JUNEBUG, directed by Phil Morrison, is a quirky story of north meets south. In some rural families one child may decide to venture out into the rest of the world in search of something different than their place of origin. In the bible-thumping Johnston family, that child was George (Alessandro Nivola) and his "something different" would be Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz)in Chicago. He finds love at first sight with Madeleine, a gallery owner that focuses on art created by self taught, eccentric artists. After marrying a week past their first glance, George and his new refined wife travel back home to his somewhat ignorant family after being absent for several years. Madeleine on the other hand has a different agenda. She's traveled to North Carolina with her new husband in order to persuade the local mentally impaired artist, David Wark (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to agree to exhibit his warped nude renditions of the civil (war filled with scrotum galore) in her gallery.
He finds that his family is precisely the same as when he left them...which is not a good thing. His brother John (Benjamin McKenzie) is still filled with rage and animosity towards his successful older brother... and well everyone really(but, then who wouldn?t be with a name like that?). His mother Peg (Celia Weston) is still a quietly judgmental women who suspects that anyone who isn't plain and stupid poses a dangerous threat. His father Eugene (Scott Wilson) is a still quietly approving and contemplative man whom finds joy only in his wood crafting. His sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams)is the most dynamic of all the characters. She is nine months pregnant and anorexic. Her child-like and supernaturally optimistic behavior is so over-the-top that it's actually the most convincing performance on the screen.
The great thing about this film is that there was no exploitation. This could've easily been another mockery of the simple south, but the "kick" never came. This wasn't a spoof in the scenes where it almost seems it should've been, but it was endearing instead. The only thing that never made sense to me was the yodeling. The opening scene was all yodeling in the woods and we are never told why this is so.
Eventually, we are shown a different angle on each character when they attempt to brake away from their jaded personalities. The bitter brother tries to be kind to his pregnant wife by recording a documentary on her favorite animal, but botches it when he's just so incapable that he can't manage the tape. The mother stays closed off until the end, when she shows some tenderness...but then
