Macon County Jail (1997) User Reviews

How Ally Sheedy Accepted to Make Such a Bad Movie?

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 18 February 2005]

In Los Angeles, Susan Reed (Ally Sheedy) is discharged from her position in the office of a manufacturer of toys, due to the bad results on the sales of a doll designed by her. When she arrives home earlier, she finds her mate having intercourse in the garage of their house. She leaves him and decides to move to New York, for a new job. While traveling, she gives a ride to a hitchhiker, who robs her car, money and documents. While asking for help in a road store to a moron, she is accused of assault and is arrested in Macon County jail. There, she is locked in a jail side by side with Coley (David Carradine), a violent prisoner, by Sheriff Dempsey (Charles Napier). During the night, she is raped by the son of Dempsey, she kills him and escapes with Coley in a trunk. From this moment on, the couple is chased by the local police force considered as cop killers. What a bad movie this "Macon County Jail" is! I bought the VHS, since I like the actress Ally Sheedy. However, I do not know why she accepted to make such a bad and corny movie. The screenplay is horrible, the characters are shallowly developed and the unlucky coincidences with the character Susan Reed are unbelievably ridiculous. I believe the possibilities of such a bad luck is totally impossible. The corny end, without further explanation how the problems were resolved, is terrible. The histrionic, absurd and silly performance of Ally Sheedy is a complete disappointment for her fans. Watching this movie is a waste of time! My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Foragidos" ("Fugitives")

Good Trashy Fun

[dwacon-2 · 4/10 · 4 July 2006]

I was expecting something like Andy Griffith's "Coweta County" and this film came pretty close... mindless trashy fun that requires suspension of disbelief to get a hold of.

This film starts out like Neil Simon. Not quite up to his stellar quality, mind you. But it is like the "Out of Towners" where things go downhill.

The rape was gratuitous and makes one wonder if all Southern cops are corrupt? I was thinking of the line from "My Cousin Vinny" about them all being corrupt and sleeping with their sisters.

Carradine graduated from this to "Kill Bill" but what happened to Ally Sheedy?

Before Kill Bill there was...this movie.

[fmarkland32 · 4/10 · 26 September 2006]

David Carradine stars as a prisoner who protects a vulnerable Ally Sheedy from a corrupt prison warden (played by, of course, Charles Napier) who is out to exact vengeance on Sheedy for the murder of a prison guard trying to rape Sheedy, once again it is up to Carradine to protect her and provide us lucky audiences with a romance subplot between the ancient Carradine and the fairly old Ally Sheedy. Back in the 80's, Sheedy was a brat-packer that like Molly Ringwald, went absolutely nowhere after the decade closed. Following her other co-star Judd Nelson's route, she started making B.movie fodder such as this and this is probably her and David Carradine's most high profile movies in quite some time. By that of course, I mean that it was the only new David Carradine movie you could rent at your local video store because the last one I saw was the dreadful Kill Zone and that was of course sad, since David Carradine is a fairly good actor. Oh and unlike most movies with David Carradine it actually was on Cinemax everyday when it came out, So I was able to tape it and watch it. The movie breaks no real ground as it basically is the elderly version of Bonnie and Clyde. However I do like the fact that Carradine at 60 is still doing these type of movies because few actors are as effortlessly likable as David Carradine. The movie itself rarely deviates from formula but for Carradine fans, this was the best movie he starred in, in the 1990's. True story, sad as it is.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

Ally Sheedy Is Just Great

[Big Movie Fan · 22 May 2002]

Ally Sheedy is a brilliant actress who can always be relied on to play a part really well. Every film I have saw this talented actress is has been good.

She made a great team with David Carradine as the pair who go on the run and encounter all kinds of mishaps along the way whilst being pursued by the determined Sherrif Dempsey. It's interesting to see Ally Sheedy's change from a relatively easygoing lady to a criminal on the run-and very believable too. The only criticism I have of this film is that it could have been a bit longer but saying that, it was a great film with good performances from everyone.

