Movie Review- The Wild & Wonderful Whites
As part of the Tribeca Film Festival, the long awaited film about the White family of West Virginia called The Wild & Wonderful Whites has been made available through some pay-per-view and on-demand services (check your provider), and through Amazon.com.
Just about a year ago this week, this film created high controversy when the trailer was released. Its graphic nature and the fact that Jackass’s Johnny Knoxville was a producer made some wonder if this film was exploiting the Whites. The situation got worse the very next week when Jesco White was arrested for “conspiring” to buy cocaine. MTV bailed Jesco out of jail, and the charges were eventually dropped.
Some also asked if another movie about the White family was necessary. The original PBS documentary “Dancing Outlaw” and followup films and appearances seemed to already give the White family enough exposure. There was a lot of rancor and suspicion of a film that nobody had seen, and because the distribution was up in the air, nobody could see. Until now.
This movie is NOT Jackass meets COPS. In a word, this movie is a tragedy, though watching it I felt that different people would take different things from it–a mark of a good movie. I had an uncomfortable feeling when watching the original PBS doc. For something with PBS’s name behind it, it sure had a feeling of “info-tainment” as Jesco did little more than make a fool of himself so that people could marvel at the hillbilly oddity like a PT Barnum bit. Not to say the PBS one didn’t have it’s moments, but watching this new movie solidified some of my concerns about the previous ones.
Also, this film is not about Jesco– the main focus of previous works. By the end of the movie, you’re surprised how little face time he gets. Jesco’s there, but the movie primarily follows the lives of D. Ray White’s daughters and granddaughters, and if there was one main focus it was Jesco’s sister Mamie. This was wise of the filmmakers. Most watchers will already know who Jesco is, and another Jesco movie is not what is hungered for. The premise of this documentary was to follow the White’s for a year, and it happened to be that in that year, most of the action did not involve Jesco. He might have made a better “star,” but the filmmakers followed the true story.
The trailer says this is a “Different Kind of Documentary,” but one of the unexpected things about it was it’s straightforwardness. There are many sensational things in the movie, but its not sensationalized. It is devoid of “tricks” that might put more butts in the seats, but might be dishonest to the timeline or disrespectful to the Whites. Not to say it is a bore, far from it. The makers understood that letting the story tell itself in the end would be more enlightening, entertaining, and impactful.
And this is an impactful movie. It starts of telling the fate of D Ray White and his sons. D Ray: murdered. Son Mark: murdered. Dorsey: Killed by a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Jesco: The Dancing Outlaw, hobbled by a decade of huffing gasoline.
The beginning of the movie mostly chronicles the drama of the white family: Broken homes, violence and murder, and lots of drug use. There are times in this movie that even a fairly desensitized individual like myself wanted to jump through the screen and stand up for the innocent (young AND old). A baby is born in this movie with drugs in her system. There’s more pill sniffing than there is in a hip LA nightclub. The last thing you hear Birtie Mae White say is, “I don’t want to sniff no pills.” At times the children are the ones that seem to be in the most control, which is usually the case in families rife with breakdown.
When you’re watching this movie you can’t help but think that it will be Exhibit A in all future prosecutions of the White family. We can go back and forth of whether their activities should be illegal, but their actions are chronicled in a pretty undeniable manner.
Unlike the previous White movies, this one does a superb job delving into the roots of their tragic behavior. D Ray is painted as sort of a folk hero. As a coal miner, D Ray wanted to change the fate of his family by delivering from the virtual slave world of the coal industry. So he became a master at manipulating the Social Security System, getting all of his children “crazy checks,” ie permanent disability payments. D Ray’s SSI magic is just as much a legacy of the White family as the mountain tap dancing.
These checks are the White’s blessing, and curse. It has kept them out of the coal mines, but it has also robbed their lives of a sense of purpose, fed their demons, and given them a sense of entitlement. Would they be better off without them? That’s for you to decide.
