Billy Bob's Filmography
A GUN, A CAR, AND A
BLONDE (1997)
Distributor
Avalanche Home Entertainment
Director
Stefani AmesCharacter
Syd Bundy/Detective Charles "Monk" Moler
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Movie Quote
MONK: Don't call me Monk.
Plot
You get twice the Billy Bob for your admission in
this bit o' noir penned by BBT's screenwriting partner and
childhood good buddy, Tom
Epperson. The intrigue stars frequent BBT player Jim Metzler as
Richard, a paralyzed businessman who escapes the physical pain, the grief
over his wife's death, and the psychological monotony of his
wheelchair-bound life by fantasizing himself as Rick Stone, the detective in a 1950s-style murder mystery. The murder mystery
segments are shot in black and white, and the entire film
features most of the cast in dual roles, including Kay Lenz,
Andrea Thompson, Victor Love, and John Ritter.
What Billy Bob Gets To Do
Billy Bob gets to play both sleazy Syd Bundy--a present-day, unemployed
bartender now dating Richard's leeching sister Peep (played by
Kay Lenz)--and Syd's black-and-white alter-ego, Monk Moler--a
corrupt, Ellroy-style L.A. cop circa 1950. As Monk, he can
be downright sadistic with a knife. As Syd, he gets to be
the boat token in an interrupted game of Monopoly, and he has a
rather heady experience with Peep.
Backstory
We like to refer to this period in Billy
Bob's career (from GOING OVERBOARD to
HOMEGROWN) as his
"surly redneck period" (sort of like Picasso's blue
period, only with a higher on-screen body count). Aside
from Marshall (DON'T LOOK BACK) and Ray Malcolm
(ONE FALSE MOVE), Billy Bob's characters don't get much surlier than Monk
Moler. Look for Monk to face the same fate with a stack of
old tires as Cold Face did in TROUBLE
BOUND. By the way, Billy Bob's writing partner,
Tom Epperson, made his producing debut on this film, which he
co-wrote with director Stefani Ames.
Awards
(for A
GUN, A CAR, AND A BLONDE)
Saguaro Film Festival (Best of Fest, Stefani Ames) -
1997 - Winner
Relevant Links
IMDb Link
TV Guide review
Rotten Tomatoes review
The
Thrilling Detective Web Site looks at the lead character's detective persona
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BBT On DVD
This guns 'n' dames escapade is a great addition to any
self-respecting Billy Bob Thornton video
collection. Boasting the de rigeur
interactive menus, scene index, cast bios, and
trailer, A GUN, A
CAR, AND A BLONDE is distributed through Avalanche Home Entertainment. We snarfed it up for $6.99 at Fry's!
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