Could have been so much better!

Rating: 5/10 (12 August 2007)

I went in to this movie a little skeptical, as it seems Samuel Jackson only does movies with "Snake" in the title lately! Anyway. I often read reviews for movies where they say a movie is "uneven". I often watched the movies later and thought that they weren't quite that bad. This movie however, is the true definition of uneven. At times, this movie is top notch, and with other parts I was thinking WTF? The sentimental parts were handled well, and the basic premise was interesting.
The biggest problem with this movie is the "fake south" setting however, which totally pulls the viewer right out of the storyline. I wondered as I watched if this movie is set in the 40's, the 70's or what? About half way through the movie I was more confused / surprised to learn that this was supposed to be set in modern times??? One person made a reference to a relative getting leather boots from "the computer".
* Sure, there is some place (supposedely in MS in this movie) where people from the South have only vaguely heard of the internet (or computer, lol) and people 17-25 all meet in a field and dance to southern rockish/countryish music and everyone drives 30 year old cars from the 70's that run fine (where do they find parts?). All the while, everyone looks and acts like they just came from "My Name is Earl", and dream of moving to Knoxville, which by the way is several hundred miles from MS, so obviously was used for familiarity purposes? We must not forget that black people are stereotyped as being stuck in the 40's too, WTF? This is about as real as the 80's stereotype of gang members dressing in gay S/M studded leather and talking trash while having knife fights. Sure.
I remember a while back Ebert (of Ebert and Roper) made a declaration of how fake and irritating the "fake south thing" in modern movies is when reviewing Sweet Home Alabama. It was OK back in the 70's with "Deliverance" (set in GA) and in the 60's w. "Beverly Hillbillies" (supposedly from Oklahoma), but today it is silly, fake, etc.
For those of you that have never been outside of your own area, don't believe such silliness in movies. Even in the south, virtually every kid over the age of 8 has a My Space page, is listed on Facebook, and radio stations play the same top 40 / rap, etc, and any town of size has a mall with virtually the same clothes. You would be hard pressed to tell any differences city for city size for size, to anywhere other than the weather.
Anyway, the movie is all over the place. If nothing else, Justin Timberlake is surprisingly good. "It is so rare for a musician to become a good actor", I read all over. BUT WAIT! He was an actor before he was a singer...I guess everyone forgot that, conveniently. Whatta mess. If anything, I was surprised as to this movie's voter rating. You can find plenty of enduring Oscar winning flicks with lower ratings. Maybe this movie was made for the simple purpose of selling tickets. If so, that would make more sense. Otherwise, the lack of reality ruins any chance this movie could ever have a shelf life.
I just don't get it...or maybe it is everyone else that doesn't get it. Yee-haw. Lets go rustle up some boots on that-there computer thing my 4th cousin/ ex-wife heard about. Sure. Worthy of 10 stars?