The movie also does an excellent job indirectly highlighting the problems facing the whole West Virginia coal region, and the overall downfall of rural American life: how sustenance living has been replaced with dependency and substance abuse. It does so simply by depicting the White family in all it’s rawness, and through interviews with local legal officials who have had to deal with the Whites, and the issues facing West Virginians in their own lives.
And for all this talk of tragedy, it has it’s funny moments, and you shouldn’t be afraid to laugh.
There were a few small things that bothered me about this movie. The soundtrack is amazing. The music is an integral part of it. There are some performances by Hank III and Jesco at Hank Jr.’s cabin that are great. But it takes you on such a roller coaster of emotions: funny, sad, tragic, angry; and they try to use the music to steer you into the mood they want you to be in at the time. Sometimes it’s hard to put the breaks on one emotion so fast and switch to another just because the music is telling you to. Sometimes you need to decide what mood to be in yourself.
I thought this movie was excellent. It “moved” me so to speak. It sucked me in, made me feel emotion, and at the end it took me a while to adjust back to my own reality, another sign of a great film. I was entertained. I learned stuff. It made me feel grateful for the things in my own life. There is wisdom in this film for those that want it. And it is complete. This is THE film on the White family now if you ask me, and the other works should be considered the peripherals.
A-
The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is available “On Demand” though some cable and satellite service providers for $6.99, check your listings. It is also available on Amazon for $5.99 by CLICKING HERE. Please note the movie might only be available for a limited time.
Previous articles about this movie and Jesco’s arrest:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/new-white-family-movie-edification-or-exploitation
https://savingcountrymusic.com/all-charges-dropped-against-jesco-white
April 25, 2010 @ 1:48 pm
Hmmm. Sounds like the film did a good job. I’m someone with very little knowledge of the White family, I’d never heard of them until I started listening to Hank III. So for me seeing anything about them would be learning for the first time. I’d definitely prefer something like this, that seems to let the camera roll and capture whatever there is to see, as opposed to something that tried to pain them in a light one way or the other.
Netflix has this listed in their system but it’s not yet available. Since it’s there it means they’ll have it at some point but there’s no solid availability date.
April 25, 2010 @ 2:38 pm
nice job. i’ll keep an eye out for it.
April 25, 2010 @ 2:42 pm
Awesome review! I have been dying to see this movie since you first brought it to our attention a year ago. How bizarre that the film never got a theatrical release, just did a few film festivals and then is released as a ‘pay per view’?!? That seems very strange to me as there was quite a bit of buzz about this film. Have the distributors given any reasons as to why this is? The film also sounds pretty topical in light of that awful mining tragedy in WV. How horrendously sad the kids you mention are caught in that cycle of welfare dependancy and drug abuse. Unfortunately we can probably quite accurately predict their futures by just looking at their parents. Think I’ll hop on Amazon now and order a copy to be shipped with my copy of The Rebel Within.
April 25, 2010 @ 2:59 pm
You can only order the ‘pay per view’ from Amazon from within the US. BUGGER!
April 25, 2010 @ 3:09 pm
Carla,
I’m pretty sure you can’t get a solid copy. You can only watch it through Pay-per-view, or Amazon. Maybe iTunes as well, need to check. I went through Amazon, and I could either download a copy that I could watch for the days, or “rent” it for 3 days, where I can go on the site and watch it any time.
Same thing goes for you Burch. Netflix might not get it for quite a while, though you might be able to watch it on Netflix.com or something.
Also a word of caution, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets yanked from these channels, and eventually distributed through theaters or on DVD, so you might want to watch while the watching’s good.
Right now a LOT of movies, esp. doc like this are having trouble finding distribution. Last Rites of Ransom Pride is having the same problems.
April 25, 2010 @ 3:11 pm
Ah Carla, I was just thinking about that, b/c movies rights are usually very country-based.
I’ll do some snooping and try to find out if this will be coming out in a different format, or what international people can do to see it.
April 25, 2010 @ 4:58 pm
can’t wait to check it out!
