"Junebug"

Embeth Davidtz
Alessandro Nivola
Alicia Van Couvering
Scott Wilson
Benjamin McKenzie
Amy Adams
Frank Hoyt Taylor
Joanne Pankow

R           106min           2005

“Junebug” is about an art dealer of outsider art threatens the equilibrium of her middle-class in-laws in North Carolina. Madeline is a go-getting art gallery owner from Chicago, recently married to George, a near-perfect Southern beau. When Madeline needs to close a deal with a reclusive North Carolina artist, George introduces her to his family: prickly mother Peg, taciturn father Eugene, cranky brother Johnny, and Johnny's pregnant, childlike wife Ashley, who is awe-struck by her glamorous sister-in-law. Madeline's presence exposes the fragile family dynamics as hidden resentments and anxieties surface. Written by Sujit R. Varma

This film captures the weird and quietness of North Carolinians. To an outsider they would think that the film was an exaggeration but is in fact the way people live in North Carolina. Having lived most of my life in North Carolina, I have met characters just like this from this movie. It’s a true representation of a part of the culture that envelops North Carolina, especially in the small town scatter throughout the state.

The cast is outstanding and captures the subtle of North Carolinian attitudes. They represent a typical small North Carolina town family. Amy Adams and Benjamin McKenzie shine in their parts. If I had never seen any of their other works I would have thought they were locates that made it into this film. They really captured what it is to be a North Carolinian.

Filmed in Wake Forest it showed those hidden pockets the outside world rarely sees. The stillness, the quiet, the flow of the south is in full bloom. The beauty and tranquility of North Carolina is in full display. “Junebug” shows off the beauty that is to be found in North Carolina and I commend them for that. It’s a film that North Carolinians can be proud of; although this film portrays specific section of Carolinian life. North Carolina has more to offer and is a great place to live.

I give 3/5 Gs.