If you're an Ally Sheedy fan like myself, then watch it and enjoy.

you have to see this film

[evelyneasdon · 1/10 · 8 November 2006]

This film was so bad that the content of the movie is not even reviewable. The performances by Ally Sheedy and David Carradine represent their darkest cinematic hour. In their defense, if that's possible, the budget for this film had to have provided for only one take for every scene. I simply can't think of any other reason how a film could be so poorly put together. At one point I really thought that Sheedy and Carradine were intentionally "bad acting", and that the film was intended to be a "quasi" spoof. It wasn't. But here's the interesting thing about this movie. The movie was so bad that it was, in an odd way, fascinating to watch. I'm sure Ally Sheedy blushes anytime she's within earshot of a mention of this film. It's always interesting to see someone with talent do something remarkable, whether good or bad.

A movie with Ally Sheedy and David Carradine should be better ...

[thantos · 3/10 · 1 February 2000]

Well, I've thought about trepanation, but never so hard as I did after this movie. While its not the worst movie I've ever seen, watching Ally Sheedy as she's aged not-so-gracefully caused my boyhood fantasies to dry up and burn off, and seeing Carradine here, even as compared to, say, _Death Race 2000_ made my head hurt.

Give it a pass, if there's anything there's a /chance/ you'll like better on.

If you must see a bad movie...

[Miles-10 · 5/10 · 21 August 2001]

If you must see a bad movie, this is a good one. Ally Sheedy and David Carradine were at low points in their careers when they made this movie, so they were available but are too good for the cheesy, sensational plot. The villainous sheriff is good, too, but mainly Sheedy and Carradine have to deal with his hapless minions who are no fun--they fall over too easily.

Okay rehash of Jackson County Jail

[Woodyanders · 5/10 · 29 October 2013]

"Jackson County Jail" reigns supreme as one of the all-time great'n'gritty hicksploitation gems from the 70's. This tepid belated entry in the hicksploitation genre starts out awkwardly, but does get slightly better as the story unfolds. Alas, this picture never acquires the powerful harsh edge of the original because of Victoria Muspratt's wildly uneven direction, a pretty sloppy script (the opening scenes that set up the main character's dire predicament are especially clunky and rife with heavy-handed contrivances which strain credibility something fierce), a few ill-advised attempts at goofy humor that don't fit with the generally serious tone, the clumsy use of songs on the soundtrack (the brutal rape in the jail cell would have worked a lot better without a song playing over it), and the fact that the main character's transition from spoiled businesswoman to hardened criminal seems extremely abrupt and hence unconvincing. Fortunately, the action scenes are staged with some competence and the film moves along at a snappy enough pace. Moreover, the three leads do sound and praiseworthy work considering the lackluster material: Ally Sheedy makes for a strong and sympathetic damsel in distress, David Carradine projects a winningly lived-in sense of weary resignation and stoical compassion as a shrewd and resourceful felon who goes on the lam with Sheedy, and always dependable veteran character actor Charles Napier handles the role of a tough no-bull small Southern town sheriff with his customary sturdy professionalism. A strictly so-so flick.

Not enough Napier is the big problem .......

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 23 August 2012]

"Macon County Jail" has some pretty lame acting. Ally Sheedy appears to be either hysterical or comatose, and David Carradine acts like he would rather be somewhere else. All of this mediocrity allows Charles Napier's performance to stand out, and he is without question the most interesting character in this soggy jailbreak saga. The script seems extremely contrived, and clichés abound, all of which makes the gratuitous car crashes and explosions totally predictable. Sheedy's abrupt change from meek victim to gun toting desperado is anything but believable. Several weak attempts at humor leaves the film with a curious lack of identity, when contrasted with the brutal rape scene. - MERK

exactly image of how odd the 90tes have been in my area...