April 25, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
Thought we might not have been able to see it with the comments of the Whites about being ripped off by Knoxville and MTV. The previews reminded me of folks I know so I’d love to see this shit. I swear Mamie sounds just like my Aunt Teresa
April 26, 2010 @ 5:28 am
Nice review. 🙂 Julien posted it as his Facebook status.
DVD release date is sketchy at best. We’ve been told July and also October so…
April 26, 2010 @ 7:47 am
Good to hear from you again Tiffani!
April 26, 2010 @ 7:51 am
David,
Nobody is ever paid to be in a documentary, and most of the time, nobody is ever paid to MAKE a documentary. And with distribution being so weird on this one, my guess this is the case.
And lets just say the Whites did get paid over the table for this movie. They might get a big check, but they would immediately be disqualified from receiving their Social Security checks for disability. So in the short term they might get paid, but in the long term, it would screw them. And after watching this movie, you understand why the Whites getting a big “fun” check would probably not be good for anybody.
April 26, 2010 @ 7:58 am
Why does Hank III have so much respect for them if they’re all just living on government cheese? Or is it just because they’re all drug addicts?
April 26, 2010 @ 9:08 am
Sally,
Two weeks ago 29 miners got killed in West Virginia. When you’re born and raised there you got very few options: Work in the mines and risk getting killed every day, or live off government cheese/sling dope to stay out of the mines. I don’t like the fact that the Whiles live off the system. I can’t speak for Hank III. But one of the great things about this movie is it explains the servitude Big Coal has created in that region. How all the money made off of coal is then taken out of state by the big companies that own the mines and not put back into the communities. How the mines used to enslave their workers by paying them in “scripts” that could only be redeemed at company stores for ridiculously inflated prices.
It’s not right for anyone to leech off the system. I’ve never taken a dollar of government money in my life, though I could have. However it’s not as easy as saying “get a job” or “move.” This is these people’s homes. It doesn’t make it right, but there’s a whole complicated cycle these people are living in because of the mining industry, and that is what this movie delves into.
April 26, 2010 @ 9:38 am
“Why does Hank III have so much respect for them if they”™re all just living on government cheese? Or is it just because they”™re all drug addicts?”
He answers that in the film. Though it’s not really either of the two choices you listed.
Great review Triggerman, I think you nailed it.
April 26, 2010 @ 9:54 am
Nlindsay,
Thanks for tipping me off that this was available!
April 26, 2010 @ 10:34 am
Thanks to my buddy Jon for tipping me off that it was available (coincidentally the same dude who helped turn me on to Hank III years and years ago).
April 26, 2010 @ 2:03 pm
I just got back from Yellowknife in the Canadian arctic. The place is a rundown dump – however the median wage and cost of living there is high as it’s a mining town. My understanding is mining is well paid and lucrative (ie someone I met was on over $250,000) Is this just in Canada? Does the same not apply in places like WV as well? If this is the case there must be a huge disparegy between the have and the have-nots: I guess the choices are work in the mines for 10 years and if you make it out alive you need never work again or take the soft option and live in abject poverty. Tragic.
April 26, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
Carla,
I’ve been to Yellowknife. Miners, or anybody willing to move 5000 miles to Yellowknife or Alaska, or anywhere up there make tons of money. That’s the only way they can lure workers up there, because it’s the middle of nowhere and cold as a cast iron commode. The reasons the West Virginia coal miners don’t get paid nearly that and work in much worse conditions is because this is the only job around, and if you quit (or die), the line forms to the left for people willing to take your place. Supply and demand.
Another thing the movie brings up is when you’re constantly in a situation where you could die at any moment, and you have friends, co-workers, and family that have died all around you, it changes your perspective about the world. You’re surrounded by death, and that leads to substance abuse, violence, and broken families.
April 26, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
I’ve been reading up a lot on the class war in America over the past few months and it turns out the song “Sixteen Tons” was/is absolutely correct.
