Robert Altman's stunning piece of Americana, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, was originally a Broadway play starring all the people you see in the film, in the same roles.
The story concerns a small Texas town where the James Dean Disciples are having a 20-year reunion on September 30, 1975, to commemorate the death of the icon on the same date in 1955. They are meeting, as they did before, in the Five and Dime run by the fundamentalist Christian Juanita (Sudie Bond), and at one time, with her husband Sidney, now deceased.
Each woman has a story to tell. The most fervent, devoted, and living in cloud cuckoo-land is Mona (Sandy Dennis), who went to Marfa when Giant was filming, was chosen not only as an extra but was anointed to have James Dean's only son nine months after the filming, also named Jimmy Dean.
Sissy (Cher) is the sex bomb always bragging about her breasts.
Sissy, Mona, and Juanita live in McCarthy still; the other members come in for the reunion: Stella (Kathy Bates) who married an oil baron, Edna Louise (Marta Heflin) who is married and expecting her seventh child; and Joanne, whom no one can quite place.
Mona, Sissy, Juanita, and Joanne all have secrets that will emerge during this sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes sad reunion. And as one person finds out, part of what she's been hiding is no secret.
Altman expertly tells the story using mirrors, reflecting back to happenings in 1955 and coming back to 1975.
The ensemble acting is superb, with the Dennis having the major role, followed by Cher and Black -- all three are marvelous, but the smaller roles are excellent as well.
The beginning is a loud and confusing; there's a theatricality about it that sometimes doesn't translate to film, and it's more obvious at the start.
This play was the darling of regional theaters for years - you can't get much better than an all-woman cast of six. It was done all over the country, and I assume is still being done.
This is a story about the strong fantasy a magnetic, frozen in time film personality can give us, about illusion, delusion, rejection, false fronts, and survival. All wrapped up in a group who met at the local Five and Dime to honor James Dean, wore red jackets, and pretended they were the McGuire Sisters.
Highly recommended.
The story concerns a small Texas town where the James Dean Disciples are having a 20-year reunion on September 30, 1975, to commemorate the death of the icon on the same date in 1955. They are meeting, as they did before, in the Five and Dime run by the fundamentalist Christian Juanita (Sudie Bond), and at one time, with her husband Sidney, now deceased.
Each woman has a story to tell. The most fervent, devoted, and living in cloud cuckoo-land is Mona (Sandy Dennis), who went to Marfa when Giant was filming, was chosen not only as an extra but was anointed to have James Dean's only son nine months after the filming, also named Jimmy Dean.
Sissy (Cher) is the sex bomb always bragging about her breasts.
Sissy, Mona, and Juanita live in McCarthy still; the other members come in for the reunion: Stella (Kathy Bates) who married an oil baron, Edna Louise (Marta Heflin) who is married and expecting her seventh child; and Joanne, whom no one can quite place.
Mona, Sissy, Juanita, and Joanne all have secrets that will emerge during this sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes sad reunion. And as one person finds out, part of what she's been hiding is no secret.
Altman expertly tells the story using mirrors, reflecting back to happenings in 1955 and coming back to 1975.
The ensemble acting is superb, with the Dennis having the major role, followed by Cher and Black -- all three are marvelous, but the smaller roles are excellent as well.
The beginning is a loud and confusing; there's a theatricality about it that sometimes doesn't translate to film, and it's more obvious at the start.
This play was the darling of regional theaters for years - you can't get much better than an all-woman cast of six. It was done all over the country, and I assume is still being done.
This is a story about the strong fantasy a magnetic, frozen in time film personality can give us, about illusion, delusion, rejection, false fronts, and survival. All wrapped up in a group who met at the local Five and Dime to honor James Dean, wore red jackets, and pretended they were the McGuire Sisters.
Highly recommended.