Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in this serio-comic look at the trials (literally and figuratively) of an eccentric Arkansas family. Struggling musician Claude (Thornton) and his wife Ruby (
Laura Dern) get the news that Claude's uncle Hazel (
Jim Varney) has been accused of murder and is in jail awaiting trial. Claude and Ruby head for the Alabama town where they grew up, and, before long, there's a friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) war of words among the factions of the family, including Claude's mother Jewel (
Diane Ladd), father O.T. (
Andy Griffith), and sister Rose (
Kelly Preston). Daddy and Them's supporting cast includes
Jamie Lee Curtis and
Ben Affleck as a pair of married attorneys,
Brenda Blethyn as Hazel's wife Julia, and Jeff Bailey, and John Prine as Claude's brothers. While Daddy and Them was shot in 1999 -- and would have been his first directorial effort after his breakthough hit
Sling Blade -- the film stayed in the editing room for several years, and wasn't released until after his third feature,
All The Pretty Horses. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide