see a glimmer of evidence that Lonnie Earl can understand the difference between free and legal.

You might be a redneck if you bet someone back home $50.00 that you can eat a 72-ounce steak, salad, shrimp cocktail, bread, and baked potato within one hour. Lonnie Earl managed it and was proud of the fact that he'd win that money from Bill Moore back in Millsboro even though it cost him a subsequent trip to the hospital.

You might be a redneck if your plans for an exciting evening are to "go over to the gift shop (at the motel where they stayed on the way to Reno) and tease that rattlesnake."

If you dress up in garb that looks like it came right out of Porter Wagoner's wardrobe, you might be a redneck. In my opinion, there's plenty of evidence that Lonnie Earl is definitely a redneck!

***
Natasha Richardson plays Darlene Dodd, Lonnie Earl's wife. I loved her character and was especially amazed when I learned that she hails from London, England! She never broke her southern accent or made me doubt her as this naïve small-town girl. Darlene's part didn't offer me a lot of belly laughs, but I still enjoyed it and she certainly qualifies as a redneck.

You might be a redneck if you have a collection of shot glasses imprinted with the names of United States destinations such as Reno.

You might be a redneck if your biggest aspiration in life is to see the Grand Canyon. Dar (as the other three call her) had wanted to see the Grand Canyon ever since her teacher told her about it in second grade.

You might be a redneck if you get even with your husband for his romantic indiscretions by offering up his brand new Chevy Suburban to Robosauras. Robosauras is a 42-foot-tall, 30-ton monster robot that eats full-sized vehicles. It was showcased at the Monster Truck Jam, an event that was one of the foursome's main reasons for visiting Reno.

***
Patrick Swayze played Roy Kirkendall. This is my favorite of Swayze's roles. I thought he played this bumpkin beautifully and his timing was good. Patrick is from Houston, TX, so the character was probably quite familiar to him.

You might be a redneck if you describe a plate of oysters as looking "too much like a sinus infection."

You might be a redneck if you walk around the hotel drinking some sort of red beverage through a long straw out of a 2-1/2-foot-tall glass.

You might be a redneck if you share the news that you may be impotent by relating to your friends that the doctor says your "tadpoles ain't swimmin'." Roy had had some fertility tests done and got news of their results when he called their hometown doctor after Lonnie Earl got sick eating the 72-ounce steak in Amarillo, TX. Roy explained that Lonnie Earl didn't trust "some snot-nosed little Texas doctor who ain't too long off the tit."

You might be a redneck if you suggest to your wife that she needn't interrupt her swim at a motel swimming pool to go indoors to the bathroom: "Just pee in the pool. I do it all the time." (A side note for you: The rule of appropriate behavior where I grew up was that you must actually be in the pool when you relieve yourself and not on the high diving board!)

You might be a redneck if you say: "I do have too much blood in my alcohol content." Unfortunately, drinking is a source of entertainment in small-town America since there isn't much else to do.

***
Charlize Theron played Candy Kirkendall, Roy's wife. Charlize was born in South Africa, a fact that adds to my amazement at the expert delivery of this character study.

You might be a redneck if you have blond hair with at least one-inch black roots.

You might be a redneck if you don't think it's taboo to have sex with your husband in the backseat of the Suburban at a roadside park in broad daylight, while spectators stand just outside the vehicle, just because you are ovulating and want to get pregnant.

You might be a redneck if you want to renew your vows in Reno by having a Wizard Of Oz theme wedding.

You might be a redneck if one of the first things you do after gaining admittance to your swank hotel suite in Reno is to jump on the bed with your friend, Dar.

OVERALL:
This movie had special appeal to me since I could recognize the characters as people I grew up with. The four main characters were gaudy, unworldly, unpolished, easily impressed, naïve and very redneck. Maybe the fact that I can laugh at them is a denial of those qualities in myself? I don't know! I just know I love this movie!






Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age