American Hollow (1999) User Reviews

Things to Consider

[sfc · 7/10 · 30 March 2000]

I'd first like to say that I felt "American Hollow" was an excellent documentary. The main reason for this comment is to clarify some things about the film. Many people have problems because they felt the film did nothing to dispel stereotypes, and also that it added to the list of films only showing the poorest regions of Appalachia. Rory Kennedy's film was not meant to be a representation of Appalachia. She picked the Bowlings because she wanted to originally make a "poverty advocacy film". She was later so impressed by the strong character of Iree that she decided to focus on the family itself. I don't think Rory could have done anything about stereotypes. She didn't script this and hire actors. This was this family's real life. It may have perpetuated the "slack jawed yokel" stereotype, but hopefully in watching it you can relate to the family beyond the stereotypes.

As someone else mentioned, it's very important to realize that this family (especially Iree and Bass) is not lazy. In a meeting Rory Kennedy mentioned that two family members had recently gotten jobs that they had to commute 1 1/2 hours to get to everyday. It's obvious that if there were jobs available, they would have taken them gladly. Why don't they just move? This question shows that you don't really understand the situation. The film clearly pointed out that almost all of the members of the family had tried this and failed. Besides that, the film also shows that family is more important to them than monetary stability. This is a lesson we can all learn from.

BTW, Rory also mentioned that because of the film, Clint started to receive "propositions" from around the country. One lady sent him a plane ticket, but he was too afraid to get on the plane. She then sent him a bus ticket and he moved out to CA and they are "madly in love" and getting married!

Life in the Appalacian Mountains

[billing-19 · 8/10 · 3 February 2007]

I lived in Pound Virginia for 4 years, and was married to a coal miners daughter for twenty years. I found the scenes in this Documentary to be not only an accurate reflection of the people I met there, but also typical of the people I met there. I was not raised there so as an outsider to the culture there perhaps my opinion is more unbiased. My wife was actually related to the Bowling family. There are a lot of them up there. I honor the people of the Appalacian. They are a culture unto themselves. There is nothing like them anywhere in the USA, or the world for that matter. You must live there to experience what I'm talking about. They are hard working, honest sensitive people with a strong family ethic, but with very few options. I also saw a lot of the family dysfunction depicted in the documentary caused by the extreme poverty there. I was fortunate to live there during the short burst of prosperity brought on by the first energy crisis in the late 70's, but the preceding years of poverty were still evident. Now with the energy crisis over, and technology taking over the coal mines things are worse there than ever.

good documentary, but 2 sides

[runnaxc5 · 8/10 · 2 December 2006]

This movie shows the poor, underprivileged, yet close-knit and seemingly happy family that lives in Appalachia. There's another side to the movie that most people don't see. All throughout the movie almost every family is living primarily off of welfare....they get their medicine through welfare. Instead of getting up off of their butts and doing something (aside from the few that "collect moss from the woods and sell it to pet stores"), they are sitting around not doing a thing, and are draining the economy's tax money. Your money. This movie depicts the negative side of Welfare. Welfare was created to benefit those who worked hard but cannot sustain enough to properly keep their family business, etc. in good health. But this shows how welfare has negative effects as well: it encourages some to be lazy and solely live off of the countries welfare instead of trying to hold steady jobs.

Commentary

[rustwagon · 10/10 · 29 October 2001]

I thought it was a wonderful look in to the impoverished life of an eastern Kentucky family. Rory Kennedy does an exceptional job in showing the actual living conditions and routines of these folk on a daily basis. Many scenes in the film remind me of people I see every day in this area, as I live less than 100 miles from the area it was filmed. Many families in this area due to lack of employment and educational opportunities, live day to day as the "Bowling" family does in this film. Hopefully due to Ms. Kennedy's efforts in filming this the government can institute more help for the families of the eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia families.

One of the year's best

[jbels · 10/10 · 8 June 1999]

Absolutely one of the best films this year. Compelling, well-shot doc about a big family living in a Kentucky ravine. The film shows wife abuse in such a sad way that it strikes the heart. But it also shows the pride of living off the land, particularly through the work of an elderly woman. Tragic and incredible.

Excellent Portrait of Southern White Trash Dysfunction

[Scoo · 3 December 1999]

As someone who grew up in the deep south, and had to leave it as an adult for the purpose of economic survival and the avoidance of poverty, I can deeply relate to this family.

