January 14, 2025 • 40 mins
This week on Shelf Criticism, we’re tearing down the backroads of Southern-fried chaos with Barry Battles’ 2012 neo ... pseudo ... quasi-exploitation flick The Baytown Outlaws. It’s got outlaw brothers, ridiculous gangs, Billy Bob Thornton being menacing, and Eva Longoria playing against type—but does it live up to its grindhouse ambitions, or does it stall out in the dust?
Stephen dives into the film’s messy blend of action and exploitation, its flirtation with problematic imagery, and the fine line it walks between being wild fun and just plain off the rails. From Confederate flags to questionable gang portrayals, this one gets complicated—but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of gunfights and mayhem to unpack.
Plus, Stephen reflects on his own connection to the film, chats about how it almost flirts with greatness, and of course, makes the final call on where this chaotic ride lands on the Shelf.
Strap in, folks. Next stop: The Baytown Outlaws.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is what I do. I shoot people in the face.
(00:03):
You understand? Somebody wanted you gone.
You know who they came to? This guy right here.
You know? So I'm sorry.
But you see, you know, alright? This ain't nothing personal, alright?
You ain't gonna believe this.
Yeah.
You got the wrong house.
(00:37):
Welcome to Shelf Criticism.
Meet your host, Stephen, a scholar of literature and film by day.
And by night, a cinematic archaeologist with a penchant for everything from art house to popular to outright trash cinema.
Over the past quarter century, Stephen has amassed an eclectic DVD collection,
now occupying five shells of a curio cabinet in his living room.
(00:59):
Each week, he bravely selects one of these titles to dissect.
Join him as he unearths everything from obscure gems to cinematic missteps.
From blockbuster hits to forgotten flops, each film gets the critical once over it probably doesn't deserve but will absolutely receive.
So grab your popcorn and settle in.
It's time to dive into the diverse world of Shelf Criticism.
(01:29):
Welcome once again to Shelf Criticism, the place where I make it unequivocally known that a solid helping of my DVD shelves are lined with less than reputable titles,
even if I do happen to delight in some of them.
Case in point, last week we dipped our toes into the murky swamp water of Eatin' Alive.
The sophomore effort from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Toby Hooper and one of Robert Englund's earliest films.
(01:50):
If you haven't already, be sure to give that one a listen too.
I do apologize for the delay in getting this podcast out, but for those who live in the south, particularly this northwest corner of Alabama wherein you realize we got snow.
I had every intention of coming and recording this on Saturday, but the weather had other intentions.
So I've really just now been able to get behind the microphone yet again and deliver this podcast episode.
(02:16):
And yes, you people from the north, I get it. We southerners don't know how to handle snow.
I'd like to see what you do in the face of a tornado or a heat wave for that matter.
So at any rate, I'm finally here, finally ready to talk about this.
And speaking of talking, my voice may be giving out a little bit.
The semester has started back up as well, so I also taught four classes today.
I've done a lot of speaking, a lot of projecting my voice, and I'm going to have to do it again for about an hour to 45 minutes.
(02:42):
So, yee-haw, we're going to give it a shot and we will see if I can hold out.
Well, speaking of last insane selection, today's isn't going to get much saner.
I probably could say it's more subdued than eaten alive, but so is a rabid polecat.
It too is off the wall, continually getting crazier and crazier and unhinged as the runtime marches on.
But hey, it has two Oscar nominees and a beloved television actor, even though it's one of those films that make you ask how they wound up there.
(03:05):
And at least if they're being honest on the making of feature out on the DVD, it wasn't under duress.
They actually wanted to be there, which honestly raises even more questions.
It's a film co-written and directed by Barry Battles, and if you don't know that name, it's because he only has three other short films to his credit.
Still, the screenplay was featured in 2009 on Blacklist, a collection of the most acclaimed scripts that are still waiting to be optioned.
(03:28):
When State Street Pictures got word of it, they immediately wanted to meet with Battles and co-writer Griffin Hood.
Clearly, there is some potential lightning in a bottle here.
The film is certainly unique. At least it's not like most films.
Except it often gets accused of being a Timu Tarantino or a Wish.com Robert Rodriguez.
Clearly those two filmmakers are influential to Battles and Hood.
The film certainly is exploitation, but I feel like that word needs a prefix in front of it.
(03:52):
Neo? Quasi? Pseudo?
That's the question I've been asking myself ever since deciding to revisit the Baytown outlaws.
Is it neo-exploitation, borrowing from its grindhouse ancestors to craft something modern?
Is it quasi-exploitation, sort of in the neighborhood but not fully committing?
Or is it pseudo-exploitation, just dressing up in the tropes without actually living the life?
(04:15):
Honestly, I'm still not sure, but one thing's for certain, this film is a chaotic, southern-fried roller coaster with plenty to talk about.
So let's gas up the old beater and rip down the worn, potholed highways of the Deep South.
We're taking a road trip with the Ooty Boys today with our shelf pick, the Baytown Outlaws.
Again, I have a Blu-ray issue of this. The DVD cover is very busy.
(04:36):
Clearly inspired by the grindhouse posters of Yor.
Amid a dingy, off-white background, maybe pale yellow.
And we're going to talk about that color at length in a moment.
We have Billy Bob Thornton on the left and Eva Longoria sporting some super cool sunglasses on the right.
Their names in yellow appear just below their shoulders.
The top and only billed cast.
They do have major roles, but are nowhere near the protagonists.
(04:58):
Those are shown beneath the film's title. Brick, Lincoln, and McQueen, Ooty, moving from left to right.
All three of them are pointing firearms in a very dynamic portrayal.
And then in the far left, sitting on a motorcycle, we have Zoe Bell's character, Rose.
At the bottom, there's a simple tagline.
It ain't a party until the guns come out.
On the DVD back, we have a quote.
A bold, brassy, and bloody grindhouse romp, says Green Daily.
(05:22):
Well, at least they have no problem calling it just a straight up grindhouse.
The synopsis reads, after her ex-husband shoots Celeste three times in the gut and kidnaps her godson, it's time to play dirty.
She hires three outlawed Redneck brothers to bring him back to her.
What begins as a small rescue mission rises to a southern battle royal.
It's short for a cover copy and interesting that we get no parenthetical references to who any of these characters are.
(05:46):
No mention of Longoria, Thornton, or even the three actors playing the Ooty brothers.
And also, I know, grammar pedant here, but I have to say this.
Outlawed? It literally says, she hires three outlawed Redneck brothers.
Y'all, outlawed describes something that has been banned or declared illegal, like outlawed behavior or outlawed practices.
(06:07):
The word outlaw refers to a person who operates outside the law, just like it sounds, like the Ooty brothers.
Sometimes I feel as I'm being too harsh and judging this stuff, but I mean, come on people, precision does matter.
Beneath the copy, we get another picture of the brothers, guns drawn, gathered around their powder blue jalopy, which incidentally happens to be a 1977 Dodge Monaco.
Did you know there's a site called IMCDB, the Internet Movie Cars database?
(06:31):
Yeah, I didn't either until I tried to find out what the heap they were driving was.
You really can find anything on the Internet. Beneath that, we have a series of more pictures.
We have Angel, played by Arden Cho, and Bunny, Brea Grant, two of the female assassins, giving Lincoln a lap dance.
Of course, they would choose this one, sex sells, right?
Next is a picture of McQueen screaming as he's being dragged behind a motorcycle.
(06:52):
If you've seen the film, you know the scene exactly.
Then one of Billy Bob Thornton leering menacingly.
Finally, there's one of Clayne Crawford's brick standing in front of Celeste, who is looking at him earnestly.
Of course, they make sure to get the two best known stars' photos in there once.
I am surprised there isn't a single mention of Andre Brauer until you get to the credits.
When we get through all the production information in the film's billing, the first name we see is Brauer's, interestingly.
(07:18):
The next three are Crawford, Cudmore, and Fimmel, the brothers.
However, it's baffling to me that one line just says Clayne Craw, and without even a hyphen to show it's being broken, the forward is on the next line.
That's probably such a minor oversight, and it's not like there are people crazy enough to look that deep into a DVD jacket.
Aside from me, probably, only Crawford and his mama noticed.
Still, it seems like that kind of attention to detail should be caught.
(07:40):
Speaking of which, the only two special features are the theatrical trailer and a making-of feature that I mentioned earlier.
And the crazy thing about that feature is it's broken into two parts, and that alone is not crazy.
But just right in the middle of a sentence as Billy Bob Thornton is talking, part one ends.
Then you click on part two, and we pick up literally with the next word of the sentence.
It just confused me. It's such a weird place to break.
(08:02):
And I'm sure there was a technical reason behind all this, but I would think you would very least find a point of logical transition to break from part one to part two.
How I came to own it. Full disclosure here, and by that I mean shameless name dropping and bragging.
But I have met Billy Bob Thornton. He's attended our university's film festivals a couple of times, and I've even sat down and had a glass of bourbon with the fellow.
Super nice guy. He's humble. He's down to earth. Everything you don't expect from a person of his stature.
(08:27):
Thus, I'm inclined to watch a lot of film season simply for that reason.
I can still be swayed otherwise. I mean, if I could unwatch Armageddon.
Also, I'm not saying I know him well or that he'd even remember me. I doubt he would, but I do think he'd laugh at that joke.
I also really like Evil Ungoria. When my wife was alive, there were certain television shows that I could count on watching on certain nights, all dictated by her, of course.
(08:49):
Somehow she's the one in the family designated as the master of the evening remote control.
Some of them I liked. Scrubs, modern family.
Some of them, like Grey's Anatomy, I liked more or less, at least through the first, what, 74 or so seasons.
And sometimes, like when she watched The Bad Girls Club, I just either buried my face in my phone or completely left the room for a while.
But Desperate Housewives was a favorite of hers, and it was one that I, despite not really being the target audience, could at least moderately appreciate.
(09:15):
It was soapy and just TV 14 risque enough to keep my attention.
The writing and the plotting varied, but for the most part it wasn't as bad as the premise of the show suggested.
And you have to admit the core cast was pretty good, and it was there that I discovered Evil Ungoria.
