Good concept, poorly executed.

Best movie ever!

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I love Duvall, and enjoy most things with BBT, but this one let me down. Many unexplained character back stories, none of the adults were happily married, and aside from that, it appeared that no one had a job, yet they could afford to live in this beautiful antebellum mansion with a maid, numerous cars and a swimming pool. Also, the characters' ages seemed off for the time period, i.e. the movie took place in 1969, and the 3 sons were all veterans of WW2 25 years earlier - they didn't look old enough, especially Bacon. I was disappointed in this movie, was hoping for something as good as Slingblade. I would have turned it off but I just kept thinking there would be some redeeming plot twist or character development, but nothing ever came.

Thornton & Epperson failed miserably on this one. Same old stereotypical Southern bullshit. Totally unbelievable. Terms like "back in the day" came into America's vernacular in the 90's, not in this period piece. One wonders why "Bucktooth Billy" has to be so skin crawling gross i.e the masturbation scene. The script could have easily been written by a couple high school kids making no one laugh but themselves. Thornton vowed he would never direct again after super-bomb, "All The Pretty Horses". Too bad he broke his promise. Obviously a "one trick pony", ("Sling Blade") which also, by the way, set his home State of Arkansas's image back 50 years. We have no use for him here in his home State. His infamous radio interview on a Canadian radio station,(YouTube), showed us all what a dick he really is. Kevin bacon is great, even in this piece of crap. And for once Robert Duvall didn't talk with his hands

Set in the small town of Morrison, Alabama, in 1969, the film has an all-star ensemble cast but I felt that the bizarre and dark family dynamics that play out, although well acted, just never congeal into an entertaining or meaningful story. Billy Bob Thorton directs here, and also has a lead role in the movie, as well as co-writing the screenplay with Tom Epperson.It's set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, which is still raging, and the hippie drug culture that emerged in the 60's. The plot revolves around the rich patriarch of the Caldwell family, Jim Caldwell, portrayed by the great actor Robert Duvall, getting a call from England that his ex-wife Naomi had died, and that per her wishes her new family will accompany her body for burial to Alabama. Naomi had traveled to England many years before, met a man there, and came back to Alabama to leave Jim and the family suddenly and remarry in England to Kingsley Bedford, played by another great actor John Hurt.This will set up a number of sub-plots as the Bedfords meet the Caldwells for the first time. As mentioned, there's an all-star cast here, with the three sons of Jim being played by such screen notables as Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, and Billy Bob Thorton himself, while Jim's daughter is portrayed by Katherine LaNasa. Kingsley is accompanied to the States by his son Ray Stevenson and his daughter Frances O'Connor.So with all this talent on screen what's the problem? Well for me, it was that the various strange scenarios that play out mostly didn't work, in my opinion. Some were humorous and interesting, while I thought the majority could be mean-spirited and trying too hard to be over-the-top and strange. The ultimate result for me was that, as mentioned, the movie just never meshed together into anything more than segmented pieces of a film.

I watched this movie with a group of regular movie goers. One person stood up and said, "If I had seen this in a theater, I would have stood up and booed"-- Two people fell asleep. Another said, this makes Ishtar look like a compelling masterpiece. The movie was painfully slow, with dreadful dialogue, shameful use of great talent, boring to the audience and a pity the director never made it to the set. Whatever was paid to the cast....next time could Billy Bob s spend less money on a dyed red wig and a few more on a script and director. The use of Jayne Mansfield's name in the title was a con to drag us in--thinking it would be clever and edgy. Beyond disappointing.