Crazy in Alabama (1999)

31% of critics liked it
(55 reviews)
55% of users liked it
(7,209 ratings)

Comedy and drama take turns in this period piece based on a novel by Mark Childress. Peejoe (Lucas Black), short for Peter Joseph, lives in a small Alabama town in 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights movement. He becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially… More Comedy and drama take turns in this period piece based on a novel by Mark Childress. Peejoe (Lucas Black), short for Peter Joseph, lives in a small Alabama town in 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights movement. He becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially segregated municipal swimming pool, leading to a protest that explodes into deadly violence. But Peejoe has gotten a crash course in standing your ground and following your own path from his free-spirited Aunt Lucille (Melanie Griffith), who has killed her abusive husband and is headed for Hollywood, where she's convinced that television stardom awaits her. Crazy in Alabama marked the directorial debut of actor Antonio Banderas; his supporting cast includes Cathy Moriarty, Elizabeth Perkins, Rod Steiger, Fannie Flagg, and Meat Loaf Aday. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Antonio Banderas
Written By: Mark Childress
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 22, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Mar 28, 2000
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Jay Carr, Boston Globe
Never has a woman been more lovingly directed by her real-life husband in a Hollywood film.
Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As for Griffith, it's the best role she's had since Working Girl.
, Entertainment Weekly
Campy as a flick by Banderas' evident artistic mentor, Pedro Almódovar.
Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
A key problem is that the Lucille storyline just doesn't work.
Moira MacDonald, Film.com
Too many scenes feel excessively underscored, either by Mark Snow's sentimental music, or by characters commenting on the action.
Tom Long, Detroit News
Crazy in Alabama manages to be both sweeping and small, quirky and sincere, and offers Melanie Griffith her best role in years.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
OK, Antonio, you love your wife, but that doesn't mean you have to cast her.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Banderas' direction is as unstable as an isotope on Three Mile Island.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Crazy in Alabama is a genuinely fine, albeit lost-in-time, movie.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
A cinematic hash of stale ingredients.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Unusual for a movie directed by an actor, a lot of the supporting performances in Crazy in Alabama are downright bad.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Amazing comic tale about racism, freedom, spousal abuse, and personal growth.
danny d

crazy is right
Leigh R

Weird but okay.
Marcus W

This is technically a "coming-of-age" film, but it has a kookiness to it that's irresistible. It deals with 60's racism without being heavy-handed - while also being a road-trip movie. It's completely odd and completely unique. Antonio Banderas should consider… More
This is technically a "coming-of-age" film, but it has a kookiness to it that's irresistible. It deals with 60's racism without being heavy-handed - while also being a road-trip movie. It's completely odd and completely unique. Antonio Banderas should consider directing more often.