Even if you didn't like her in that show, the roles she took on later weren't all that bad, and even if it isn't enough for you,
look at what she's done with her charitable work and volunteerism. You can't help but like the woman.
(09:38):
So somewhere down the line, one of those nights where my wife and I were going to watch a movie instead of television, I saw Baytown Outlaws On Demand.
I don't even recall which service, but when I suggested it, my wife saw Ungoria and immediately agreed.
We both liked the film. She probably a little more than I, but I do tend to be a bit more of a curmudgeon.
I didn't remember a whole lot, just that it was, insert one of the potential prefixes we've already discussed, exploitation.
(10:02):
I'm almost certain that I saw the Blu-ray on the shelf at Target during one of my shopping trips, but either way, wherever I saw it,
I knew we would both approve and having us to watch it some point again.
So I grabbed it and I know it's been watched because the cellophane has been removed.
And I know I had only seen it once that one time on demand, so my wife had to watch it again.
But the second go around, I enjoyed it, though I had reservations.
(10:24):
I wonder what the critics might have thought of it. It is not well liked, to say the least.
Rotten Tomatoes ranks it at 23% and it doesn't fare much better on Metacritic, scoring a 33.
To be fair, there are only 26 reviews aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes and 11 on Metacritic.
Audiences did seem to like it better, not that it's hard to top those numbers.
The Popcorn Meter puts it at 54%, not good, not bad.
(10:47):
And Metacritic users rank it a respectable 70, but again, I should add this is only with 22 reviews.
There isn't much to find as far as professional contemporaneous reviews.
IMDB mentions the film's debut, noting limited release.
I can't seem to find information on a wider release later, however.
The film's box office total is not very much. It's not Zizek Road Low, but it's not respectable.
(11:11):
There's also a review in the Times Picayune, the newspaper of the New Orleans area,
that mentions it playing at Shawmett, a neighborhood just east of New Orleans.
Oh, and if you're into fun facts, that's also where the Battle of New Orleans was fought.
The review actually mentions that Battles was going to be at the screening, presumably for a Q&A session following,
which makes me wonder if this was a special showing, because almost all the filming locations were in Slidell,
(11:33):
another part of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area.
But actually what I learned in doing that bonus episode on Zizek Road does come in handy here.
So for low-budget films, unions often require a film to play in domestic theaters.
My guess is that the strategy for this movie was to do so in a limited opening to satisfy union requirements,
then to make their money on DVD and streaming, probably leaning heavily into the streaming side, as this is 2013.
(11:55):
Less than two years later, of course, streaming would overtake DVDs as the preferred way to watch a film at home.
And I say all this simply because, A, there may be some other film nerds listening out there
that may find this sort of information interesting, and more importantly, B,
I'm guessing there weren't many reviews because of the limited release.
But at least National Public Radio took notice, and I think that's the critique we'll go with.
Old Fashioned Crime, Newfangled Camp, and Baytown by Mark Jenkins.
(12:18):
And yeah, he used the word Newfangled, so I'm already inclined to like this guy, even if we're going to disagree a bit.
He begins,
During the Baytown Outlaws prologue, director Barry Battles interrupts the carnage with comic book style panels.
It's a gambit he uses again later, and an appropriate one.
This deep south odyssey is a pulp fantasy and he knows it.
I can't just pause right here.
Panels? Eh, I didn't love them.
(12:40):
They're not only too stylized, but they're also used far too much in films.
I'm not sure where the tipping point is, and it could very well be the Outlaws got in early on the fad.
I don't know, but either way, looking back now, it just felt like something that was unnecessary.
Ultimately, those visual flourishes detract from the film rather than enhance it.
They're flashy, they don't serve the story or the characters in any meaningful way.
(13:02):
Jenkins then gives us a rundown of the three principal characters that we'll spend most of the time with.
None of the characters named Thornton Longoria or Brower.
Almost like we got a bit of a bait and switch there, isn't it?
Imagine a film doing that.
Jenkins writes,
Baytown is Mobile, Alabama, home to the homicidal Ooty brothers, Brick, Clayne Crawford, the oldest and marginally smartest,
(13:23):
Lincoln, Daniel Cudmore, a behemoth rendered speechless by a crushed windpipe,
and McQueen, Travis Fimmel, who's slightly more sensitive than the other two.
They're such dirtbags that they never change their clothing, the most conspicuous of which is Brick's sleeveless Confederate flag tee.
Technically tank top, not a tee, but you know.
And I'm going to pause here momentarily.
It's hard not to notice.
(13:45):
And yes, we're going to talk about it.
But for now, let's just put a pin in it and we'll circle back around later.
The Ooty's, he continues, are hired killers, but with a dark nightish twist.
They target bad guys and only bad guys.
In fact, a visiting ATF agent, Paul Wesley, is beginning to suspect that the brothers are linked to the seemingly laid back local sheriff, Andre Brower.
After witnessing the redneck Avengers assault on a house full of Spanish speaking drug dealers, Celeste, Eva Longoria, approaches them with an offer.
(14:12):
Twenty five thousand to rescue her godson Rob from her ex, Carlos, Billy Bob Thornton, who's in Texas.
There are several complicating factors, but the Ooty's are too dumb to ask.
So they're surprised to discover that the teenage Rob, Thomas Brody Sangster, is severely disabled and like Lincoln, unable to speak.
While Carlos is a ruthless drug baron who's quick to whack anyone who fails or crosses him.
(14:34):
Furthermore, Rob is endowed with a generous trust fund, so Celeste and Carlos' competing interests in him are more monetary than nurturing.
OK, the comparison to the dark night is particularly baffling.
In what universe are the bumbling, unwashed Ooty brothers anywhere near the caped crusader?
Batman technically operates outside the law, sure, but he has a tight, rigid code.
He's also organized, smart, plans ahead.
(14:55):
The Ooty's dive headlong with no plan, embracing the chaos.
And of course, Batman's code includes a very specific prohibition on taking a life.
And the Ooty's, well, let's just say they rack up a body count.
The film opens with the brothers bursting into a house and raining bullets down on the evildoers who reside there.
Only after the smoke of the battle is clearing, McQueen appears holding a beer and is apparently raided from the fridge.
(15:17):
And he's holding a piece of mail, saying rather incessantly, though, you ain't going to believe this.
We got the wrong house.
Later, when they assault Carlos' compound to retrieve Rob, McQueen opens the door only to see he's gunned down the maid.
Realizing his mistake, he merely says, my defense, you do work for a a-hole.
Maybe I'm making too much of the comparison.
Matter of fact, I know I am.
(15:38):
But I know Batman up and down, and just because Batman fights bad guys and the Ooty's kill bad people, that does not make for an apt comparison.
I know Nolan's trilogy ended less than half a year before this film was released.
Still fresh on the minds of the movie going public.
But a much closer comparison would be something like The Punisher.
If The Punisher also only bathed bi-weekly and thought Skinner's Street Survivors album was the pinnacle of musical achievement.
(16:00):
Jenkins does also call the brothers the Redneck Avengers, so I know he at least knows his way around comic book films.
I'll skip over some of the plot summary.
If you haven't seen it, I've already read the cover copy, so you should know the basics.
Jenkins does mention, Carlos sends three successive teams of killers after them, beginning with a gang of sexy hooker bike assassins who might have zoomed out of a Quentin Tarantino fever dream.
The movie also recalls the Mad Max series, specifically invokes the Terminator franchise, and cracks a sling blade joke that's funnier than Thornton's campy performance.
(16:29):
The Tarantino influence is too obvious to miss.
Stunt woman turned actress Zoe Bell makes an appearance, a woman whose face appears in many of the Tarantino films as well.
The homage to other films, among before mentioned Mad Max, is also a trademark of the auteur.
Heck, there's even a scene from inside a trunk as it's being opened.
Yeah, clearly battles in hood are fans.
The sling blade joke is hilarious, and yes, no matter how hard I rack my brain, I cannot seem to recall a Terminator reference.
(16:55):
It doesn't matter.
Speaking of Thornton's performance, it is so unhinged.
I loved every second of it.
He's so high strung and over the top, so unequivocally wicked, that it clearly does venture towards the range of parody or at least absurdism.
Towards the end when he sends the final group of assassins after the Oodies, he says that if they can't manage to bring back Rob,
Celeste's godson that Carlos has taken, remember, to at least kill him.
(17:18):
If you can't have the kid, no one can.
Boy, I think King Solomon would know who Rob should really go to.
Continuing, Jenkins writes, the intentionally comic Baytown Outlaws isn't much sillier than Killing Them Softly or The Paperboy, two more upscale recent Gulf Coast death trips.
Although artistically slight and thematically haphazard, it's enjoyably flashy.
You know, it occurs to me I've not seen Killing Them Softly, and I've always meant to.
(17:41):
I do have The Paperboy on DVD, so maybe one day.
Although it was originally a novel by Pete Dexter, it gets quite dark and disturbing despite some also sardonic and perhaps comedic moments,
so I don't know. I don't know if I should make Mackenzie suffer through that one for a real lit episode.
Still, I think it's a good film. It's underappreciated.
Lee Daniels directs, stars Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, and John Cusack.
(18:03):
Suffice to say I'm not quite following Jenkins' comparison there.
I would say The Paperboy also had a bit of a Neil Exploitation vibe to it, but tonally it veers far from that of the Baytown Outlaws.
Oh, and speaking of having this one on DVD, when I opened the case to this one, The Paperboy was actually inside it instead,
so I had to go and get The Paperboy DVD, hoping it'd define the Baytown Outlaws.
Yeah, my wife had a habit of carelessly just sticking a DVD willy-nilly into a case rather than making sure it got back to the original.
(18:28):
Continuing, Jenkins says,
Yeah, I knew I was going to talk about that filter.
Another review I read said something along the lines of it was dirt-colored or perhaps urine before remarking that it was fitting.
(18:50):
That's a little too harsh, I think.
At first it felt like there was just a vintage tone filter on the film, but the further the film went, yeah, I saw the heavy yellow.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems it gets more intense as the film rolls along.
At one point they drive down the highway lined with a luscious Louisiana foliage, and the leaves and grass are almost completely yellow,
with only the slightest bit of green visible.