[christianecarradine · 8/10 · 20 October 2015]

Exaclty brutal and stupid were the people in the nineties in my neighbourhood -so I loved the movie back then-because I felt like I could free myself like Ally in this film. And the clothes poorer townpeolpe were wearing was typically for the nineties...black manlike trousers and Shirts and Pullovers for the women..etc...Poor it is-but this film told a romantic Story about my stupid and Long lost neighbourhood. I knew all the types of guys you can find in this film...really..and I was Ally Sheedy with the fake black Ray Ban...and in my neurotic state of mind I was dreaming of a man like David in this movie...which indeed is a bit unrealistic-since I learned in psychotherapy you will not find bad guys getting nice.... It may be that nobody will need such a film-today-but when understanding the sometimes very odd 90ties and what it meant to live with violent and strange people back then-this film is a unique lesson !

1994 being 18 and something under 30... was exactly like in this film !

By the way the Music in this film was excellent !!!

Even nowadays !!!

An Interesting Remake

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 29 September 2015]

"Susan Reed" (Ally Sheedy) is having a bad day. First, she gets fried from her job and then when she gets home early she finds her boyfriend with another woman. So she packs her suitcase and heads for New York. Along the way she picks up a female hitchhiker named "Bess" (Jennie Vaughn) who promptly steals her car and the rest of her belongings leaving her stranded in Macon County, Georgia. She immediately heads to a convenience store to make a phone call but the clerk mistakenly thinks she's there to rob him. To make matters even worse they get into a scuffle just as the police happen to arrive and she is subsequently arrested and put in jail over the weekend pending her arraignment Monday morning. If that wasn't bad enough she then gets raped by the deputy that night. Now if any of this plot seems familiar it's because it is almost identical to an earlier film (starring Yvette Mimieux in the lead role) titled "Jackson County Jail" produced in 1976. As far as comparisons go this movie was less intense but on the other hand the acting of Ally Sheedy and David Carradine (as "Coley") seemed a bit more polished in this particular film. Since the similarities were so striking and I enjoyed both movies I have rated this film the same as its predecessor. Slightly above average.

Third time is not the charm

[Wizard-8 · 27 August 2010]

At this point, producer Roger Corman had made a career of recycling props and sets, as well as footage from other movies. So it should come as no surprise that he eventually went to recycling old scripts as well. This is actually the third go-around for this story (the previous two were "Jackson County Jail" and "Outside Chance".) You might think that having a woman screenwriter/director this time around might jazz things up somewhat, but you'd be wrong. This looks even cheaper than JCJ, for one thing. The two leads don't seem to be having any fun in their roles, and their tired spirits really weigh down on the movie. The movie tries to be faster-paced than its predecessors, but after the first half hour it really pads things out when it realizes that it still has an hour of running time to go. There is a slap-dash feeling to the entire movie, from reflections of boom mikes in car windows to the fact that jailed convict Carradine is allowed to wear an earring in his jail cell.

Still, that first shot is pretty impressive.

A great piece of work

[kikirieckmann · 6 September 2002]

I loved the movie. David Carradine can play so well a guy who is right at heart. And Ally Sheedy was great, too.Not to forget the rest of the crew... And the story is beautiful. One dreams of such an adventure!

This turkey shoulda been on Mystery Science Theater 3000

[jpiatt-2 · 14 June 2001]

OH MY--Ally Sheedy and David Carradine, shame on you for taking money to be in this poorly made movie. I actually laughed during this whole film, it was a hoot.

Three things that cracked me up and stood out were when the cop during the hold up scene at the gas station kept saying, "I told you about that language", when that cop and gas station man have a fender bender and they both blow up in a ball of flame, and during the shoot-out at the trailer, when the young hottie trailer trash babe is hunkered down a moth flies near her mouth and she blows it away...and they left it in the final print!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH--I was rolling on the floor.

I REALLY hope the director of this movie had nothing to do with the poor shots and composition, the infantile editing and poorly placed transitions, and the awful sound problems.

Macon County Jail has to be one of the WORST films of all time.