Sordid Lives [DVD]

The late, great Leslie Jordan and a cast of great actors in a fast-paced, crazy and witty comedy. I really enjoyed this.

SORDID LIVES opens with a singer at a microphone, a woman with bleached hair that shows black roots, several tattoos, and stragetically 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 presevered 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 everbody meets up at the church for funerial 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

Added to my movie collection.

Last night I sat down with a glass of wine, turned on the DVD of SORDID LIVES and had an enjoyable time watching this sensitive, emotional and soulful movie. I didn't know exactly what to expect after reading on the artwork 'A Black Comedy about White Trash' albeit I soon found out that's exactly what it was. The ensemble cast worked very well with each other and delivered some crackling dialogue made possible by the writer, Del Shores. I loved lines like: "you got as big as a bus and who the hell wants to climb a mountain" and in the Thelma and Louise sequence: "what did I do?" and the reply "you're living and you're breathing."It was nice to see Olivia Newton-John (one of my countrymen - or should that be women) with that amazing Texas accent. She has come a long way since the days of Grease. I could associate with so many of the characters in this story as they reminded me of so many who had passed through my life at one time or another.The lead up to (extracting the fox fur) and the funeral would have to be worth the price of this DVD alone. Tragic as it might be Grandma lying there in the coffin and everyone revealing their thoughts was a joy. One almost expected Grandma to come alive again. On that note make sure you watch right through to after the end credits for a real surprise.The performance of Ty(played by Kirk Geiger) and the sensitivity with which he delivered his lines brought a tear to my eyes as it did his. Somewhere in all this I could feel similar emotions which I had encountered over the years. Where is Kirk Geiger today? It seems he has dropped off the face of the earth after this performance as he is not in the same role in the TV series. From what I can ascertain (after checking imdb) he was portraying a much younger character than what he really was. On that note if anyone has further details on what he might be doing I would certainly appreciate knowing.To conclude I must mention the Art Direction which I found to be extremely striking. It appeared a great deal of thought was put into coloring and design, especially the beautiful paintings in the therapists office) and worked so well with the blending of the costumesLooking forward to Southern baptist Sissies on it's DVD release.

I had already seen the film but thought it would be fun to have one to show to friends at home. We laughed the entire time. What a great film!

I am excited to see the movie. I own the series and i'm in tears every time I watch it! Someone posted earlier that it seemed like an "inside" joke and, being from New Jersey, maybe the joke was missed. That could be. I grew up in a town of less than 400 people in what is considered the deep south. I honestly feel like I know some of these people. Sissy looks so much like a lady I knew growing up. Her name was Nadine and she lived across the street. As for the pill popping, that would be Brenda. She always had a pill bottle with her and she washed them down with her special "sodies". I now know that her sodas were in fact beer. My own mother drove a big ole Caddy with a pistol under the seat. They all had big hair and used one cigarette to light another one. My dad was a local farmer and my mom worked beside him on that farm. She used to haul the rice to the mill in a grain truck. She was a sight! She wore big jewelery, huge dark sunglasses- " They help with crow's feet hon.". She had big hair and she would have a big, colorful designer scarf over it. She loved her pedal pushers and kitten heeled shoes too. in the series, there was an incident with a pet goat named Billy. We had a pet goat named Billy too. Sissy uses the certain green iced tea glasses in the series. I have them myself and use them daily. I love these characters so much because I totally identify with them. I grew up 5 miles down a gravel road and I was surrounded by these people and I loved them all!

Having seen "Sordid Lives, The Series" broadcast in the US in 2008, this movie was a "must have" when I returned home to England. Confusingly, the Series was made after the Movie but recounts the events leading up to the start of the Movie. The Series is wonderful and I can't wait for it to become available here in the UK. The Movie is, by comparison, disappointing and probably makes little sense without seeing The Series first. The characters are less well developed in this Movie.

SORDID LIVES The Series we thought was great. We then bought the movie, but have to say we were really disappointed with it. It is okay to have a low budget picture, many are excellent, but this movie just LOOKS and feels low budget throughout. Boring camera work. A lot of bad acting. Few characters or scenes come across as believable. The frustrating thing is you can see the potential for drama and comedy but it is fails. There are some flashes of great comedy, but overall, you could do a lot better things with your time than watch the movie.I understand the Series was made after the Movie, so great the potential was noted and something excellent came out of this. I would highly recommend the SERIES to anyone, but do not bust a gut seeing the movie!

I ordered this a year ago just got round to watching it and the first 10 mins is a hard porn dvd!

There's lots to like here from a wonderfully weird plot to a bizarre cast of characters. However, the camerawork looks incredibly cheap and the climax, which has such a wonderful lead-up, ultimately disappoints.

Fantastically funny. One of the best films I've watched this year. I have also bought the series - can't wait to watch that!