Daddy & Them (2001)reviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
"Daddy & Them" is about a married couple, Claude and Ruby, played by Billy Bob Thornton (The Ice Harvest) and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park), learning to fall in love with each other again after years of lacking trust, patience and understanding. The picture had some very quippy dialogue in most scenes, coupled with a well contrasting, but still redneck inspired, family who comes together when the brother of the patriarch is arrested for attempted murder. Thornton and Dern do fine, but the story, the characters and performance from nearly everyone are very overdone. At times, I think the picture is supposed to be melodrama, but it's very hard to tell. The material is very inconsistent. My favorite performances include Andy Griffith as the patriarch of the family, and Brenda Blethyn as the wife of the accused. The two of them were extremely funny. The weakest part of the picture was it seemed to run in circles. The picture was simply about the characters, and not so much about the imprisoned uncle, so the characters go round and round in very funny arguments, but they go no where. As writer and director, Billy Bob Thornton has done a much better job with his first indie feature "Sling Blade," which he won the Academy Award® for original screenplay with. This is pale in comparison. Overall, the picture is funny, but it gets long-winded and redundant. I think it's worth renting before buying to see if it fits your taste. If you like Jeff Foxworthy style of stand up comedy, you should love this movie. Benn - Where's the Humanity?
This movie is like one long Jeff Foxworthy special. Writer/director Billy Bob Thornton found every opportunity he could to express the Foxworthy coined phrase, "You might be a redneck if…"