Bury Me in Kern County . Austin Chronicle . 03-30-98

Bury Me in Kern County

DIRECTED BY: Julien Nitzberg

REVIEWED: 03-30-98

Another in a long, tired line of "black comedies about white trash" - it's telling when a film at its world premiere already smells ripe enough for syndication. The story is structured like an episodic "best of" of the genre: a young woman and her boyfriend get busted for drugs in front of a national television audience when the police raid their house with a Cops-style film crew in tow. She then must struggle to raise enough money for her beau's bail and keep from losing custody rights of her daughter - all under the sneers and leers of the white trash family members around her. It's not surprising that this won the runner-up award at SXSW over the other "white trash" entry, the elegantly formal and sublimely nuanced Barbecue... A Love Story. Kern County is an easier read: sensationalist plot devices, over-the-top performances, and a laughs-at-all-expense tone. It's infused with a rapid-fire energy, but white trash is an all-too-easy target, and there is a fine but strict line between satire and rube-like condescension. Kern County falls squarely on the side of the latter.

Capsule Reviews
Bury Me in Kern County

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