The interesting thing about them is that they complain about their impoverished condition, yet when the 18 year-old boy want to move to Ohio to pursue a better life, the family sabotages his efforts with discouraging words such as "a bad check always returns."

Having come from such a family that also tried to sabotage my efforts to gain self-respect through work and better economic opportunities, this all rang true for me. Especially coming from a southern culture where ties to the land are strong and very few people actually summon up the guts to move to "the big city," where the inevitable hardships and culture shock await.

A very accurate and moving portrait of a southern family, obviously one which cares about each other, but one which seems to wallow in it's own dysfunction and lack of ambition. I kept wanting to say to them, but you could have a better life, if only you'd get up off your caboose and go out into the big, bad world and show some gumption and make something of yourself. That kind of attitude seems to be common in families which have grown up in a rural environment. I know, because I met many people like that in Arkansas, where I was raised.

Patronising redneck safari

[Goingbegging · 7/10 · 3 April 2022]

To us, it's the wonderfully scenic Kentucky mountains. To them, it's the hardscrabble farm life, where everyone feels swindled, some of them angry and violent, some just feckless and fatalistic. ("Men have walked on the moon. But I can't get running water.")

The spirit of the film is strongly personalised to Rory Kennedy herself - damaged royalty, virtually born into one funeral as posthumous eleventh child of Bobby, and then married into another, with JFK Jr plummeting to his death on the way to her wedding.

Also blessed with eleven children is the family matriarch out here - Iree - but comparisons are impossible. Rory is simply viewing from above the clouds, and is obviously a lot more fascinated than we are by drunken wife-beating, murder, jail time, drugs and bunking-off school, duly spiced with a lot of foul language in an authentic hillbilly accent.

This could be The Grapes of Wrath 2, but with a big difference. Steinbeck's fictional family is struggling to do its best under capitalism, coping with impossible demands by a cynical and heartless employer class. Iree and her real-life brood are hamstrung by welfare checks and dependence culture in general, as a licence to be idle and mischievous (Bring back the Draft!). Also, the next Steinbeck she will never be.

I briefly wondered whether the evocative title 'American Hollow' was meant to reference some kind of hollowness in the soul of the world's greatest nation. And one of the more hopeful of the young men comments that quite good regular money can actually be made by moss-gathering. Was this a reflection on the rolling stones who left the area but always came back? "Like a bad check" comments one of the old-timers.

An American Classic

[jasonty · 10/10 · 7 December 1999]

This was the funniest damn thing I have ever seen. Especially the scenes where "Clint" was arguing with his mother, and blurted out the classic line "..NO Mommy! I'm trying to talk to you man to Mommy!" Also when Clint ripped the leg off of his blue jeans had me in tears.

The best scene was Clint breaking up with his girlfriend, scene cuts to Clint punching a large hole in what looked like the family outhouse.

Things to note in the movie: The grandmother : Check out the size of this womans arms when shes dragging one of the kids out of the kitchen. Arnold Schwarzeneggar would feel small.

See if you can count the number of teeth in this movie. I counted 15, and 12 of them belonged to 16 year old Clint.

Jim Carrey..watch out..Clint the Hillbilly is on the loose, and this bad check is gonna stick.

Like it or not, its the way it is!

[casey133 · 10/10 · 13 November 2004]

i read a lot of people saying that they made a more or less fool out of everyone here, that the jobs are good if you just look, that we don't try for ourselves. like it or not this film is correct in 95% of what it said, and as far as us not trying. you come here and live and see how far you get when we take all you have away from you. you wouldn't last. its well worth watching and in spite of what others say, it is correct in the information it gives. i don't know why people are saying its not the way this place is, maybe they don't want to admit it. i invite anyone to come here for a week, or even a weekend... see for your self. i would tell anyone who wants to know what this place is like but don't want to visit or don't have the time/money to visit, rent or buy this doc. well worth the money.

The Hillbilly Life

[Memlets · 5/10 · 6 January 2000]

If Rory Kennedy meant her documentary, "American Hollow," to show us a poor Southern rural white family as something more respectable than the disparaging hillbilly stereotype, she failed.

Not only were those familiar stereotypes not dispelled in this film, they were played out before us.

The film offers us snaggletoothed, alcoholic louts given to ridiculing their wives and kids. We see amazingly good-humored, unprotesting womenfolk who do all the work of keeping the family together and fed, with little help from the men.

