Fire up the pickup and head down to this backwater town with “one of America’s strangest and most brilliant documentary filmmakers” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)! OscarÂ(r)-winning*director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) presents a pastiche of fascinating interviews with the weird and wonderful people of Vernon, Florida, in this “amusing portrait” (Variety) of oddball Americana! For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there’s no place like home for the rest of us, there’s no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie! *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams) The ordinary denizens of a small Southern town become natural subjects for filmmaker Errol Morris in Vernon, Florida, a hypnotically bizarre character study. Based on the evidence of the film, this small humid town in the panhandle is home to a disproportionately high percentage of oddballs. (On the other hand, Morris’s other work suggests that poking a camera anywhere uncovers a common vein of weirdness.) Some of the material comes across as sideways homespun wisdom: when a man gazes across a swamp and marvels at how much water is out there, he adds, “And that’s just the top of it.” Hard to argue with that. Then there’s the jar of sand the contents of which, its owners swear, has been growing in volume over the years. And a hunter’s descriptions of the near-orgasmic highs and lows of turkey hunting is a monologue that would have impressed Faulkner or Thomas Wolfe. It has always been an open question whether Morris’s blank-eyed camera is encouraging the viewer to laugh at his subjects or simply presenting the world as it is. You’ll laugh, and more likely be astonished. –Robert Horton
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October 11, 2010
#1
Review by P. Kufahl
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One disturbing aspect of American political and popular culture is a common prejudice against country people. As long as I’ve been here in the Milwaukee metro area, many of the locals seem to look down upon the folks living in the northwoods, especially the U.P. The most common postive reaction to “Vernon, Florida” in these reviews consist of laughing AT the people. One can understand the apparent local distaste for the movie.
“Vernon” is indeed funny. The couple with the growing sand, the keeper of the gopher tortise and the turkey hunter are especially hilarious. The turkey hunter is probably the most quoteable character in a movie that I’ve seen since Carl Childers. He is also the most interesting and likeable. Many, many people who watch this movie find hunting a repellent activity. The extended time given to the turkey hunter in “Vernon” gives the open-minded viewer a chance to at least appreciate how much this “sport” can mean to someone. Maybe he is obsessed to some unhealthy degree, but I tend to think that’s just the way he his.
The characters portrayed here remind me of some of the legendary eccentrics in west Iron County, Mich. Like the characters in “Vernon,” their quirks were generally accepted and among the locals they had their dignity. Some of the reviews here brag about taking trips down to Vernon to see if they can find people to laugh at. My suggestion to them is that it’s unnecessary: there’s enough daffiness to be found in their home state. Or the bathroom mirror.
October 11, 2010
#2
Review by Christa M. Forster
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I’ve seen this film 35+ times: I know it by heart, and each time I see and hear it (for it’s a aural pleasure as much as it’s a visual one), I’m struck by Errol Morris’ genius for creating three-dimensional poetry. Anyone interested in people, in the human condition, in language, in beauty, in the absurd needs to see this film. Writers, musicians, film directors and editors — this is a MUST-SEE for ya’ll. If artists are people who take the ordinary and transform it into the extradordinary, then Errol Morris is an artist in the first degree, and Vernon, Florida is the proof. The people he finds are demi-gods, just waiting for the opportunity to tell their stories. It is my sincere hope that this masterpiece become available again on VHS and DVD. Do it, Industry.
October 11, 2010
#3
Review by Nick Morrison
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I am saddened and appalled to see that this film is not currently available on video or DVD. I mean, Christopher Guest’s ‘mockumentaries’ are funny, but this is THE REAL THING! It’s just a bunch of people talking about their lives and their town, but it’ll make you laugh until you think you might throw up. It’s the acid test for choosing friends. If you show this to somebody and they don’t think it’s hilarious, don’t waste any more time on them. Somebody, please, reissue this gem so I can continue to expand my social circle. Thanks.
October 11, 2010
#4
Review by
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His film is pretty accurate and representative of the folks who live there. We live nearby and have a fish camp on the creek. But he is wrong to make fun of the 93 year old man because he does really have a gopher and not a pet turtle. That man’s pet is a now endangered gopher tortoise and they really do burrow in the ground just like a gopher. People have been known to eat them too. But I never did.
October 11, 2010
#5
Review by Sandra L. Young
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I moved to Vernon in 2002 and first rented the movie downtown at the video store/tanning parlor, next door to the Dixie Dandy and the old town hall. It is amazing how little the downtown area has changed since 1982. I love my new hometown and only wish I could have been around then to meet some of the stars. This is a classic documentary and just too much fun to watch. You’ll be quoting your favorite characters for years to come…. ‘That’s a lot of water out there. Yeah, and that’s only the top.’