The characters have their own unique quirks and personality idiosyncrasies, and are interesting for the most part. Adapted from a stage play, this film comedy is, not surprisingly, heavy on dialogue. Some ten to twelve main characters who live, or have lived, in a small town in West Texas chat, argue, hug, gossip, lament, reflect on, laugh at, debate, divulge, confer, confide in, and generally shoot the breeze, as they go about their drab existence, in preparation for a funeral. Rather than being plot driven as in most films, "Sordid Lives" is character driven. Maybe if I saw it with an audience it would work better (it was a big hit in PTown and Palm Springs) but, as it is, I was not impressed.
Also the eccentric residents of a small Texas town are easy targets and have been done many times before. The constant screaming and yelling got annoying and the treatment of Brother Boy at the institution was just horrific. But, I found this more caustic and vicious than funny. Olivia Newton-John pops up also singing a few songs (especially the title song which is great). There's also a scene with Geiger and several totally nude men which some people may enjoy. It DOES have some funny parts and the acting was great all around especially by Bedelia, Burke and Geiger (who it seems has quit show business-this was his last film to date). My friends kept saying it's an unheralded masterpiece. THEN it just sat on my shelf for ten years till I watched it last night. I never saw it there but got it on DVD the next year at the urging of some friends. This played all summer long back in 2002 in Provincetown MA (a small town with a large gay population during the summer). (Beau Bridges) who was cheating on his wife Noleta (Delta Burke) with Peggy and feels guilty about her death. Then there's Peggy's son Brother Boy (Leslie Jordan) was has been institutionalized because he's gay. Also Latrelle wants her gay son Ty (Kirk Geiger) to come to Texas for the funeral.but he's out in LA and never told anyone he's gay and is sick of keeping it a secret.
Her sister Sissy Hickey (Beth Grant) tries to calm down Peggy's children-uptight Latrelle (a wonderful Bonnie Bedelia) and sassy Lavonda (Ann Walker). ** from ****Īn old womans (Peggy Hickey) death in a small Texas town sets off a firestorm within the family.
Strictly as a curiosity, the movie certainly lives up to its oddball reputation, and there are some outré laughs for those in the proper spirit.
Too many of the gags are recycled, rehashed and rerun, and the jokes tend to stem from various humiliations. Delta Burke and Bonnie Bedelia visibly strain to punch up their scenes, while Olivia Newton-John opens the picture with a rousing song but is given nothing else important to do. Leslie Jordan pulls off a difficult transvestite role with un-self-conscious relish not played for pitiable sympathy or all-out laughs, Jordan's Tammy Wynette-worshipping drag queen amiably walks a fine line-it's a portrayal dead-on in its accuracy, and Jordan is never a pain like the other characters. There's not much plot (it's just an exercise in showcasing the worst possible sides of humanity for a dirty laugh), yet some good things do come out of this. While Shores isn't exactly erratic as a director, he's possibly too flexible with his material and his group of actors, and the movie sometimes resembles nothing more than a stunt. Low-budget film played the Palm Springs movie circuit for months but didn't hit many other towns easy to see why, it's rather like an R-rated sitcom lost on the big screen. Del Shores directed and wrote this adaptation of his own play about how an elderly woman's (comical) accidental death causes her family and friends to rue her passing while digging up ancient misgivings.