Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal ("Waterworld")
Writers: Nicholas Kazan & Stephen Gyllenhaal
Cinematographer: Greg Gardiner
Jack: Billy Bob Thornton ("Sling Blade", "U-Turn")
Carter: Hank Azaria ("The Birdcage")
Lucy: Kelly Lynch ("Drugstore Cowboy")
Harlan: Ryan Phillipe ("I Know What You Did Last Summer") |
The one image that remains with me from "Homegrown" is of a camp deep in the forest, complete with heavy rustic polished dining table and silver candelabra! The rest of the film remains rather hazy - perhaps since what is homegrown is the marijuana which Jack (Billy Bob Thornton), Carter (Hank Azaria) and Harlan (Ryan Phillipe) are watching over from their camp in the depths of the forest. The crop is close to maturity and they are guarding it for their boss Malcolm (John Lithgow). When Malcolm is shot dead, the trio, led by Jack, decide to keep Malcolm alive and cash in on the crop.
"Homegrown" has all the necessary ingredients for a rollicking black comedy but lacks the freshness and energy of the recently released "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels", not to mention the clever twists in plot. The presence of John Lithgow promises some interesting menace but he is killed off in the opening sequence. The local police are implicated and the Mafia is trying to muscle in on the trade. Our three "heroes", plus love interest Lucy (Kelly Lynch), are caught in the middle, trying to learn the game as they go. Jon Bon Jovi makes an appearance as Danny, Malcolm's regular buyer and Jamie Lee Curtis has a brief appearance as Sierra, one of the locals who are also in on the game. ["Blue Steel" remains one of my favourite films and I keep wanting to see Curtis in an equally challenging role.]
There were times when I sensed some of the menace "Deliverance" and the murderous intent of "Blood Simple", but unfortunately these were only fleeting moments. "Homegrown" doesn't seem to know where it is going. It drifts along in a haze of smoke and fails to take advantage of the acting talent available.
The production note suggests that now is the time for a film that feeds into the revived debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalised. "Homegrown", with its cast of ne'er do wells with whom we are meant to side, doesn't come close to raising any hard questions and lacks the necessary pace and tight scripting to make it successful as either a thriller or a black comedy.
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