southpatcher Review of Lone Star State of Mind

Lone Star State of Mind (2002)

stereotypes galore...and a few laughs (w/spoilers)

[6/10 · 15 April 2003]

The screenwriter of 'Lone Star State of Mind' should be commended for cramming as many southern stereotypes into one movie as was humanly possible. For starters, characters named Baby, Junior, Jimbo, Tinker, and Sheriff Andy, who live in trailers or houses with junked cars in the yard. And, oh yes, we ALL sit in the bathtub with our cowboy hats and boots on too. And then there's the slightly bothersome fact that Earl is sleeping with his step-sister, which no one seems to find a real problem with. Yep, you know those Southerners, our family trees don't fork. Junior, who seems to have the IQ of a houseplant, also appears to be the product of inbreeding. Baby's sole desire in life is to become 'the next Susan Lucci', and the fat bellied, good-ol-boy sheriff bums a beer off the folks whose cars he stops. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a movie with funny, realistic trashy southern characters (like 'Sordid Lives'), but these folks were just too stupid to live. Joshua Jackson's charm carries him over the silliness of the screenplay, and Jimbo is the most refreshing 'gay buddy to the lead' character I've seen in a long time. There are some laughs here, just not as many as there should have been.