A Family Thing (1996)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writers (WGA):

Billy Bob Thornton (written by) &
Tom Epperson (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

United Artists Pictures invites you on a journey... you will not soon forget.

Plot:

Earl Pilcher Jr., runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife and kids and parents...

Plot Keywords:

Childbirth | Arkansas | Chicago | Half Brother | Family Relationships

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Earl Pilcher Jr.
James Earl Jones	...	Ray Murdock
Michael Beach	...	Virgil
Irma P. Hall	...	Aunt T.
Grace Zabriskie	...	Ruby
Regina Taylor	...	Ann
Mary Jackson	...	Carrie
Paula Marshall	...	Karen
James N. Harrell	...	Earl Pilcher Sr. (as James Harrell)
Lauren Leigh Phillips	...	Kindra
Ashleigh Jordan	...	Danielle
David Keith	...	Sonny
Sandra Quarterman	...	Young Aunt T. (as Saundra Quarterman)
Patrice Pitman Quinn	...	Willa Mae
Don James	...	Junior Turner

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, brief violence and a childbirth scene.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34066) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:7 | UK:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Butcher's Run Films

Trivia:

Although the storyline has James Earl Jones' character being about 6 years older than Robert Duvall's character, Duvall is actually older than Jones -- by 12 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Virgil and Ray are saying goodbye for the first time in front of Ray's house. Virgil is standing behind the car and the car moves before the engine starts. The next frame shows the car still in place then moving forward.

Quotes:

Earl Pilcher, Jr.: Being happy ain't nothin' more than havin' something to look forward to.

Movie Connections:

Features Red Dawn (1984)

Soundtrack:

Keeping The Faith

Wonderful Movie!

What a pleasant surprise this was. I caught this one day on Showtime and really didn't give it much of a chance. But I was so wrong!! Powerful performance by Irma P. Hall (as Aunt T.), and Robert Duvall is at his best as well. Wonderfully acted and written, this has to be the best movie I have seen in a long while. Sure, the same old southern stereotypes are portrayed as well as the same for the inner-city black culture, with many being quite accurate. Some parts were a little over the top, like the birthday party in the bar that Earl crashes as a total stranger. But that being said, not a lot of negatives I can say about this movie.