The Western Flop Vince Vaughn & Billy Bob Thornton Would Probably Like You To Forget About
Dwight Yoakam rose to prominence as a country singer in the 1980s and ’90s, but he was no stranger to Hollywood by the time he wrote, directed, and starred in “South of Heaven, West of Hell.” He’d been acting for a few years before Billy Bob Thornton cast him in his celebrated 1996 drama “Sling Blade,” in which he played Doyle Hargraves, receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, along with the rest of the cast, for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. By the time he came to start working on “South of Heaven, West of Hell,” he’d appeared in a handful of other films and TV shows, and seemed ready to take the next step by writing and directing. Alas, his passion project remains the only film Yoakam has starred in, written, and directed, and judging by the reception, that’s probably a good thing.
The film premiered at the 2000 Slamdance Film Festival before hitting theaters on December 15, 2000. It earned just $28,149 at the box office. Critics weren’t impressed, either. The film has a 14% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, but in fairness, not a single so-called “top critic” reviewed this film, and there are only seven reviews available. However, a quick glance at those appraisals don’t exactly inspire confidence. The sole “fresh” review, for instance, comes from Jaime N. Christley at something allied “Apollo Guide,” and is summed up thusly: “It’s best not to ask too many questions — better just to switch your brain to stand-by and enjoy the show.”
Variety’s Robert Koehler did review the movie, but he wasn’t much more impressed than any other critic, writing, “This tyro filmmaking effort by country superstar Dwight Yoakam lacks the critical ingredients of shape, consistent tone, rhythm and economy that would make this truly old-fashioned oater into a lean, compelling adventure.” Among the film’s issues, according to Koehler, were “botched editing and staging,” “awkward comedy and grizzled genre excess,” and a star who was “still learning how to act.”