(19:11):
It certainly gives the film a unique look, or maybe unique's the wrong word.
There's been a discussion recently going around about using heavy yellow filters when portraying places like Latin America or the Middle East and giving it this other effect.
It did seem an odd choice for being shot in Slidell and set in South Alabama.
I mean, my son lives in Mobile, and visiting him there, I don't think yellow.
Suffice to say, odd choice to make, and I'm not sure it was a good one either.
(19:35):
And also just a quick side note to Jenkins and the fine folks over at NPR, from a born and bred Bama boy, you don't need an apostrophe before Bama.
That's just not how we do it down here.
It's just Bama, B-A-M-A, no punctuation required.
Whether we're talking about the state or more likely the football team, it's always just been that simple.
I'm going to let Jenkins' next paragraph segue us into my take.
(19:57):
Quote, the movie's vision is a gleeful mashup of old and new.
The ethnic politics are complicated, with an African-American sheriff, Latinos prominent in the mix, and a cameo by Michael Rapaport, in which he plays a cartoon version of his Jewish hip-hop loving New Yorker self.
Yeah, Jenkins is probably dancing around some of the big question marks that loom over this movie.
He's already alluded to the Confederate flag t-shirt that Brick wears, and here he calls the, quote, ethnic politics simply, quote, complicated.
(20:24):
I would be remiss if I didn't expand on the film's politics, intentional or otherwise, that Glover liked to use a phrase of Bricks in the film, a fart in church.
Like everything else in this film, they aren't subtle.
We've already mentioned one character wearing a rebel flag tank top for the entire runtime, and those flags pop up in other places as well.
Decor, miniatures hanging for sale at a convenience store, which, I mean, to be in the rural deep south, it's probably accurate, unfortunately.
(20:50):
Speaking of that deep south, I certainly grew up there, as you might figure from my accent.
I know it's far from charming, but alas.
What I can say also, unfortunately, is that the iconography there is familiar to me.
Not that I prefer it to be, but you have no choice.
During the discussion of removal of Confederate monuments that arose with renewed vigor in 2020, I saw plenty of houses suddenly flying them once again.
(21:15):
Those who embrace that symbol swear it's, quote, heritage, not hate, that it represents the contrarian anti-establishment spirit of the South.
Now, I'm not going to say everyone who flies that flag or wears it on a shirt or belt buckle is racist, but I am saying it's perceived as racist by many others, and that's reason enough as far as I'm concerned to let it go.
But the symbol becomes further complicated, I suppose, by its use in popular culture, not just in film or television, the Duke's Hazard smoking the bandit immediately coming to mind, but also in music.
(21:44):
Leonard Skinner, Tom Petty, the Almond Brothers Band, and even Sheryl Crowe in her video for Steve McQueen, they've all used that symbol.
All of them have since renounced it.
Then what do you do with the rappers who worn it on clothing?
Lil Jon, Andre 3000, Kanye West?
Well, nothing gay does surprise me anymore, but the others?
All I will say is the presence of it in this film made me feel uneasy the first time I watched it, though I'd sort of forgotten about it.
(22:10):
And the second watch, Uneasy became almost queasy.
Whether the film is critiquing that imagery or just using it for Southern quote unquote authenticity, it's not clear.
But its inclusion complicates how this film lands with me.
One critic who doesn't share my uncertainty is Andrew Heer, writing for Salon.
He calls it a quote racist fantasy and a quote neoconfederate version of boondock saints.
(22:33):
There's a good chance the presence of that flag itself primed me in the beginning, at least to have those same thoughts, make almost that same observation.
And it goes deeper.
I love the idea of wild and wacky gangs of ruffians like the three distinct and implausible gangs of assassins who chase after the UD brothers.
But here's the thing.
The first gang is an all female one.
The second is that Mad Max esque group.
(22:56):
But it's made up completely of black members.
And finally, retreated to Native Americans who wear war paint and prefer bows and arrows riding iron horses, but still leaning into some ugly stereotyping.
Worse in the making of feature at Andre Brauer actually makes reference to their names, though they're never said in the film to my knowledge.
The flame bangers is the group of women, perhaps innocuous enough, though there is perhaps a slight reference to their promiscuity in it.
(23:20):
Maybe a bit of slut shaming.
Then we have the hood pirates.
Yes, the hood pirates.
And the last one made me literally cringe, not just calling something that is an adjective like you people do today.
I'm just going to repeat what he said.
But apparently the final group is known as the engine assassins.
Now, I understand the film is going for exaggerated grindhouse style chaos, but that doesn't excuse these lazy, harmful stereotypes.
(23:42):
Intentional or not, these portrayals contribute to a pattern in media where marginalized groups are reduced to caricatures for the sake of style or humor.
It's disappointing.
And honestly, it took me out of the films.
Otherwise, ridiculous fun.
So, yeah, three white rednecks, one literally wearing a Confederate flag, overcoming the odds against women, African-Americans and Native Americans.
Now, I'm not going full O'Hare here and using the R word as in racist, but it does seem like an oversight and not for nothing.
(24:09):
That other R word is used as well as a homophobic slur in this film.
But here's where it gets complicated.
This is 2013 and the discussion of lack of diversity and representation in film was really just starting to come back in the public forum.
Well, this is about the most diverse cast one is going to see from that time.
Latina, Eva Longoria is a major player, as is Andre Brauer.
(24:30):
Brauer's sheriff in particular stepped in when the boys lost their father, who was a horrible human being to begin with, and took them under his wing.
He did turn them into stone cold killers, but.
Oh, and again, when we view the behind the scenes, we find that battles and hood were approached by State Street Pictures, who wound up co-producing.
Now, this is the company that also produced films such as Barbershop 2, Back in Business, Mudbound and The Hate U Give.
(24:53):
And one of the co-founders of State Street, George Tillman Jr. has also directed episodes of the Star Series Power and Netflix Luke Cage.
So do with that what you will.
And furthermore, there's the character of Ariana towards the end, played by Natalie Martinez.
We find out she's an undocumented worker.
Brick is in support of her, albeit clumsily, but we get a small intermission that makes a clear support for immigration and sympathy for those without documentation in this country.
(25:18):
As a matter of fact, it's one of the few times the film is just outright didactic.
And it's not just race that gets a bit sticky.
Despite the use of that ugly R word, the brothers quickly develop rapport with Rob.
It becomes clear they're no longer in it for the cash, but they really like, even love, this disabled young man.
By the end, McQueen tells him, you're an Ooty now.
I don't know if that's actually an honor or not, but it's a nice gesture.
(25:40):
So they're portrayed by an able-bodied actor.
The film does treat this character with respect and dignity.
And even the politics in general get a little funny.
After a quick stop at the aforementioned convenience store, the brothers buy Rob a shirt that reads, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
And I get it.
They're the Baytown outlaws.
Still, this is a common right wing talking point.
Is the film trying to push an agenda?
(26:02):
I'm not sure.
It's doubtful.
I mean, I didn't flat out ask Billy Bob.
Yeah, I want to first name basis with him, not to brag, but I totally am.
I didn't ask him his political leanings, but judging by a few comments he made in our very short conversation, I make it sound like he's my best buddy.
I got him on speed dial, nothing like that.
It was one time we sat down and talked for a minute.
But when we did talk, I got a sense of how he probably voted.
(26:24):
And it isn't for one with an R after their name.
And Ava Longoria literally spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
So I think we can say with a high degree of confidence where her loyalties lie.
So I don't know. I don't know what to make of it all.
Suffice to say the film is complex.
We're supposed to root for the OODIs, but I'm not sure we're even supposed to like them.
Or perhaps Battles hopes we'll like them in spite of ourselves.
(26:47):
Perhaps the film gets careless at times, but I don't think it's outright racist.
O'Hare seems to be giving into reductionist thinking in a place where I think nuance is key.
That said, by all means, if Confederate flag imagery bothers you or if you side with O'Hare's thoughts instead, you should avoid the film.
I respect that and would never judge you or anyone who refuses to watch on those grounds.
Though, interestingly enough, O'Hare suggests more than once that the film is still sort of compelling and may be worth watching for the spectacle alone.
(27:12):
For me, at least, it got me thinking about the fraught history and legacy of race and politics in the South.
And any time a film gets you thinking, it's doing something right, at least as far as I'm concerned.
So the standout performance.
As you might expect, the veterans in this film perform like veterans.
Andre Brauer is excellent as the corrupt sheriff, knowing ATF agent Reese is determined, suspicious and sniffing very close to the truth that would ruin him.
(27:36):
He plays it cool, unflappable on the outside, talking down to Reese and making it clear the investigation is unwelcome without ever crossing a boundary beyond faux politeness.
Longoria is really likable while also being manipulative.
She's vulnerable while also playing it tough.
And it seems she may truly love and care for Rob, but like Carlos, she's also clearly interested in that massive sum of cash that will come her way when the trust matures on his 18th birthday.
(28:01):
Zoe Bell, Serenda Swan and Agnes Bruckner are all fantastic in their parts as three of the flame bangers.
They exude brash and brassy attitude as they strut across the screen, but their parts are just so limited.
As a matter of fact, though, the film's post-credit scene does seem to be teasing a sequel that will likely never happen.
I mean, why not give it a spinoff instead?
I want to see an entire film based on the flame bangers.
(28:24):
I hope your listening battles make it happen.
But not just because I know him.
Hey, did I mention I met this guy?
I am going to have to give it to Billy Bob Thornton.
He's just completely unhinged.
It's one of his hammiest appearances ever as this high-strung crime boss.
It's so understandable why he would be so irritable.
But at the same time, he takes it one or two notches higher than any sane person should ever do under those circumstances.
(28:47):
And that just makes it all the more hilarious.
It is. It's a crazy performance.
Yeah, I know Jenkins didn't like it, said it was campy, but I think that's the point.
And it's so much fun to watch.
So for cultural context, I thought we might look into where a film like this fits on the whole exploitation genre.
I've already sort of alluded to this.
Of course, the exploitation genre of yore were low budget films designed to cash in on sensational content, whether that was violence, sex, taboo topics.
(29:12):
Directors like Russ Meyer or films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre built careers and cult followings on pushing those boundaries.
Exploitation cinema was not about nuance.
It was about shock, style, spectacle.
In the 90s and the aughts, we saw a resurgence of these sorts of films.
Very often they were dubbed neo-exploitation.
These films proudly wear their grindhouse influences on their sleeves.
(29:33):
Directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have made entire careers out of reimagining the grit and excess of exploitation for modern audiences.
Just with bigger budgets and sharper visuals.
However, just as a personal preference, I feel we need to further categorize these films.
Thus, I've kind of just added two other categories I work with, and that's only my own unique classification system that's in my head.
(29:56):
But here I also sometimes file films away as either pseudo exploitation or others as quasi.
Pseudo exploitation films dip into the grindhouse aesthetic, but don't fully commit.
They borrow the visuals, maybe some grit, maybe some violence, but they sand off the edges to make it more palatable.
Think of something like The Suicide Squad or Sucker Punch.
They're films that hint at exploitation, but don't embrace it at its core.
(30:19):
Quasi exploitation films are trickier to pin down.
They borrow elements, you know, maybe over-the-top violence or exaggerated villains, but they blend them into more standard action or comedy frameworks.
They're more like exploitation adjacent, but not fully immersed in it.
So where does The Baytown Outlaws land?
I mean, it does borrow heavily from exploitation films.
The Southern grit, the over-the-top violence, the ridiculous characters.
(30:42):
But I don't think it fully commits to the grindhouse grime.
It does feel neo-exploitation in its intent, like it aims to revive the chaotic imagery of grindhouse films.
But it's more polished and mainstream than traditional exploitation.
At times it leans pseudo-exploitation, flashing the style without fully embracing the substance.
The Udy brothers are chaotic, but they lack the raw menace of classic exploitation anti-heroes.
(31:05):
And let's not forget the gangs outlandish and cartoonish, but not especially subversive.
Honestly, quasi-exploitation might be the most accurate label.
It borrows enough from exploitation films to feel adjacent, but never fully dives into the deep end.
Let's just hit a few pieces of trivia and put this thing on a shelf.
So here's a fun bit of trivia that's more about how silly I am than the film itself.
I specifically remembered once reading about how this film wasn't going to get made at all,
(31:30):
didn't have the money, couldn't raise the money, and Eva Longoria herself stepped up and offered her own money to save it.
And I was so prepared to talk a good bit about this when I got to this podcast.
Well, it turns out I got Mandela affected.
Longoria did indeed put up $6 million in cash of her own money to save a film in development purgatory, but it wasn't this one.
It was one she didn't even star in, John Wick.
(31:51):
How I got those two films confused is beyond me, but memory's a fickle and malleable fellow, isn't it?
Longoria does say it's the best money she's ever spent, and to this day she still gets a nice royalty check for her involvement.
And let's face it, a world without the John Wick series is one that's much less entertaining.
Incidentally, Longoria says she was drawn to this role specifically because she wanted to play against the type with Gabby Solis.
(32:13):
That was probably a wise move, as I've seen many an actor get typecast and be completely unable to be offered parts that allow them to spread their wings.
Incidentally, Longoria also said that at least wardrobe wise, she was much more a Celeste than a Gabby, and at least in the clothing she felt more at home with Baytown Outlaws.
Incidentally, this film was originally titled Baytown Disco.
I'm not sure why, and there's nothing I can find on the web or the Paltry DVD extras that can tell me why.
(32:39):
I wouldn't have been surprised in a film this unhinged if everyone did just suddenly break out in a dance number, but it doesn't happen.
No dancing, no disco. Outlaws seems much more fitting.
I will make a quick intermission to mention the segment Shelfless Endeavors.
Those astute listeners may have caught that I did not do this segment last week, and the same is true for this week because I haven't made a trip back to the theater yet.
(33:01):
Unfortunately, they've been showing the same lineup that I've already seen.
Maybe the Fire Inside, I might want to watch it, but it's only got one showtime and it doesn't really jive with my schedule.
Mostly it's just screens showing Mufasa, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Milana 2.
I don't really go for kid movies because, you know, I'm not a kid.
I might see Mufasa when it comes to streaming to see what they do with it, but I don't want to see it in the theater because not only am I not a kid, I can't imagine a fresher hell than having to watch a film in a theater full of them.
(33:30):
So this week has brought us Den of Thieves 2, which I might see, even though I have zero interest in it, and as a matter of fact, I've never seen the first one.
And though I don't really know much about Robbie Williams or Take That, sorry UK listeners, the premise of Better Man is intriguing and the critics seem to like it.
So I'm going to try to find time to give it a glimpse.
And I'll also say I just read that it is the first box office flop of the year, which I hate, you know, because I kind of thought it when I saw the previews, but it looks like an interesting film.
(33:56):
It's definitely an interesting take. I'm going to go see it. I'm going to at least give my little bit of money to it.
And this week, of course, also marked the US release of Hard Truths, which I've been talking about and which I'm dying to see.
But of course, my local theater is not going to show it.
So I don't know if I can swing a trip to a nearby city, I might give it a go. But with classes resumed, it's probably not feasible.
Whenever I am able to see that one, however, you can rest assured I'll be talking about it on this segment.
(34:20):
All right, y'all, Shelf of Sting. You know how this works. I have five shelves on my DVD cabinet.
I use the bartender's model, top shelf for the very best stuff, bottom shelf for the rot gut, in between second shelf, mid shelf, fourth shelf.
So where do we shelf this little Blu-ray? It's always more difficult than it seems.
I have to admit, I enjoyed this wild ride as much the second time around, even if I didn't see many more of its numerous flaws.
(34:43):
And I know I say this all the time, but again, it's fitting here. It's not a good film, but it's an enjoyable one.
Or maybe that's just me because I enjoy trash cinema. But I am certain at some point, granted far into the future, I'll give this one another watch.
But the film had the potential to be so much more.
You know, I understand budget constraints and producer pressure to keep films lean.
(35:04):
But with so many interesting characters, I'd argue this one deserved at least a two hour runtime.
Heck, two and a half hours wouldn't have scared me off. More Carlos, more Celeste, and definitely more of the Flamebangers.
That would have elevated this chaotic fun into something genuinely memorable.
But that, the problematic moments we already discussed, and the film's unwillingness to go balls to the wall all in with a Neo-exploitation angle,
(35:27):
all that's going to put it on a lower shelf than I wanted it to be somewhere around mid-film when I was so enjoying the journey.
Thus, I'm placing this film on...
The fourth shelf. It's certainly better than bottom, and honestly, it kind of flirts with middle shelf.
But in the end, it's enjoyable, but it's below average.
(35:48):
Still, for the right mood and the right audience, The Baytown Outlaws is worth pulling off the shelf when you're in the mood for something wild, messy, and unapologetically chaotic.
Alright, dear listeners, with that said, coming up, I mean, we have so much to look forward to in these early months of 2025, both in the world of podcasting, but also here in our community.
The George Lindsay UNA Film Festival is, what, just about a month and a half away?
(36:12):
It begins February 27th and continues through March 1st.
For those of you who do live in our little corner of the planet, we encourage you to mark your calendars.
It's three full days of film screenings, plus a kickoff party, a block party, an awards banquet that's... okay.
It's not going to quite rival last week's Golden Globes, but it's a heck of an event to attend. A lot of fun.
My real lit co-host, the Sterling McKenzie and I will be there.
(36:35):
We'll be watching the films, leading the Q&A sessions with directors and actors, and boogying down at the block party.
You just better hope this year I don't grab the karaoke mic.
In the lead up to the festival, which this year is going to put a focus on wardrobe and costuming, McKenzie and I, alongside our colleagues, Dr. Brenna, you may remember her from
the fourth episode of Real Lit, I believe, talking about the birds, and Dr. Sidney, you will know him soon.
(37:00):
He is going to, I believe in May, be a guest on Real Lit as well.
We're all going to be giving talks at the Florence Lauderdale Public Library.
This year, the film festival is going to put a focus on wardrobe and costuming, and if you listen to that episode with Dr. Brenna, you'll know that that's one of her areas of expertise.
But you might want to mark your calendar for February 15th. That's a Saturday. From 2 p.m. to 3.30-ish, I guess.
(37:23):
Because speaking of costuming, McKenzie and I will be giving a little talk on that slice of mise en scene.
Surprising absolutely no one, I'll be talking about sheriff and park ranger outfits and guess what? Animal horror cinema.
That means I'm going to have to do a re-watch of a bunch of those animal attack films.
And since there's only so much time in a day, I'm going to do double duty.
What that means is you, the listener, are going to get a small run of animal attacks, including a horror comedy that I've already done some scholarly work on in the years past.
(37:49):
And it's a good thing it's so butt cold here and not, say, spring break, because it isn't safe to go into the water.
A great terror lurks just beneath the surface.
No, it's not Jaws. Sorry, folks, but if you want to hear that discussed, check out our first ever episode of Real Lit.
No, think much smaller and more numerous. Next week, we're going to school with Piranha 3D.
(38:10):
The film is currently streaming, no pun intended, on Tubi and Flex, so if you want to watch it, you can do so.
And if you have thoughts, anything you want to hear me talk about, any opinions, if you want to defend or excoriate the Baytown Outlaws, send me an email.
That email address is steven at shelfcriticism.com. That's Steven with a P-H.
Or you can find us on social media at Shelf Criticism. Same is true with the other podcast, Real Lit with Mackenzie and Steven.
(38:36):
You can always get in touch with us at reallit at reallitpodcast.com.
Find us on social media at Real Lit Podcast or just pop on our website, reallitpodcast.com.
And remember, that's our E-E-L, like a film reel. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Looking forward, hopefully, to seeing and talking to some of you during the film festival.
(38:58):
I don't want to announce something that we're still in stages of planning, but we do want to do a little something in conjunction with the film festival, with Real Lit, and maybe with this one as well, certainly with some of the Isles of Palace productions.
So Mackenzie and Reagan and I will be putting our heads together and seeing what we can come up with there.
We'll let you know as soon as we figure it out. For now, my voice is really giving out.
