BillyBobapalooza

Billy Bob's Filmography

HOMEGROWN (1998)

Distributor
Columbia/TriStar

Director
Stephen Gyllenhaal

Character
Jack Marsden

Movie Quote
JACK: For your information, smart ass, I just might start my own Fortune 500 company.

Plot
BBT plays Jack Marsden, a seasoned pot grower waiting to harvest a ripening crop with his two cohorts, Carter and Harlan (Hank Azaria and Ryan Phillippé), in the Northern California wilderness. Without warning, their boss Malcolm (Lithgow) is gunned down right in front of them by an assassin in a helicopter. Uncertain whether the local mob or rival pot growers did the deed, they decide to carry on the business, pretending that Malcolm is still alive, until they can get that multi-million dollar crop of wacky tobacky processed and sold. Greed, paranoia, and Malcolm's unsolved murder begin to undermine the trio's tight partnership, and soon, everything starts to go to pot.

What Billy Bob Gets To Do
He gets to run around in the forest wearing a bathrobe and boots, spraying the trees with his Uzi. He also manages to single-handedly run the drug empire after his boss is slain, picking up business smarts faster than a Trump apprentice.

Backstory
This underappreciated title features a fine Colombian-quality cast that includes Hank Azaria (take time to savor his kicky, Michael Jackson-style bolero jacket), Ryan Phillipe, Jon Bon Jovi, Kelly Lynch, Jon Tenney, Jamie Lee Curtis (who also appeared in DADDY AND THEM), Ted Danson, Judge Rheinhold, and John Lithgow. Shot in Northern California, the film brought new meaning to the concept of a greens department when several, very realistic-looking pot plants were concocted out of silk to gussy up the forest. One of the fake plants was stolen, then mysteriously returned, prompting Billy Bob to comment, "You can get really sick from smoking silk."

To our knowledge, no commemorative bong was issued for this film, although a bong prop on the set of the Woody Allen movie CELEBRITY a few years back was affectionately dubbed "Billy Bong Thornton." Since then, the term Billy Bong Thornton is quite popular among U.S. and Australian pot smokers, often connoting a really huge water pipe.

Relevant Links
IMDb Link
Official Sony Home Video Page
Bomis links to several HOMEGROWN sites
Movieweb review
MRQE links to HOMEGROWN reviews
TV Guide review
Filming location page
More reviews

Related Merchandise
The motion picture soundtrack is all songs, including tracks by the Cowboy Junkies, The Toyes, Artificial Joy Club, and--of course--Home Grown.

BBT On DVD
Another Fry's acquisition, HOMEGROWN provides the usual DVD amenities (trailer, subtitles, full and widescreen, etc.) along with some splendidly designed menu screens. I always felt that the print creative campaign behind this film was woefully underrated (along with the flick itself), including the nifty gunny sack one-sheet poster. They don't acknowledge the marketing art directors on the DVD credits, so whoever you are, mystery V.P. of Creative at Columbia/TriStar, my hat's off to you.

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© 2004 by . . . Like the Wind Productions/Lonesome Rogues Design. This page is intended for entertainment and reference purposes only and is not intended to make a profit. Film commentary reflects the opinions of the webmasters Amélie and Sage and not the opinions of Billy Bob Thornton or his representatives.