Hounddog (2007)

Director:

Deborah Kampmeier

Writer:

Deborah Kampmeier (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Gotta always somehow make good outta what can poison you.

Plot:

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley. |

Plot Keywords:

American South | Elvis Presley | Elvis | Singing Girl | Child Molestation

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dakota Fanning	...	Lewellen
Granoldo Frazier	...	Band Member D (as Grenaldo Frazier)
Isabelle Fuhrman	...	Grasshopper
Cody Hanford	...	Buddy
Piper Laurie	...	Grammie
Herman McCloud	...	Band Member B
Chandler McIntyre	...	Buddy's Mother
David Morse	...	Daddy
Robin Mullins	...	Marge
Afemo Omilami	...	Charles
Tom Oppenheim	...	Mechanic
Tim Parati	...	Bartender
Ryan Pelton	...	Elvis
Robin Wright Penn	...	Stranger Lady
Ron Prather	...	Truck Driver

Also Known As:

Hounddog (USA) (working title)
Untitled Dakota Fanning Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a disturbing sexual assault of a young girl, and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Orton Plantation, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Deerjen Films

Trivia:

Deborah Kampmeier wrote the script in 1996.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Elvis Presley's appearance singing "Houndog" on the Milton Berle Show took place on June 5, 1956. Several of the vehicles used in the movie were newer than this. The pink Desoto (or Dodge) was probably a 1956, but it's not likely that a rural Alabama woman would be driving a new car. The tow truck used to tow the Desoto was a 1957 at the oldest, and it was quite beat up. The red Pontiac at the Elvis concert was a 1959.

Quotes:

Buddy: Guess what I heard?
Lewellen: What?
Buddy: Guess!
Lewellen: No, tell me.
Buddy: I heard Elvis is comin' to town.
Lewellen: Elvis is comin' to town?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hound Dog

Ultimately very disappointing.

This is a bad film. It is not really Dakota's fault, but to be honest I wasn't really impressed with her this time around. I felt like she was a little too much, a little too melodramatic, and definitely not as real as she is in her other films. The real problems with this film lie in the directing, the script, and the pacing. It's poorly filmed (though beautifully lensed), the script panders to too many stereotypes to even enumerate, and even though it's very short, it crawls along.

All the controversy about the rape is unfounded, too, because it actually is only a very small piece of the movie. You see her face twice and her hand once, and you hear her. I'd say it was 45 seconds. Maybe not even that long.

Anyways, color me disappointed. Definitely not worth all the hype, and I really wish Dakota could have found a better filmmaker(s) and film(s) during all the time she wasted as this film sat in preproduction. I hope this doesn't affect her career too much.