It's almost like I gave a whole other lecture in class, so I'd better save it because I'm going to have to do it again on Wednesday.
(39:23):
Not the podcast part, but the other. I'll just say this. Until next time, DVD aficionados, remember to treat yourself to a little shelf indulgence of your own.
Amelia, sing us home.
(39:47):
Chelf criticism is an Isles of Palace production. This podcast is in no way connected with the educational institutions the host is employed by. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the host and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other organization with which he is affiliated.
Most images displayed are public domain. Images and stills from films, descriptions of scenes, and passages from books are used for educational and critical purposes and not for profit and therefore fall under the terms of fair use.
(40:27):
You can just ease your way out of here the same way you eased in. I like to enjoy what's left of my afternoon.
This is what I do. I shoot people in the face.
(00:03):
You understand? Somebody wanted you gone.
You know who they came to? This guy right here.
You know? So I'm sorry.
But you see, you know, alright? This ain't nothing personal, alright?
You ain't gonna believe this.
Yeah.
You got the wrong house.
(00:37):
Welcome to Shelf Criticism.
Meet your host, Stephen, a scholar of literature and film by day.
And by night, a cinematic archaeologist with a penchant for everything from art house to popular to outright trash cinema.
Over the past quarter century, Stephen has amassed an eclectic DVD collection,
now occupying five shells of a curio cabinet in his living room.
(00:59):
Each week, he bravely selects one of these titles to dissect.
Join him as he unearths everything from obscure gems to cinematic missteps.
From blockbuster hits to forgotten flops, each film gets the critical once over it probably doesn't deserve but will absolutely receive.
So grab your popcorn and settle in.
It's time to dive into the diverse world of Shelf Criticism.
(01:29):
Welcome once again to Shelf Criticism, the place where I make it unequivocally known that a solid helping of my DVD shelves are lined with less than reputable titles,
even if I do happen to delight in some of them.
Case in point, last week we dipped our toes into the murky swamp water of Eatin' Alive.
The sophomore effort from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Toby Hooper and one of Robert Englund's earliest films.
(01:50):
If you haven't already, be sure to give that one a listen too.
I do apologize for the delay in getting this podcast out, but for those who live in the south, particularly this northwest corner of Alabama wherein you realize we got snow.
I had every intention of coming and recording this on Saturday, but the weather had other intentions.
So I've really just now been able to get behind the microphone yet again and deliver this podcast episode.
(02:16):
And yes, you people from the north, I get it. We southerners don't know how to handle snow.
I'd like to see what you do in the face of a tornado or a heat wave for that matter.
So at any rate, I'm finally here, finally ready to talk about this.
And speaking of talking, my voice may be giving out a little bit.
The semester has started back up as well, so I also taught four classes today.
I've done a lot of speaking, a lot of projecting my voice, and I'm going to have to do it again for about an hour to 45 minutes.
(02:42):
So, yee-haw, we're going to give it a shot and we will see if I can hold out.
Well, speaking of last insane selection, today's isn't going to get much saner.
I probably could say it's more subdued than eaten alive, but so is a rabid polecat.
It too is off the wall, continually getting crazier and crazier and unhinged as the runtime marches on.
But hey, it has two Oscar nominees and a beloved television actor, even though it's one of those films that make you ask how they wound up there.
(03:05):
And at least if they're being honest on the making of feature out on the DVD, it wasn't under duress.
They actually wanted to be there, which honestly raises even more questions.
It's a film co-written and directed by Barry Battles, and if you don't know that name, it's because he only has three other short films to his credit.
Still, the screenplay was featured in 2009 on Blacklist, a collection of the most acclaimed scripts that are still waiting to be optioned.
(03:28):
When State Street Pictures got word of it, they immediately wanted to meet with Battles and co-writer Griffin Hood.
Clearly, there is some potential lightning in a bottle here.
The film is certainly unique. At least it's not like most films.
Except it often gets accused of being a Timu Tarantino or a Wish.com Robert Rodriguez.
Clearly those two filmmakers are influential to Battles and Hood.
The film certainly is exploitation, but I feel like that word needs a prefix in front of it.
(03:52):
Neo? Quasi? Pseudo?
That's the question I've been asking myself ever since deciding to revisit the Baytown outlaws.
Is it neo-exploitation, borrowing from its grindhouse ancestors to craft something modern?
Is it quasi-exploitation, sort of in the neighborhood but not fully committing?
Or is it pseudo-exploitation, just dressing up in the tropes without actually living the life?
(04:15):
Honestly, I'm still not sure, but one thing's for certain, this film is a chaotic, southern-fried roller coaster with plenty to talk about.
So let's gas up the old beater and rip down the worn, potholed highways of the Deep South.
We're taking a road trip with the Ooty Boys today with our shelf pick, the Baytown Outlaws.
Again, I have a Blu-ray issue of this. The DVD cover is very busy.
(04:36):
Clearly inspired by the grindhouse posters of Yor.
Amid a dingy, off-white background, maybe pale yellow.
And we're going to talk about that color at length in a moment.
We have Billy Bob Thornton on the left and Eva Longoria sporting some super cool sunglasses on the right.
Their names in yellow appear just below their shoulders.
The top and only billed cast.
They do have major roles, but are nowhere near the protagonists.
(04:58):
Those are shown beneath the film's title. Brick, Lincoln, and McQueen, Ooty, moving from left to right.
All three of them are pointing firearms in a very dynamic portrayal.
And then in the far left, sitting on a motorcycle, we have Zoe Bell's character, Rose.
At the bottom, there's a simple tagline.
It ain't a party until the guns come out.
On the DVD back, we have a quote.
A bold, brassy, and bloody grindhouse romp, says Green Daily.
(05:22):
Well, at least they have no problem calling it just a straight up grindhouse.
The synopsis reads, after her ex-husband shoots Celeste three times in the gut and kidnaps her godson, it's time to play dirty.
She hires three outlawed Redneck brothers to bring him back to her.
What begins as a small rescue mission rises to a southern battle royal.
It's short for a cover copy and interesting that we get no parenthetical references to who any of these characters are.
(05:46):
No mention of Longoria, Thornton, or even the three actors playing the Ooty brothers.
And also, I know, grammar pedant here, but I have to say this.
Outlawed? It literally says, she hires three outlawed Redneck brothers.
Y'all, outlawed describes something that has been banned or declared illegal, like outlawed behavior or outlawed practices.
(06:07):
The word outlaw refers to a person who operates outside the law, just like it sounds, like the Ooty brothers.
Sometimes I feel as I'm being too harsh and judging this stuff, but I mean, come on people, precision does matter.
Beneath the copy, we get another picture of the brothers, guns drawn, gathered around their powder blue jalopy, which incidentally happens to be a 1977 Dodge Monaco.
Did you know there's a site called IMCDB, the Internet Movie Cars database?
(06:31):
Yeah, I didn't either until I tried to find out what the heap they were driving was.
You really can find anything on the Internet. Beneath that, we have a series of more pictures.
We have Angel, played by Arden Cho, and Bunny, Brea Grant, two of the female assassins, giving Lincoln a lap dance.
Of course, they would choose this one, sex sells, right?
Next is a picture of McQueen screaming as he's being dragged behind a motorcycle.
(06:52):
If you've seen the film, you know the scene exactly.
Then one of Billy Bob Thornton leering menacingly.
Finally, there's one of Clayne Crawford's brick standing in front of Celeste, who is looking at him earnestly.
Of course, they make sure to get the two best known stars' photos in there once.
I am surprised there isn't a single mention of Andre Brauer until you get to the credits.
When we get through all the production information in the film's billing, the first name we see is Brauer's, interestingly.
(07:18):
The next three are Crawford, Cudmore, and Fimmel, the brothers.
However, it's baffling to me that one line just says Clayne Craw, and without even a hyphen to show it's being broken, the forward is on the next line.
That's probably such a minor oversight, and it's not like there are people crazy enough to look that deep into a DVD jacket.
Aside from me, probably, only Crawford and his mama noticed.
Still, it seems like that kind of attention to detail should be caught.
(07:40):
Speaking of which, the only two special features are the theatrical trailer and a making-of feature that I mentioned earlier.
And the crazy thing about that feature is it's broken into two parts, and that alone is not crazy.
But just right in the middle of a sentence as Billy Bob Thornton is talking, part one ends.
Then you click on part two, and we pick up literally with the next word of the sentence.
It just confused me. It's such a weird place to break.
(08:02):
And I'm sure there was a technical reason behind all this, but I would think you would very least find a point of logical transition to break from part one to part two.
How I came to own it. Full disclosure here, and by that I mean shameless name dropping and bragging.
But I have met Billy Bob Thornton. He's attended our university's film festivals a couple of times, and I've even sat down and had a glass of bourbon with the fellow.
Super nice guy. He's humble. He's down to earth. Everything you don't expect from a person of his stature.
(08:27):
Thus, I'm inclined to watch a lot of film season simply for that reason.
I can still be swayed otherwise. I mean, if I could unwatch Armageddon.
Also, I'm not saying I know him well or that he'd even remember me. I doubt he would, but I do think he'd laugh at that joke.
I also really like Evil Ungoria. When my wife was alive, there were certain television shows that I could count on watching on certain nights, all dictated by her, of course.
(08:49):
Somehow she's the one in the family designated as the master of the evening remote control.
Some of them I liked. Scrubs, modern family.
Some of them, like Grey's Anatomy, I liked more or less, at least through the first, what, 74 or so seasons.
And sometimes, like when she watched The Bad Girls Club, I just either buried my face in my phone or completely left the room for a while.
But Desperate Housewives was a favorite of hers, and it was one that I, despite not really being the target audience, could at least moderately appreciate.
(09:15):
It was soapy and just TV 14 risque enough to keep my attention.
The writing and the plotting varied, but for the most part it wasn't as bad as the premise of the show suggested.
And you have to admit the core cast was pretty good, and it was there that I discovered Evil Ungoria.
Even if you didn't like her in that show, the roles she took on later weren't all that bad, and even if it isn't enough for you,
look at what she's done with her charitable work and volunteerism. You can't help but like the woman.
