Hey, ya'll! Awhile back, I mentioned that I really like the independent film Southern Belles (2006, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment). Starring Anna Faris (The House Bunny) and Laura Breckenridge in her cinematic debut, this delightful little gem of a flick is about two-- what else?-- Southern Belles who are trying to escape the drudgery of life in a trailer park in rural Johnson's Mark, Georgia. Throughout the film, which is laden with Gone with the Wind references, the female protagonists, Belle Lynn Marie Scott (Faris) and Bell Margaret Ann Granger (Breckenridge), face many obstacles on the road to better lives in Atlanta. In order to achieve their goal of "makin' it big in the big city," these two brainy beauties (the aspect of the film I most liked) devise a series of hilarious money-makin' schemes that all produce comical results. The plotline is bolstered by a Tennessee Williams/William Faulkner-worthy cast of quirky characters, including Margie, the girls' neighbor and resident Bible thumper with a sketchy past, Duane, Belle's pervy, antagonistic boss, Tracy, Bell's ne'er-do-good wannabe "hillhop" artist boyfriend, and a handsome policeman named, of course, Rhett Butler, played to marvelous perfection by Grey's Anatomy's Justin Chambers. I don't want to divulge too much so that readers can savor this Sundance "hit" and 2005 Atlanta Film Festival selection for themselves. So, kick back with a few beers and devour the Southern Gothic goodness of this movie.
P.S. Check out the DVD's special features, especially "Shattered Dreams: Two Years After Johnson's Mark," a "documentary" that shows viewers what happens to the main characters after Belle & Bell escape to Atlanta. It's dark comedy at its absolute best.
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