{2jtab: Movie Review}

Roaring onto Blu-ray and VOD everywhere, are the notoriously funny Baytown Outlaws.  This gang of dirtball sleazoids – much like the film with its mesh-up spaghetti western meets 1970s drive-in vibe – aren’t aiming to be taken seriously but they sure are having a hell of a good time at being bad.  The violence is as over-the-top as Billy Bob Thorton’s villainous performance but no one’s going to care.  This B-movie has a most surprising quality to its extreme ways; it has an entertaining heart.

The Oodie brothers - Brick (Clayne Crawford), McQueen (Travis Fimmel) and Lincoln (Daniel Cudmore) – are ex-cons living under the same roof in rural Alabama.  They like guns, beer, and pretty women.  Enter a woman named Celeste (Eva Longoria).  Her godson has been kidnapped by her ex – who just wants the kid for financial gain - and she wants the boy back.

The Oodie brothers agree and insanely put together a plan that sees them stealing the kid from his father.  Celebrations are in order as they are in route to Celeste but – as gangs of biker chicks, grizzled and pissed off Native Americans, and vicious thugs are suddenly all after them – the brothers realize just who they stole from: the venomous druglord Carlos (Thornton).

The Baytown Outlaws knows its Tarantino-esque vibe is only going to appeal to hardcore Grindhouse fans.  It knows it has no right to be labeled as original.  In fact, it seems to revel in this fact with its Smokey and the Bandit meets Raising Arizona attitude by way of Switchblade Sisters.  This is drive-in matinee material and should be enjoyed as such.  It is both a hoedown and a hootenanny.

Directed by Barry Battles and written by Battles and Griffin Hood, The Baytown Outlaws doesn’t offer a lot of Southern hospitality but it does have enough humor and beatings to bottle its own brand of Whoop-ass.  The writing often feels clichéd and familiar and, with every actor a bad guy, there’s not a lot of variety but it still manages to survive as the rip-off biker extravaganza that it is.

The kicker is that the Oodie brothers – as much as they like to kill and break the law – are actually decent simple-minded individuals.  That’s right; the bad guys are the good guys.  Keep that in mind as you watch.  It plays a lot of enjoyable tunes from this riff inspired by Sheriff Henry Millard (Andre Braugher), the man who raised them.

As stated before, the violence is significant as this trio of redneck hillbilly brothers and the handicap boy they’ve managed kidnapped – unharmed, mind you – get in over their heads in somebody else’s revenge mission.  Along the way, their dingbat comments and observations on life will both entertain and appall audiences.

Who knew sweetness could be so simple-minded?

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexual and drug content.
Runtime: 98 mins.
Director: Barry Battles
Writer: Barry Battles, Griffin Hood
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton; Eva Longoria; Thomas Brodie-Sangster; Michael Rapaport
Genre: Comedy | Crime | Action
Tagline: A Southern Whip-Ass Extravaganza!
Memorable Movie Quote: "You ain't gonna believe this. We've got the wrong house."
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Official Site: http://www.baytownoutlaws.com/
Release Date: No wide theatrical release.
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 2, 2013

Synopsis: When three redneck brothers agree to help a woman save her son from an abusive father, they become targets on the run from an odd cast of characters.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - April 2, 2013
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Phase 4 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1, The Baytown Outlaws’ uncharacteristically crisp visuals will surprise you.  This is a lower than low budget affair but you’ll see none of it here.  Dave McFarland’s cinematography is striking, capturing the hot, Southern setting of the film through a rich and warm palette. We feel as if we have been transported to the dry Texas deserts, with the Blu-Ray transfer looking incredible. Fine object detail is as striking as the violence.  Battles’ also shows a competency during the action sequences, with several high-octane chases and shoot-outs proving rather memorable.  Again, the transfer handles these moments with clarity and grace.  The sound – presented here in a standard lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix – won’t tear the roof off the sucker but it is adequate for the action.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

Eh, nothing special here.  There are a couple of standard EPK featurettes with cast, crew interviews and snippets from the film and such.  Also included is a trailer.

• Behind the Scenes Feature Part 1 (14 min)
• Behind the Scenes Feature Part 2 (8 min)\

{2jtab: Trailer}

{/2jtabs}