(09:38):
So somewhere down the line, one of those nights where my wife and I were going to watch a movie instead of television, I saw Baytown Outlaws On Demand.
I don't even recall which service, but when I suggested it, my wife saw Ungoria and immediately agreed.
We both liked the film. She probably a little more than I, but I do tend to be a bit more of a curmudgeon.
I didn't remember a whole lot, just that it was, insert one of the potential prefixes we've already discussed, exploitation.
(10:02):
I'm almost certain that I saw the Blu-ray on the shelf at Target during one of my shopping trips, but either way, wherever I saw it,
I knew we would both approve and having us to watch it some point again.
So I grabbed it and I know it's been watched because the cellophane has been removed.
And I know I had only seen it once that one time on demand, so my wife had to watch it again.
But the second go around, I enjoyed it, though I had reservations.
(10:24):
I wonder what the critics might have thought of it. It is not well liked, to say the least.
Rotten Tomatoes ranks it at 23% and it doesn't fare much better on Metacritic, scoring a 33.
To be fair, there are only 26 reviews aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes and 11 on Metacritic.
Audiences did seem to like it better, not that it's hard to top those numbers.
The Popcorn Meter puts it at 54%, not good, not bad.
(10:47):
And Metacritic users rank it a respectable 70, but again, I should add this is only with 22 reviews.
There isn't much to find as far as professional contemporaneous reviews.
IMDB mentions the film's debut, noting limited release.
I can't seem to find information on a wider release later, however.
The film's box office total is not very much. It's not Zizek Road Low, but it's not respectable.
(11:11):
There's also a review in the Times Picayune, the newspaper of the New Orleans area,
that mentions it playing at Shawmett, a neighborhood just east of New Orleans.
Oh, and if you're into fun facts, that's also where the Battle of New Orleans was fought.
The review actually mentions that Battles was going to be at the screening, presumably for a Q&A session following,
which makes me wonder if this was a special showing, because almost all the filming locations were in Slidell,
(11:33):
another part of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area.
But actually what I learned in doing that bonus episode on Zizek Road does come in handy here.
So for low-budget films, unions often require a film to play in domestic theaters.
My guess is that the strategy for this movie was to do so in a limited opening to satisfy union requirements,
then to make their money on DVD and streaming, probably leaning heavily into the streaming side, as this is 2013.
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Less than two years later, of course, streaming would overtake DVDs as the preferred way to watch a film at home.
And I say all this simply because, A, there may be some other film nerds listening out there
that may find this sort of information interesting, and more importantly, B,
I'm guessing there weren't many reviews because of the limited release.
But at least National Public Radio took notice, and I think that's the critique we'll go with.
Old Fashioned Crime, Newfangled Camp, and Baytown by Mark Jenkins.
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And yeah, he used the word Newfangled, so I'm already inclined to like this guy, even if we're going to disagree a bit.
He begins,
During the Baytown Outlaws prologue, director Barry Battles interrupts the carnage with comic book style panels.
It's a gambit he uses again later, and an appropriate one.
This deep south odyssey is a pulp fantasy and he knows it.
I can't just pause right here.
Panels? Eh, I didn't love them.
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They're not only too stylized, but they're also used far too much in films.
I'm not sure where the tipping point is, and it could very well be the Outlaws got in early on the fad.
I don't know, but either way, looking back now, it just felt like something that was unnecessary.
Ultimately, those visual flourishes detract from the film rather than enhance it.
They're flashy, they don't serve the story or the characters in any meaningful way.
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Jenkins then gives us a rundown of the three principal characters that we'll spend most of the time with.
None of the characters named Thornton Longoria or Brower.
Almost like we got a bit of a bait and switch there, isn't it?
Imagine a film doing that.
Jenkins writes,
Baytown is Mobile, Alabama, home to the homicidal Ooty brothers, Brick, Clayne Crawford, the oldest and marginally smartest,
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Lincoln, Daniel Cudmore, a behemoth rendered speechless by a crushed windpipe,
and McQueen, Travis Fimmel, who's slightly more sensitive than the other two.
They're such dirtbags that they never change their clothing, the most conspicuous of which is Brick's sleeveless Confederate flag tee.
Technically tank top, not a tee, but you know.
And I'm going to pause here momentarily.
It's hard not to notice.
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And yes, we're going to talk about it.
But for now, let's just put a pin in it and we'll circle back around later.
The Ooty's, he continues, are hired killers, but with a dark nightish twist.
They target bad guys and only bad guys.
In fact, a visiting ATF agent, Paul Wesley, is beginning to suspect that the brothers are linked to the seemingly laid back local sheriff, Andre Brower.
After witnessing the redneck Avengers assault on a house full of Spanish speaking drug dealers, Celeste, Eva Longoria, approaches them with an offer.
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Twenty five thousand to rescue her godson Rob from her ex, Carlos, Billy Bob Thornton, who's in Texas.
There are several complicating factors, but the Ooty's are too dumb to ask.
So they're surprised to discover that the teenage Rob, Thomas Brody Sangster, is severely disabled and like Lincoln, unable to speak.
While Carlos is a ruthless drug baron who's quick to whack anyone who fails or crosses him.
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Furthermore, Rob is endowed with a generous trust fund, so Celeste and Carlos' competing interests in him are more monetary than nurturing.
OK, the comparison to the dark night is particularly baffling.
In what universe are the bumbling, unwashed Ooty brothers anywhere near the caped crusader?
Batman technically operates outside the law, sure, but he has a tight, rigid code.
He's also organized, smart, plans ahead.
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The Ooty's dive headlong with no plan, embracing the chaos.
And of course, Batman's code includes a very specific prohibition on taking a life.
And the Ooty's, well, let's just say they rack up a body count.
The film opens with the brothers bursting into a house and raining bullets down on the evildoers who reside there.
Only after the smoke of the battle is clearing, McQueen appears holding a beer and is apparently raided from the fridge.
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And he's holding a piece of mail, saying rather incessantly, though, you ain't going to believe this.
We got the wrong house.
Later, when they assault Carlos' compound to retrieve Rob, McQueen opens the door only to see he's gunned down the maid.
Realizing his mistake, he merely says, my defense, you do work for a a-hole.
Maybe I'm making too much of the comparison.
Matter of fact, I know I am.
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But I know Batman up and down, and just because Batman fights bad guys and the Ooty's kill bad people, that does not make for an apt comparison.
I know Nolan's trilogy ended less than half a year before this film was released.
Still fresh on the minds of the movie going public.
But a much closer comparison would be something like The Punisher.
If The Punisher also only bathed bi-weekly and thought Skinner's Street Survivors album was the pinnacle of musical achievement.
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Jenkins does also call the brothers the Redneck Avengers, so I know he at least knows his way around comic book films.
I'll skip over some of the plot summary.
If you haven't seen it, I've already read the cover copy, so you should know the basics.
Jenkins does mention, Carlos sends three successive teams of killers after them, beginning with a gang of sexy hooker bike assassins who might have zoomed out of a Quentin Tarantino fever dream.
The movie also recalls the Mad Max series, specifically invokes the Terminator franchise, and cracks a sling blade joke that's funnier than Thornton's campy performance.
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The Tarantino influence is too obvious to miss.
Stunt woman turned actress Zoe Bell makes an appearance, a woman whose face appears in many of the Tarantino films as well.
The homage to other films, among before mentioned Mad Max, is also a trademark of the auteur.
Heck, there's even a scene from inside a trunk as it's being opened.
Yeah, clearly battles in hood are fans.
The sling blade joke is hilarious, and yes, no matter how hard I rack my brain, I cannot seem to recall a Terminator reference.
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It doesn't matter.
Speaking of Thornton's performance, it is so unhinged.
I loved every second of it.
He's so high strung and over the top, so unequivocally wicked, that it clearly does venture towards the range of parody or at least absurdism.
Towards the end when he sends the final group of assassins after the Oodies, he says that if they can't manage to bring back Rob,
Celeste's godson that Carlos has taken, remember, to at least kill him.
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If you can't have the kid, no one can.
Boy, I think King Solomon would know who Rob should really go to.
Continuing, Jenkins writes, the intentionally comic Baytown Outlaws isn't much sillier than Killing Them Softly or The Paperboy, two more upscale recent Gulf Coast death trips.
Although artistically slight and thematically haphazard, it's enjoyably flashy.
You know, it occurs to me I've not seen Killing Them Softly, and I've always meant to.
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I do have The Paperboy on DVD, so maybe one day.
Although it was originally a novel by Pete Dexter, it gets quite dark and disturbing despite some also sardonic and perhaps comedic moments,
so I don't know. I don't know if I should make Mackenzie suffer through that one for a real lit episode.
Still, I think it's a good film. It's underappreciated.
Lee Daniels directs, stars Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, and John Cusack.
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Suffice to say I'm not quite following Jenkins' comparison there.
I would say The Paperboy also had a bit of a Neil Exploitation vibe to it, but tonally it veers far from that of the Baytown Outlaws.
Oh, and speaking of having this one on DVD, when I opened the case to this one, The Paperboy was actually inside it instead,
so I had to go and get The Paperboy DVD, hoping it'd define the Baytown Outlaws.
Yeah, my wife had a habit of carelessly just sticking a DVD willy-nilly into a case rather than making sure it got back to the original.
(18:28):
Continuing, Jenkins says,
Yeah, I knew I was going to talk about that filter.
Another review I read said something along the lines of it was dirt-colored or perhaps urine before remarking that it was fitting.
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That's a little too harsh, I think.
At first it felt like there was just a vintage tone filter on the film, but the further the film went, yeah, I saw the heavy yellow.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems it gets more intense as the film rolls along.
At one point they drive down the highway lined with a luscious Louisiana foliage, and the leaves and grass are almost completely yellow,
with only the slightest bit of green visible.
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It certainly gives the film a unique look, or maybe unique's the wrong word.
There's been a discussion recently going around about using heavy yellow filters when portraying places like Latin America or the Middle East and giving it this other effect.
It did seem an odd choice for being shot in Slidell and set in South Alabama.
I mean, my son lives in Mobile, and visiting him there, I don't think yellow.
Suffice to say, odd choice to make, and I'm not sure it was a good one either.
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And also just a quick side note to Jenkins and the fine folks over at NPR, from a born and bred Bama boy, you don't need an apostrophe before Bama.
That's just not how we do it down here.
It's just Bama, B-A-M-A, no punctuation required.
Whether we're talking about the state or more likely the football team, it's always just been that simple.
I'm going to let Jenkins' next paragraph segue us into my take.
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Quote, the movie's vision is a gleeful mashup of old and new.
The ethnic politics are complicated, with an African-American sheriff, Latinos prominent in the mix, and a cameo by Michael Rapaport, in which he plays a cartoon version of his Jewish hip-hop loving New Yorker self.
Yeah, Jenkins is probably dancing around some of the big question marks that loom over this movie.
He's already alluded to the Confederate flag t-shirt that Brick wears, and here he calls the, quote, ethnic politics simply, quote, complicated.
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I would be remiss if I didn't expand on the film's politics, intentional or otherwise, that Glover liked to use a phrase of Bricks in the film, a fart in church.
Like everything else in this film, they aren't subtle.
We've already mentioned one character wearing a rebel flag tank top for the entire runtime, and those flags pop up in other places as well.
Decor, miniatures hanging for sale at a convenience store, which, I mean, to be in the rural deep south, it's probably accurate, unfortunately.
(20:50):
Speaking of that deep south, I certainly grew up there, as you might figure from my accent.
I know it's far from charming, but alas.
What I can say also, unfortunately, is that the iconography there is familiar to me.
Not that I prefer it to be, but you have no choice.
During the discussion of removal of Confederate monuments that arose with renewed vigor in 2020, I saw plenty of houses suddenly flying them once again.
(21:15):
Those who embrace that symbol swear it's, quote, heritage, not hate, that it represents the contrarian anti-establishment spirit of the South.
Now, I'm not going to say everyone who flies that flag or wears it on a shirt or belt buckle is racist, but I am saying it's perceived as racist by many others, and that's reason enough as far as I'm concerned to let it go.
But the symbol becomes further complicated, I suppose, by its use in popular culture, not just in film or television, the Duke's Hazard smoking the bandit immediately coming to mind, but also in music.
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Leonard Skinner, Tom Petty, the Almond Brothers Band, and even Sheryl Crowe in her video for Steve McQueen, they've all used that symbol.
All of them have since renounced it.
Then what do you do with the rappers who worn it on clothing?
Lil Jon, Andre 3000, Kanye West?
Well, nothing gay does surprise me anymore, but the others?
All I will say is the presence of it in this film made me feel uneasy the first time I watched it, though I'd sort of forgotten about it.
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And the second watch, Uneasy became almost queasy.
Whether the film is critiquing that imagery or just using it for Southern quote unquote authenticity, it's not clear.
But its inclusion complicates how this film lands with me.
One critic who doesn't share my uncertainty is Andrew Heer, writing for Salon.
He calls it a quote racist fantasy and a quote neoconfederate version of boondock saints.
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There's a good chance the presence of that flag itself primed me in the beginning, at least to have those same thoughts, make almost that same observation.
And it goes deeper.
I love the idea of wild and wacky gangs of ruffians like the three distinct and implausible gangs of assassins who chase after the UD brothers.
But here's the thing.
The first gang is an all female one.
The second is that Mad Max esque group.
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But it's made up completely of black members.
And finally, retreated to Native Americans who wear war paint and prefer bows and arrows riding iron horses, but still leaning into some ugly stereotyping.
Worse in the making of feature at Andre Brauer actually makes reference to their names, though they're never said in the film to my knowledge.
The flame bangers is the group of women, perhaps innocuous enough, though there is perhaps a slight reference to their promiscuity in it.
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Maybe a bit of slut shaming.
Then we have the hood pirates.
Yes, the hood pirates.
And the last one made me literally cringe, not just calling something that is an adjective like you people do today.
I'm just going to repeat what he said.
But apparently the final group is known as the engine assassins.
Now, I understand the film is going for exaggerated grindhouse style chaos, but that doesn't excuse these lazy, harmful stereotypes.
(23:42):
Intentional or not, these portrayals contribute to a pattern in media where marginalized groups are reduced to caricatures for the sake of style or humor.
It's disappointing.
And honestly, it took me out of the films.
Otherwise, ridiculous fun.
So, yeah, three white rednecks, one literally wearing a Confederate flag, overcoming the odds against women, African-Americans and Native Americans.
Now, I'm not going full O'Hare here and using the R word as in racist, but it does seem like an oversight and not for nothing.
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That other R word is used as well as a homophobic slur in this film.
But here's where it gets complicated.
This is 2013 and the discussion of lack of diversity and representation in film was really just starting to come back in the public forum.
Well, this is about the most diverse cast one is going to see from that time.
Latina, Eva Longoria is a major player, as is Andre Brauer.
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Brauer's sheriff in particular stepped in when the boys lost their father, who was a horrible human being to begin with, and took them under his wing.
He did turn them into stone cold killers, but.
Oh, and again, when we view the behind the scenes, we find that battles and hood were approached by State Street Pictures, who wound up co-producing.
Now, this is the company that also produced films such as Barbershop 2, Back in Business, Mudbound and The Hate U Give.
(24:53):
And one of the co-founders of State Street, George Tillman Jr. has also directed episodes of the Star Series Power and Netflix Luke Cage.
So do with that what you will.
And furthermore, there's the character of Ariana towards the end, played by Natalie Martinez.
We find out she's an undocumented worker.
Brick is in support of her, albeit clumsily, but we get a small intermission that makes a clear support for immigration and sympathy for those without documentation in this country.
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As a matter of fact, it's one of the few times the film is just outright didactic.
And it's not just race that gets a bit sticky.
Despite the use of that ugly R word, the brothers quickly develop rapport with Rob.
It becomes clear they're no longer in it for the cash, but they really like, even love, this disabled young man.
By the end, McQueen tells him, you're an Ooty now.
I don't know if that's actually an honor or not, but it's a nice gesture.
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So they're portrayed by an able-bodied actor.
The film does treat this character with respect and dignity.
And even the politics in general get a little funny.
After a quick stop at the aforementioned convenience store, the brothers buy Rob a shirt that reads, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
And I get it.
They're the Baytown outlaws.
Still, this is a common right wing talking point.
Is the film trying to push an agenda?
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I'm not sure.
It's doubtful.
I mean, I didn't flat out ask Billy Bob.
Yeah, I want to first name basis with him, not to brag, but I totally am.
I didn't ask him his political leanings, but judging by a few comments he made in our very short conversation, I make it sound like he's my best buddy.
I got him on speed dial, nothing like that.
It was one time we sat down and talked for a minute.
But when we did talk, I got a sense of how he probably voted.
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And it isn't for one with an R after their name.
And Ava Longoria literally spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
So I think we can say with a high degree of confidence where her loyalties lie.
So I don't know. I don't know what to make of it all.
Suffice to say the film is complex.
We're supposed to root for the OODIs, but I'm not sure we're even supposed to like them.
Or perhaps Battles hopes we'll like them in spite of ourselves.
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Perhaps the film gets careless at times, but I don't think it's outright racist.
O'Hare seems to be giving into reductionist thinking in a place where I think nuance is key.
That said, by all means, if Confederate flag imagery bothers you or if you side with O'Hare's thoughts instead, you should avoid the film.
I respect that and would never judge you or anyone who refuses to watch on those grounds.
Though, interestingly enough, O'Hare suggests more than once that the film is still sort of compelling and may be worth watching for the spectacle alone.
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For me, at least, it got me thinking about the fraught history and legacy of race and politics in the South.
And any time a film gets you thinking, it's doing something right, at least as far as I'm concerned.
So the standout performance.
As you might expect, the veterans in this film perform like veterans.
Andre Brauer is excellent as the corrupt sheriff, knowing ATF agent Reese is determined, suspicious and sniffing very close to the truth that would ruin him.
(27:36):
He plays it cool, unflappable on the outside, talking down to Reese and making it clear the investigation is unwelcome without ever crossing a boundary beyond faux politeness.
Longoria is really likable while also being manipulative.
She's vulnerable while also playing it tough.
And it seems she may truly love and care for Rob, but like Carlos, she's also clearly interested in that massive sum of cash that will come her way when the trust matures on his 18th birthday.
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Zoe Bell, Serenda Swan and Agnes Bruckner are all fantastic in their parts as three of the flame bangers.
They exude brash and brassy attitude as they strut across the screen, but their parts are just so limited.
As a matter of fact, though, the film's post-credit scene does seem to be teasing a sequel that will likely never happen.
I mean, why not give it a spinoff instead?
I want to see an entire film based on the flame bangers.
(28:24):
I hope your listening battles make it happen.
But not just because I know him.
Hey, did I mention I met this guy?
I am going to have to give it to Billy Bob Thornton.
He's just completely unhinged.
It's one of his hammiest appearances ever as this high-strung crime boss.
It's so understandable why he would be so irritable.
But at the same time, he takes it one or two notches higher than any sane person should ever do under those circumstances.
(28:47):
And that just makes it all the more hilarious.
It is. It's a crazy performance.
Yeah, I know Jenkins didn't like it, said it was campy, but I think that's the point.
And it's so much fun to watch.
So for cultural context, I thought we might look into where a film like this fits on the whole exploitation genre.
I've already sort of alluded to this.
Of course, the exploitation genre of yore were low budget films designed to cash in on sensational content, whether that was violence, sex, taboo topics.
(29:12):
Directors like Russ Meyer or films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre built careers and cult followings on pushing those boundaries.
Exploitation cinema was not about nuance.
It was about shock, style, spectacle.
In the 90s and the aughts, we saw a resurgence of these sorts of films.
Very often they were dubbed neo-exploitation.
These films proudly wear their grindhouse influences on their sleeves.
(29:33):
Directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have made entire careers out of reimagining the grit and excess of exploitation for modern audiences.
Just with bigger budgets and sharper visuals.
However, just as a personal preference, I feel we need to further categorize these films.
Thus, I've kind of just added two other categories I work with, and that's only my own unique classification system that's in my head.