April 27, 2010 @ 1:53 am
Sweet Jesus. That is so hardcore Trigger, I had no idea. So you’ve been to Yellowknife? You and me my friend, I think we might be the only ones! My cousin Brent was 27 and unemployed. He decided to get a job in forestry here in NZ to be able to buy his three kids Xmas presents. His dad (my uncle) BEGGED him not to do it as it is so dangerous but he went ahead anyway and was dead within a week of starting on the job. The fuckers he was working for did not have sufficient safety measures in place and he was killed when the machine he was operating rolled over him and he sustained massive fatal head injuries. The Labour Department (a Government Dept) fined the company some pitiful amount. Here nobody can sue so his wife was left broke with three kids who didn’t have a dad anymore. When I was in Canada, the people I was staying with told me there is some (rather expensive) equipment the mining companies could invest in that would entirely prevent the incident that happened in WV but as the government or the unions (whoever) don’t legislate it, they don’t have to do it so innocent workers are left vulnerable. It’s not right is it? Sorry for the rant, so WISH I could see this goddamn film and actually leave a comment relevant to that. I hope this topic remains open for a while until we all get to actually see it and be able to discuss it.
April 27, 2010 @ 8:51 am
I’ll have to check it out. I’m from that area of WV (Logan County) and I can tell you first-hand just how horrible the conditions are up there. I went back to my hometown about a year ago (I moved to VA with my family in 1989) and what I saw looked like a third world country. It broke my heart.
I was scared to death that MTV was going to exploit the Whites for their own monetary gain, but it sounds like they did a great job of showing the harsh reality of life in a coal mining town.
Thanks for the review, Triggerman.
April 27, 2010 @ 10:13 am
Carrie,
I would love to hear what your take is on this movie. Really we are all interlopers peering into this world and making judgments based on our own experiences and sense of home. I’d be interested in hearing someone’s take who’s from that area.
April 27, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
Triggerman,
Great review! We see eye-to-eye on things it seems. Do you have an update on Kirk? I think of her every so often and hope she’s doing well and healthy. And how’s the fella who got his face blown into the next county? He looked good in the film and I hope things continue to go his way.
Gillian
April 27, 2010 @ 10:38 pm
Hi Everybody-
Thanks for the great write-up and awesome comments! It’s great that everyone is understanding the film.
So ya know- Kirk is still clean! She gets tested twice a week to make sure she stays clean and is doing really well! She goes to AA twice a week.
I’m going to be on May 13th on http://firedoglake.com/ answering questions about the film. Will let you know more as we get closer so everyone can participate!
And please join our facebook page for more updates-
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=97951725873&v=wall&ref=ts
Thank y’all for the support and for watching the movie!
Julien Nitzberg
Director of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
April 28, 2010 @ 7:06 am
I don’t know what the fuck the arrangement was.I was just repeating what they said on the Outlaw radio interview. Maybe they said it to project an image in order to keep their benefits. Who knows. The Whites can do whatever the fuck they want to with their fun checks as far as I’m concerned. And I don’t think a person should lose respect because they get a crazy check. More power to them. After working in many fucked up conditions and receiving slipped discs, tendenitis, carpal tunnel, sinus infections, developed asthma,almost severed finger, hernias and several brushes with death over the years … a gov. check would look pretty goddamn good about now. My brother is in a lawsuit with a drilling co. right now and is hurt for life with no income, selling junk-iron to feed his kids. Workin men will always be fucked over. You gotta fuck the system before they fuck you. I thought the film was good and and had a lot of integrity, but the again I would just as well settle for just watchin Jesco get fucked up and philosophize.
April 28, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
“Sixteen Tons” was’nt half wrong was it…”I owe my sooooul to the company store”? Wow! great review and a lot of great feedback! I hope to catch it on dvd someday… soon.
May 9, 2010 @ 5:05 pm
OMG! I caught this movie on-demand. I have watched 3 times! i don’t know why it intrigues me so much but it does!! how about showing some more of that footage ya got?!? we love these guys!
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