It had its funny moments Slow at times but worth watching

Very strange movie. Loaded with some really good actors doing great acting but the script lets them all down. Like they're trying to do a southern themed masterpiece with a British twist based on simmering family, patriarchal based dysfunction like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof but it doesn't come together in any kind of cohesive manner. The ending just left me asking that's it? Anyway I loved it simply to see great actors do the most with the lines they were given. Especially Katherine LaNassa, perfectly cast as the cheating, aging southern bell who at times looked like she could tie the whole thing together but in the end felt used and discarded. A swing and a miss for Billy Bob who shot for cinematic greatness coming many years after the acclaim of Sling Blade but came up short.

Worst of the worst.

Wow I LOVED this movie!! Called both my boys after. Thanks all for this. Not what the low reviews are about.

3.5 stars; I don't even know where to start talking about this movie. While watching it, I never really picked up on a theme. It seemed like a series of old back-country stories not well strung together. . That was more or less what I expected being a Billy Bob Thornton creation. Instead of it being about one character like in "Swing Blade", it was about a number of characters centered about the family patriarch played by Robert Duvall. The characters were very real, But just not compelling. I am using the term family very loosely here. It was more like a group of people living together sharing some kinship. It isn't until the end when the youngest son decides to go off and join the Army that i picked up on a theme The time period was 1969 and the Vietnam war was still raging. There was much discussion about war experience during the picture for all the sons. I realized that the ongoing theme was the PTSD condition each of the sons and father carried with them. It became exasperated when forced into a culture class (American and British) between families, that shared their mother between them, when she dies. With all of my disappointments being said, I did enjoy the masterful acting from Duval and John Hurt, done in non-challenging roles. Good performances were also given by Thornton and Kevin Bacon. This movie was made over 10 years ago, When all of this cast was in their prime. It's a shame that the roles given weren't more challenging. For me, this is a very negative review. So why 3.5 stars?.... 2 reasons. I truly love Robert Duvall in just about every role I've seen him play. So there's that bias. And, I viewed this film, as a father of three sons, through the eyes of the Duval character. It hit home to me in many ways.

Yes, it is sprawling, and yes, there are myriad secondary plots all occurring simultaneously, but all the critics fail to recognize the overriding theme of the movie. And no, it is not dysfunctional family dynamics, nor is it the clash of British and southern American cultures. It is a movie about PTSD. That is the common wound that each of the male characters carry with them - PTSD from different war experiences (PTSD suffered by Jim-bo, who did not even see combat), by different generations, in different wars, and by different cultures. And each of the male characters is damaged from it in his own way. (The female characters in the movie, not experiencing and not understanding the condition, play only minor roles). The genius of the movie is not in the story; the genius of the movie is that it uses the narrative - including the dysfunctional family dynamics, the clash of British and southern American cultures, and the myriad secondary plots - as the vehicle to shine a light on how the experience of war irreparably damages the lives of war's survivors. The final scene, the long closeup of the pained, anguished look in Kevin Bacon's eyes when his 18-year-old son announces that he has just enlisted in the army to fight in Vietnam is devastating. I found the movie a powerful portrayal of the suffering caused by the trauma of war and a pessimistic presage that future generations of war survivors will inevitably endure the same fate.

Not bad , Not Great ....Interesting Discusions ...Good acting ! SOMDVD

In "Jayne Mansfield's Car," a woman had run away from her family to start a new one in England. Decades later, she dies. Her last request is to be buried back in her native Alabama which her old family has complicated feelings about, as her new family accompanies her body. "Jayne Mansfield's Car" wastes a very good cast that includes Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Billy Bob Thornton(who also directed and co-wrote), Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, Ray Stevenson, Frances O'Connor and Katherine LaNasa on a cliche-ridden story that just seems satisfied with recycling tired stereotypes about the South(strange, considering Thornton is from Arkansas), the English and the 1960's. In fact, France O'Connor is about the only one of the cast to rise above the occasion. Which is a shame because there are some good thoughts via this family haunted by war that the best way to make someone a pacifist is to drop them in a war zone.

