Crazy in Alabama *** (1999, Melanie Griffith, David Morse, Lucas Black, Cathy Moriarty, Meat Loaf, Rod Steiger) – Classic Movie Review 8279

Director Antonio Banderas’s 1999 drama Crazy in Alabama is based on the novel by Mark Childress, with the screenplay by him too, and stars Melanie Griffith, David Morse, Lucas Black, Cathy Moriarty, Meat Loaf and Rod Steiger.

In the sweltering heat of America’s Deep South in 1965, 12-year-old backwoods Alabama boy Peejoe (Black) is about to get a fast education from his glamorous but eccentric Aunt Lucille (Griffith). Hell bent on pursuing her dreams of TV stardom, Lucille has dumped her abusive husband in a most unusual way, leaving Peejoe with a lot of questions.

Lucas Black plays 12-year-old backwoods Alabama boy Peejoe in Crazy in Alabama (1999).

Accompanied only by her hatbox and its mysterious contents, Lucille embarks on a journey across the US, intent on finding fame and fortune in Hollywood, while Peejoe is left in Alabama. Trying to steer clear of the corrupt sheriff (Meat Loaf), he learns which secrets to keep and which to tell while dealing with a racially motivated murder.

Griffith’s real-life husband, Banderas, directs this shaky but often poignant comedy drama about the price of freedom carefully in his debut, and Griffith is pretty good, with tasty performances from a rich cast in support.

Also in the cast are Richard Schiff, John Beasley, Robert Wagner, Noah Emmerich, Sandra Seacat, Paul Ben-Victor, Brad Beyer, Fannie Flagg and Elizabeth Perkins.

By 2019, Banderas had directed only one more film, Summer Rain (2006). He is a four-time Golden Globe nominee.

Griffith was married to Banderas from 14 May 1996 to 4 December 2015 (divorced, with one child).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8279

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