Customer Reviews
King of the Hill In Hyperdrive - By: prisrob, 24 Feb 2008 
"Watching writer & director Del Shores's Bible Belt parody, Sordid Lives, is like driving through the boondocks, finding only honky tonk radio & listening to one of those raunchy tunes; it's weird, it's funny & you find yourself humming along." Scott Holleran
We know we can't choose our relatives & aren't we glad someone else has this group? White Trailer Trash may not be apropos for this collection of oddities because these people are so damn funny. Don't think their intention is to be funny, but they are alll just a little bit left of center. They are living their lifestyles or not, but they are doing this in their own way.
The beginning of the movie starts at a slow pace but soon builds to a crescendo that will have you laughing til your sides hurt. Sissy Hickey is on the phone discussing the demise of her sister. A rather unfortunate incident of tripping over the wooden legs of her married lover in a third rate motel. Now, the two daughters, Latrelle played by Bonnie Bedelia, & Noletta played by Delta Burke, are arguing over whether mom should be buried in her fur wrap in the middle of summer. This done over a table full of southern fried food sent in by neighbors. The talk turns to Noletta's husband, the lover with the wooden legs, mom's son-in-law. And then turns to Boy Brother, their younger bro, who dresses in women's clothing & has spent the past 20 years in the insane asylum. Latrelle's son is in Hollywood & acting in gay plays. The curious incident of the wooden legs has made the family a laughing stock & how to deal with this?
In the meantime Boy Brother & his psychiatrist, Dr Eve Bolinger, are undergoing his therapy. Dr Bolinger is going to cure Boy Brother of his homosexuality & make her so famous she will appear on Oprah. However Boy Brother is not cooperating, He does not want to change. So, there appears to be a stand-off.
The problems of each family member & the collective are enough to make a grown man cry. However, in this case, we may be down on our knees gasping from our laughter. How this family comes together is a mystery & the country western singer, played by Olivia Newton John , sings the family back home. Not a laugh a minute but funny enough to keep us alll off-base.
"Like a live-action version of "King of the Hill" in hyperdrive, features some ornery down-homers who remain convinced of their common sense even when every move puts them in deeper doo-doo. The doo-doo that they do so well is adultery, with the latest round of musical beds in the tale's unnamed smalll town having resulted in the death of old Peggy, who tripped over the misplaced wooden legs of her married lover, G.W. (Beau Bridges)." Ken Eisner
Highly Entertaining & will become a cult classic. prisrob 02-11-08
White trash have their problems too - By: Joseph Haschka, 08 Jan 2006 As SORDID LIVES opens, Sissy (Beth Grant) is awaiting the funeral of her sister Peggy, who recently died in a cheap motel room after tripping over the detached wooden legs of her adulterous lover, G.W. (Beau Bridges), & smashing her head against the bathroom porcelain. As if Sissy doesn't have problems enough in the wake of five failed marriages, she's struggling to quit smoking, popping Valium like candy, & having to cope with the dysfunctions of assorted family members. Niece Latrelle (Bonnie Bedelia), whose husband is off with Jimmy Carter building homes for the poor, is in denial over the homosexuality of son Ty (Kirk Geiger), an aspiring actor out in L.A., & contesting the decision of her sister LaVonda (Ann Walker) to clothe Mom in her favorite mink stole for the burial in 110-degree Texas heat. Meanwhile, Peggy's son Earl (Leslie Jordan), a homosexual transvestite, has been confined to a mental institution for the past twenty years. Out in SoCal, Ty is suffering a sexual identity crisis, & is on his twenty-seventh therapist.
SORDID LIVES, a politicallly correct film espousing gay rights in a heavy Texas accent, won't appeal to everyone, but several of the performances are surprisingly excellent. Jordan is positively superb as Earl, who spends his life dressed up as CW singer Tammy Wynette, & has a permanent gig entertaining his fellow inmates in the asylum.
Also exceptional is Rosemary Alexander as the sexuallly frustrated Dr. Eve Bolinger, the institution psychologist assigned to Earl's case. Eve's career, as well as a lucrative book deal & an appearance on Oprah, are alll dependent on her ability to successfully de-homosexualize her charge. Therapy has not progressed well after sixty-eight sessions, & Eve is prepared to take Earl's problem in hand, so to speak. The single, on-screen session between Earl & his shrink is brilliantly scripted & worth the price of the video rental, & then some.
A very nice touch is Olivia Newton-John as Bitzy Mae Harling, an ex-con & local bad girl, whose timely live performance of topical songs augments recorded Tammy Wynette vocals. Delta Burke as Noleta, G.W.'s unhappy spouse, is also effective, as is Sissy's striking hairdo.
Sometimes, the film's humor becomes shrill & a little forced. For that reason, I'm lopping off a fifth star. However, though SORDID LIVES is perhaps not suitable for screening at a Southern Baptist potluck, it's one that may offer a pleasant surprise if selected off the rental store shelf as a "well, why not?" afterthought.
The gem movie of the the queer community - By: Thomas Lindvall, 24 Jan 2004 
This wonderful, touching, witty & fun movie has become the highlight movie in Palm Springs where it has been running for years. To the gay community in & outside Palm Springs is has become the signature of accepted diversity. Everyone is queer in some sense, including the heterosexuals, so everyone can find her role model in life. The actors perform splendidly & the music backs them up to create a perfect blend of the American "anno da zu mal" feeling of the 50's & the gay communities of today.