Ensemble drama with a stunning cast. A death brings families from USA and England together and bring their problems too

An all-star cast, in a film written and directed by, and aso starring, Billy Bob Thornton, about a good 'ol boy southern redneck, Jim Caldwell, with a morbid curiosity in fatal car wrecks, played superbly by Robert Duvall, and his eccentric, hugely dysfunctional family, set in 1969. It is also about war and peace, the generation gap, and how family is defined. Big Jim is one cold-hearted sumbitch who at one point laments that his eldest son, who never saw action, turned out to be pretty normal while the younger two, who enlisted, saw heavy action, and came home heroes are mighty screwed up. It is about how different generations see war, based on their experiences. The heat of the small-town Alabama summer just drips off the screen and the dialog seems genuine and unforced. There is a dark humor that trickles in and out of various scenes, which otherwise might have become overbearing and depressing. I thought it a well done film, in spite of one little plot twist toward the end that went off in an absurd direction I liked it. A lot.

Not an overly compelling story, but some great performances and scenes. Also featuring a wonderfully understated anti-war message (which got a bit heavy at the end). Frances O'Connor...sexy. Katherine LaNasa...hot.

Superb cast ,and moments of genius,but painfully slow and mundane between the few moments of pure entertainment.Not at all what you'd expect with this name,which only refers to a Pop Culture moment taking place in their town.Not really worth an indepth review.The only highlights are Frances O'Connor reciting the Light Brigade naked ,and Billy Bobs character,badly burned in WWII ,wearing his medals directly pierced through his badly burned torso.I can't say I recommend this film

Review: For some unknown reason, I really couldn't get into this film. It starts off well and the concept was great, but the director failed on the execution. It seemed to drag after a while, but I liked the various characters who all had there own personal issues. My expectations of the film was quite high because of the cast, but once that the whole family starts getting on, it turns a bit boring. With John Hurt, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton and Kevin Bacon, the director should have made use of the A Listers. Round-Up: Judging by the money that this movie made, it's obvious that I wasn't alone with the fact that this film just wasn't what it could have been. It's not that all of the actors and actresses didn't put in a good performance, it's just that it seemed like the storyline dried up after a while. The chemistry between the characters was quite interesting to watch, especially Duvall & Hurt who were great together and I loved the scene when Duvall was tripping in the woods, but nothing else really stood out in the movie for me. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $15,000 (Terrible!) I recommend this movie to people who are into there family dramas set in the 1960's who are drawn together by under unusual circumstances. 3/10

A case where a great film is wasted on much of it's audience. Glad I didn't depend on reviews here to pick a film to watch.

Not sure how I feel about this movie. It was a bit rambling, and the characters were difficult to engage with because they were all a bit odd and over the top. And if you're looking for a regular plot and action, you won't get that either. this is strictly a character study of a dysfunctional family. I personally love character studies, but I didn't particularly like any of the characters here that much, so I wasn't that invested in it. What makes the film worthwhile is the excellent acting. Robert Duvall and Kevin Bacon are great. Billy Bob Thornton is simply BRILLIANT. The movie is worth watching for his masterful performance alone. The only thing I have liked him in more was the coen brothers' "The Man who wasn't there."

The oddly titled Jayne Mansfield's Car -- the "car" figures into one scene in the film in which a "decapitated" car was toured around different locations of the country as some kind of a morbid curiosity -- is directed by Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) who also stars in the film as a son of a judgmental and cranky Robert Duvall (The Apostle) in 1969 Alabama. After the death of Duvall's ex-wife -- who left him and the children years before (after the war) to marry another man in England to start a second family -- her body is returned to Alabama for a proper burial ... but accompanying it are her other children (Frances O'Conner [A.I.], Ray Stevenson ['Rome']) and her widower husband (John Hurt - Alien). The film is about these souls coming together and talking ... and about Duvall's three sons coming to terms with him and his disapproving -- of just about all things -- ways. As a veteran, Duvall has a different outlook on the world even though his sons (Robert Patrick [The Terminator] and Kevin Bacon [Footloose]) have also served. Bacon also has some father-son problems with his own son. Not much happens here as it is a study of people ... namely one between fathers and sons. I didn't dislike this film but it is a difficult one to recommend as little happens. The title is more interesting than the film itself. Like this review, it meanders ... there is some depth here; but you have to want to dig it out and put in the time to get the (paltry) reward. I liked the look of the film -- 1960's Americana with picnics and apple pie but that is the surface level. What lies beneath isn't as rosy.

With a cast this impressive and a premise with such promise, "Car" should have been a masterpiece. Sadly, the script goes absolutely nowhere and the characters have nothing to offer but cliches. And with about 10 characters too many, there is a lot going on yet nothing really ever happens. Still, I can't say I was bored. It makes for a, well, interesting 2 hours.

Got it but couldn't get into it lol

Don't trust the reviews - this is a very good film.

Fine ensemble drama with a great cast