(29:56):
But here I also sometimes file films away as either pseudo exploitation or others as quasi.
Pseudo exploitation films dip into the grindhouse aesthetic, but don't fully commit.
They borrow the visuals, maybe some grit, maybe some violence, but they sand off the edges to make it more palatable.
Think of something like The Suicide Squad or Sucker Punch.
They're films that hint at exploitation, but don't embrace it at its core.
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Quasi exploitation films are trickier to pin down.
They borrow elements, you know, maybe over-the-top violence or exaggerated villains, but they blend them into more standard action or comedy frameworks.
They're more like exploitation adjacent, but not fully immersed in it.
So where does The Baytown Outlaws land?
I mean, it does borrow heavily from exploitation films.
The Southern grit, the over-the-top violence, the ridiculous characters.
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But I don't think it fully commits to the grindhouse grime.
It does feel neo-exploitation in its intent, like it aims to revive the chaotic imagery of grindhouse films.
But it's more polished and mainstream than traditional exploitation.
At times it leans pseudo-exploitation, flashing the style without fully embracing the substance.
The Udy brothers are chaotic, but they lack the raw menace of classic exploitation anti-heroes.
(31:05):
And let's not forget the gangs outlandish and cartoonish, but not especially subversive.
Honestly, quasi-exploitation might be the most accurate label.
It borrows enough from exploitation films to feel adjacent, but never fully dives into the deep end.
Let's just hit a few pieces of trivia and put this thing on a shelf.
So here's a fun bit of trivia that's more about how silly I am than the film itself.
I specifically remembered once reading about how this film wasn't going to get made at all,
(31:30):
didn't have the money, couldn't raise the money, and Eva Longoria herself stepped up and offered her own money to save it.
And I was so prepared to talk a good bit about this when I got to this podcast.
Well, it turns out I got Mandela affected.
Longoria did indeed put up $6 million in cash of her own money to save a film in development purgatory, but it wasn't this one.
It was one she didn't even star in, John Wick.
(31:51):
How I got those two films confused is beyond me, but memory's a fickle and malleable fellow, isn't it?
Longoria does say it's the best money she's ever spent, and to this day she still gets a nice royalty check for her involvement.
And let's face it, a world without the John Wick series is one that's much less entertaining.
Incidentally, Longoria says she was drawn to this role specifically because she wanted to play against the type with Gabby Solis.
(32:13):
That was probably a wise move, as I've seen many an actor get typecast and be completely unable to be offered parts that allow them to spread their wings.
Incidentally, Longoria also said that at least wardrobe wise, she was much more a Celeste than a Gabby, and at least in the clothing she felt more at home with Baytown Outlaws.
Incidentally, this film was originally titled Baytown Disco.
I'm not sure why, and there's nothing I can find on the web or the Paltry DVD extras that can tell me why.
(32:39):
I wouldn't have been surprised in a film this unhinged if everyone did just suddenly break out in a dance number, but it doesn't happen.
No dancing, no disco. Outlaws seems much more fitting.
I will make a quick intermission to mention the segment Shelfless Endeavors.
Those astute listeners may have caught that I did not do this segment last week, and the same is true for this week because I haven't made a trip back to the theater yet.
(33:01):
Unfortunately, they've been showing the same lineup that I've already seen.
Maybe the Fire Inside, I might want to watch it, but it's only got one showtime and it doesn't really jive with my schedule.
Mostly it's just screens showing Mufasa, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Milana 2.
I don't really go for kid movies because, you know, I'm not a kid.
I might see Mufasa when it comes to streaming to see what they do with it, but I don't want to see it in the theater because not only am I not a kid, I can't imagine a fresher hell than having to watch a film in a theater full of them.
(33:30):
So this week has brought us Den of Thieves 2, which I might see, even though I have zero interest in it, and as a matter of fact, I've never seen the first one.
And though I don't really know much about Robbie Williams or Take That, sorry UK listeners, the premise of Better Man is intriguing and the critics seem to like it.
So I'm going to try to find time to give it a glimpse.
And I'll also say I just read that it is the first box office flop of the year, which I hate, you know, because I kind of thought it when I saw the previews, but it looks like an interesting film.
(33:56):
It's definitely an interesting take. I'm going to go see it. I'm going to at least give my little bit of money to it.
And this week, of course, also marked the US release of Hard Truths, which I've been talking about and which I'm dying to see.
But of course, my local theater is not going to show it.
So I don't know if I can swing a trip to a nearby city, I might give it a go. But with classes resumed, it's probably not feasible.
Whenever I am able to see that one, however, you can rest assured I'll be talking about it on this segment.
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All right, y'all, Shelf of Sting. You know how this works. I have five shelves on my DVD cabinet.
I use the bartender's model, top shelf for the very best stuff, bottom shelf for the rot gut, in between second shelf, mid shelf, fourth shelf.
So where do we shelf this little Blu-ray? It's always more difficult than it seems.
I have to admit, I enjoyed this wild ride as much the second time around, even if I didn't see many more of its numerous flaws.
(34:43):
And I know I say this all the time, but again, it's fitting here. It's not a good film, but it's an enjoyable one.
Or maybe that's just me because I enjoy trash cinema. But I am certain at some point, granted far into the future, I'll give this one another watch.
But the film had the potential to be so much more.
You know, I understand budget constraints and producer pressure to keep films lean.
(35:04):
But with so many interesting characters, I'd argue this one deserved at least a two hour runtime.
Heck, two and a half hours wouldn't have scared me off. More Carlos, more Celeste, and definitely more of the Flamebangers.
That would have elevated this chaotic fun into something genuinely memorable.
But that, the problematic moments we already discussed, and the film's unwillingness to go balls to the wall all in with a Neo-exploitation angle,
(35:27):
all that's going to put it on a lower shelf than I wanted it to be somewhere around mid-film when I was so enjoying the journey.
Thus, I'm placing this film on...
The fourth shelf. It's certainly better than bottom, and honestly, it kind of flirts with middle shelf.
But in the end, it's enjoyable, but it's below average.
(35:48):
Still, for the right mood and the right audience, The Baytown Outlaws is worth pulling off the shelf when you're in the mood for something wild, messy, and unapologetically chaotic.
Alright, dear listeners, with that said, coming up, I mean, we have so much to look forward to in these early months of 2025, both in the world of podcasting, but also here in our community.
The George Lindsay UNA Film Festival is, what, just about a month and a half away?
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It begins February 27th and continues through March 1st.
For those of you who do live in our little corner of the planet, we encourage you to mark your calendars.
It's three full days of film screenings, plus a kickoff party, a block party, an awards banquet that's... okay.
It's not going to quite rival last week's Golden Globes, but it's a heck of an event to attend. A lot of fun.
My real lit co-host, the Sterling McKenzie and I will be there.
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We'll be watching the films, leading the Q&A sessions with directors and actors, and boogying down at the block party.
You just better hope this year I don't grab the karaoke mic.
In the lead up to the festival, which this year is going to put a focus on wardrobe and costuming, McKenzie and I, alongside our colleagues, Dr. Brenna, you may remember her from
the fourth episode of Real Lit, I believe, talking about the birds, and Dr. Sidney, you will know him soon.
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He is going to, I believe in May, be a guest on Real Lit as well.
We're all going to be giving talks at the Florence Lauderdale Public Library.
This year, the film festival is going to put a focus on wardrobe and costuming, and if you listen to that episode with Dr. Brenna, you'll know that that's one of her areas of expertise.
But you might want to mark your calendar for February 15th. That's a Saturday. From 2 p.m. to 3.30-ish, I guess.
(37:23):
Because speaking of costuming, McKenzie and I will be giving a little talk on that slice of mise en scene.
Surprising absolutely no one, I'll be talking about sheriff and park ranger outfits and guess what? Animal horror cinema.
That means I'm going to have to do a re-watch of a bunch of those animal attack films.
And since there's only so much time in a day, I'm going to do double duty.
What that means is you, the listener, are going to get a small run of animal attacks, including a horror comedy that I've already done some scholarly work on in the years past.
(37:49):
And it's a good thing it's so butt cold here and not, say, spring break, because it isn't safe to go into the water.
A great terror lurks just beneath the surface.
No, it's not Jaws. Sorry, folks, but if you want to hear that discussed, check out our first ever episode of Real Lit.
No, think much smaller and more numerous. Next week, we're going to school with Piranha 3D.
(38:10):
The film is currently streaming, no pun intended, on Tubi and Flex, so if you want to watch it, you can do so.
And if you have thoughts, anything you want to hear me talk about, any opinions, if you want to defend or excoriate the Baytown Outlaws, send me an email.
That email address is steven at shelfcriticism.com. That's Steven with a P-H.
Or you can find us on social media at Shelf Criticism. Same is true with the other podcast, Real Lit with Mackenzie and Steven.
(38:36):
You can always get in touch with us at reallit at reallitpodcast.com.
Find us on social media at Real Lit Podcast or just pop on our website, reallitpodcast.com.
And remember, that's our E-E-L, like a film reel. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Looking forward, hopefully, to seeing and talking to some of you during the film festival.
(38:58):
I don't want to announce something that we're still in stages of planning, but we do want to do a little something in conjunction with the film festival, with Real Lit, and maybe with this one as well, certainly with some of the Isles of Palace productions.
So Mackenzie and Reagan and I will be putting our heads together and seeing what we can come up with there.
We'll let you know as soon as we figure it out. For now, my voice is really giving out.
It's almost like I gave a whole other lecture in class, so I'd better save it because I'm going to have to do it again on Wednesday.
(39:23):
Not the podcast part, but the other. I'll just say this. Until next time, DVD aficionados, remember to treat yourself to a little shelf indulgence of your own.
Amelia, sing us home.
(39:47):
Chelf criticism is an Isles of Palace production. This podcast is in no way connected with the educational institutions the host is employed by. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the host and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other organization with which he is affiliated.
Most images displayed are public domain. Images and stills from films, descriptions of scenes, and passages from books are used for educational and critical purposes and not for profit and therefore fall under the terms of fair use.
(40:27):
You can just ease your way out of here the same way you eased in. I like to enjoy what's left of my afternoon.
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