Lechuguilla
Local Texas hicks get mixed up in a tangle of improbable events. Devoid of thematic depth, the film's convoluted, overly contrived story plays out like a cartoon, with characters that are shallow and two-dimensional; none of them are worth caring about. The story has too many villains. The "Junior" character is funny for the first thirty seconds, then quickly becomes irritating. About the best I can say for the inane story is that the ending does contain a nifty plot twist.The general absence of country/western music was both surprising and disappointing. Acting is fairly good overall, with Joshua Jackson giving perhaps the best performance. The film's editing is excellent.Reminiscent of "The Dukes Of Hazard" and aimed at exactly that audience, "Lone Star State Of Mind" is played strictly for laughs. A low budget, boot-scootin' comedy that many viewers seem to enjoy, it's a harmless diversion ... nothing more.
pam1ji
Considering Joshua Jackson has a distinct Canadian accent he did a wonderful job sound like a "good 'ol boy" from Texas. Each character in this film plays a unique role in creating this surprisingly funny account of a young man from Texas. I especially liked the part where child Earl discovers he is not in fact Jesus Christ reincarnated when his daddy is killed while preaching to the heathens in the bars. DJ Qualls also stands out as borderline retarded Junior. The scene where Junior hands tinker the bag of panties and maxi pads when Tionker had asked for pantyhose to rob a pizza delivery person. Juniors explanation and solution were extremely comical. The only thing that makes this film not completely perfect was the shoot out in the warehouse. It just was not convincing that everyone gets shot except for the main characters. But Earl finally meeting his "daddy's killer" was pretty cool. This is a must see movie.
dhtucker4
The reason why I like this movie is the chemistry and the dialogue between Earl and Baby. I know most of the characters in this movie - in the South, the Southwest, the West, the Midwest, and especially Texas (it seems more of an East Texas or the Hill Country).Jaime King was especially good as a wanna-to-get-outta-here-fast girl. And the she push the buttons on Joshua Johnson's character (Earl) but everything that Earl does to please Baby goes awry. To me, this is a comedy of errors (like Black Adder). Earl and Baby have to deal with various nitwits or relatives (sometimes both). I think the title to this flick should "Murphy's Law." Jaime King had a decent script (for once) and she makes the most out of it - she puts her soul into her part and she shines. The whole cast was pretty good. It reminds me of "Dummy," but with so many ignorant hillbilly redneck cracker references - but it also shows family dysfunction in a good funny light.
John
What a surprise! Having read no reviews, I picked this film off of the shelf at Hollywood Video and was rewarded with an entirely enjoyable, funny, sweet, and overall entertaining film. The relationship between Earl & Baby is especially tender, refreshing and believable, while the performance by Ryan Hurst as Tinker is perfectly protagonistic (if that's a real word!) and amusing. Great acting by all, great screenplay, great directing, great everything. 9 out of 10 (because perfection is always impossible, but this film comes close: no belly-wrenching-guffaw-laughs, but like I said, entertaining). Rent it with the assurance of an evening's entertainment time well-spent.
AD
