VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

gftbiloxi SORDID LIVES opens with a singer at a microphone, a woman with bleached hair that shows black roots, several tattoos, and strategically placed chewing gum as she rehearses a profanity-laced juke joint song. She looked familiar--and when she sang her voice was even more so. Who on earth was she? My jaw dropped with a clatter. Oh My God. It can't be! But yes, it is. That really is Olivia Newton-John! Written by Del Shores, SORDID LIVES was a popular ticket and award-winning comedy on the Los Angeles stage, but when Shores sought a movie deal every studio turned him down flat. Shores persevered nonetheless, and the result was an awkwardly self-directed, extremely low budget movie filmed in high definition that had the look of a cheap 1960s soap opera. Surprisingly, though, these qualities actually suited the material: a torrid, vulgar, trashy, and unexpectedly spiritual tale of a small-town Texas funeral gone to pot in the most disastrous ways imaginable.The plot is difficult to describe, but it revolves around a "good Christian" grandmother who has died under unsavory circumstances: shacked up with a neighbor's husband in a cheap motel, she tripped over her lover's wooden legs and cracked her head on the bathroom sink! Now her lover G.W. (Beau Bridges) is getting drunk down at the bar while her daughters Latrelle and Lavonda (Bonnie Bedelia and Ann Walker) bicker with each other over the funeral arrangements--and whether or not Brother-Boy (Leslie Jordan) should be allowed to come to the funeral from the mental hospital where he has been locked up for twenty-three years because he thinks he's Tammy Wynette.The film is a hair slow to get underway, but once it does it goes off like a rocket. There's G.W.'s humiliated wife Noleta (Delta Burke), an aging barfly named Juanita (Sarah Hunley), the psychiatrist from hell (Rosemay Alexander), angst-ridden gay grandson Ty (Kurt Geiger), bar owner Wardell (Newell Alexander) and his half-wit brother Odell (Earl H. Bullock)--and the aforementioned ex-con and juke-joint singer Bitsy Mae (Newton-John.) And it is clear that each and every one of them are having a wonderful time tearing strips off the wickedly funny script, which offers one outrageous line and scene after another.For all the talent on display--Delta Burke, Kirk Geiger, and Bonnie Bedelia are particularly memorable--the big noise is actress Beth Grant, who is probably best known for her turn in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Cast here as Sissy, sister to the dead woman, she is everything that is appallingly funny: snapping a rubber band on her wrist because she's trying to quit smoking, fanning herself up the legs of her shorts, and trying to make peace in the family before everybody meets up at the church for funereal hysteria. Her performance is one-of-a-kind and knock-you-flat at the same time.The DVD comes with several extras, including cut scenes and an enjoyable audio commentary. I'm not all that fond of contemporary comedy--I usually find it both sterile and saccharine--but I tell you here and now: SORDID LIVES, for all its flaws, made me laugh until I cried.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Elswet I am usually one who loves effects and huge KABOOM flix. Gimme Eye Candy, or get off my screen!But once in a great while, someone will bring out an Indy (May, Ginger Snaps, Brotherhood of the Wolf) which grabs me and won't let go. This is one of those jewels.Based on small town life in Texas, this wonderful story rings true all across the Deep South of the US. If you're not from the US (at least), you probably won't understand the truthfulness of this work; how true to life these characters are. I honestly felt like I was down home, visiting my family. No other movie (Sweet Home Alabama, Under Siege, Stone Cold, Forrest Gump) has made me feel more like I was sitting in Aunt Mary's parlor, enduring another day in the life, than this production. They wanted to catch the feel of the moment. They wanted to expose the way life really IS in the Deep South. They succeeded on a level I have never before experienced. It was brilliantly witty and heart touching.The story itself was wonderful, the dialog was brilliant, the sets and costuming were inspired, accents were beautiful and not forced (Jessica Simpson's Daisy Duke), and the thespians submit dead on portrayals.This one is not for the kiddies (unless they are FROM the Deep South in which case they've probably heard and seen worse), but is wonderful inspiration for anyone who is homesick. This movie will either break you down and make you buy that ticket home, or will give you the resolve to stay put by reminding you why you don't live there anymore!I give it 10/10 on the Indy Scale. That's a solid 8/10 on the A Scale from...the Fiend :.

bob19-3 This movie is hilarious. I KNOW these people. They reminded me of growing up in Tennessee and living in Georgia. Very accurate depiction of the South, which is rare. The women characters are dead-on, especially Beth Grant as Sissy, plus Leslie Jordan as Brother Boy is not to be missed. Olivia Newton-John is great as long as she's singing, but otherwise is the weakest link. It wasn't clear what her character added to the story.Beau Bridges also was not as strong as the rest of the cast. The ending left a lot to be desired, but overall this film was well worth watching, and one you can watch over and over to pick up all the details. If it's true this was shot in just 9 days, then it's nothing short of amazing. At times it really soars, but then it would get really campy with some surprisingly lame moments. Overall it's a great story, a lot of fun while still touching some deep places that will make you cry. A must-see for anyone who grew up south of the Mason-Dixon line, and anyone else who wants to see some great acting.

dcooke1 I think Cipher-J's review -- and some of the others here -- miss the main point. It's not whether you find the movie hilarious or not. I mean, if you're gonna like this movie, I guess you'd better find to be funny. But the real pay-off of this movie is how you grow to like, or at least empathize with, many of the characters. If you find yourself resenting or dismissing this movie as just cheap shots at a bunch of losers, you're missing a whole layer. Maybe you're the loser. You gotta be able to care about these characters. This movie is one of the very best I've seen which collects a crew of oddballs and makes you love them. Think Coen Brothers. Think Rushmore.The crime of it is that the Oscars and Golden Globes don't reward performances like Leslie Jordan's and Beth Grant in this movie.