The chronically unemployed men in the Bowling family simply won't leave to find work and a better life outside the hollow in their part of Kentucky where there are few job prospects.

Worse, they actively encourage failure in the "young'uns" as well.

I suspect we're supposed to believe that the Bowlings are nevertheless noble because they have deep roots on the land they've been unemployed, impoverished, and uneducated on for generations.

My grandparents came across the Atlantic to America because they couldn't make a living in the old country. I think that's far more courageous (and American) than staying in a lousy situation with no hope.

Poor rural black folks have to contend with racial discrimination when they go to the city for job opportunities. By contrast, the Bowling men, most of them blond, wouldn't have that hurdle to jump. But no, they stay resolutely mired in their hollow.

I'm a pretty soft-hearted person, but I lost my respect for the Bowling men in the first ten minutes of the film.

However, even if most of the subjects of this documentary aren't appealing, the film itself is well-made. I did learn one thing from "American Hollow" -- that love-sick teenage boys and the sweet young things who lead them on are the same the world over.

Sad but partially true...

[cmjust0 · 9 February 2000]

I lived in Eastern Kentucky for the first 11 years of my life, and visit there pretty often. I have seen these living conditions first hand. I must say, however, that this is not the norm. Most people in Eastern Kentucky do not live this way. At least not in a material sense. Most people in Eastern Kentucky, the Bowling family included, do share one common trait; strong ties to the family. People seem to only see that these people have no running water, and live in isolation in a "holler," but what people don't often recognize is how present the extended family is throughout this movie, and most likely throughout the entire lives of these people. How many of us can say we could walk to our grandparents house? Personally, I think that would be pretty nice. People don't see what's right though, they see what's wrong. Historically, people love to criticize others who aren't as wealthy and educated as themselves, and this family seems to be socio-economically "below" most of us. That makes it very easy for most of us to call these people a "waste of taxdollars," and to say that they could find jobs if they really wanted to. The simple fact of the matter is that there are no jobs. I know, I've been there. We moved for that very reason. You may be asking yourself right now why they can't move as well. Imagine yourself for a moment with no money whatsoever, and no way to get ahead in life. You can't very well sell your existing house to buy another, (remember, their combined property value wasn't enough to pay the bond for the release of one of the brothers from jail) and you can't move somewhere else without a house to move into. Before being critical of these people (as most are), ask yourself this question. What would I do if I had no money, no education, no transportation and no job? The first thing to do is get a job, right? But wait, I have no education or transportation. Ok, I'll get an education first. Wait, I have no transportation or money. Ok. I'll get transportation. But I need money for that. I'll save money and get a car. Can't do that, because I have no job... It's a vicious cycle. The only way to break that cycle is to start teaching the children that there is a better life, and show them how to get there. Most adults in Eastern Kentucky understand this. The old saying is that they need to teach the 3 R's in school: Reading, Writing and Route 23. And yes, we know that "writing" doesn't start with an "R." It may take a few precious tax dollars for the government to send these kids to college, but I think we can all see that it is worth it.

It's not the poverty.....

[cerebral-3 · 19 February 2002]

I have witnessed first-hand much of the family dynamics that is portrayed in this documentary, and it is sad that people are so poor. What has never failed to astound me however, is the pride and ignorance that keeps these poor people from leaving the area or progressing. Amazingly, when they do leave, they keep coming back. This film not only shares the pitiful life style of America's poor, but also captures the deep level pridefulness of those unwilling to progress and change their lives they are so discontented with. This attitude surely is ignorance and fear which is far more disturbing than poverty.

Enjoyable Documentary

[wetrock · 9 March 2001]

I love documentaries. "American Hollow" was very good because it let you see a side of American life that few ever see. I really cared about these people. One thing that bothered me a little was that if these folks were so poor and had no running water, jobs, etc., why was there a satellite dish in their front yard? I don't consider myself "poor" but even I can't afford a satellite dish!

Also, the show never stated this, but I wonder if the teenage Bowling son and Shirley Couch didn't get married because of HER parents and social rank? It seemed one minute she was all for it and the next thing you knew was that the engagement was off! Fickle female or interfering parents? Interesting. I was ready to slap him, though and tell him to get on with his life. If he put one-fourth the energy into finding a job instead of mooning over his little girlfriend, he would have made enough money to move out of the "holler"! Anyway, it was a very interesting, engrossing documentary. I recommend it.