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The White River Kid
Although The White River Kid is optimistically described by its distributors as “an outrageous comedy with a heart” and “a zany adventure with a plethora of oddball characters on the road in the Bible Belt,” actual reviews of this more or less universally panned film are less kind. Indeed, one reviewer described it as “a messy comedy infested with bad gags.” The White River Kid (video title White River) relies on negative stereotypes of Arkansans, portraying them as moronic rednecks or merely simple folk for much of its material. Based on the John Fergus Ryan novel The Little Brothers of St. Mortimer (1991), it was filmed on location in and around Hot Springs (Garland County) and other Arkansas locations during the summer of 1998.
In the starring role as the White River Kid, a psychotic serial killer with a butterfly tattooed on his face, is native Arkansan Wes Bentley, who is better known for his role in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. The cast also includes such well-known celebrities as Antonio Banderas (who also served as executive producer and received no salary for his acting because, according to one source, he liked the script and owed director Arne Glimcher, who directed him in The Mambo Kings, a favor), Bob Hoskins, Swoosie Kurtz, Beau Bridges, Randy Travis, and Ellen Barkin. In a considerably smaller role (that of the proprietor of a bar/dance club called Boot Scooters) is Arkansas native Roger Clinton, brother of President Bill Clinton.
The plot of the movie is somewhat convoluted. Brother Edgar (Hoskins) is a con artist masquerading as a holy man selling low-quality factory socks purportedly made by blind Christian children. Accompanying him is Morales Pittman (Banderas), an illegal “wetback” with a propensity for quoting from law journals and randomly spouting phrases in French or German; Morales wants nothing more than to part company with Brother Edgar. While selling socks at Timberfest, a small-town Arkansas festival, the two become unwillingly associated with the Kid, who claims he only kills “Woollygumps” or “Woollygums” (it seems to be pronounced both ways in the film). A Woollygump, according to the Kid, can be differentiated from a real person by the eyes, which have no light in them. He describes the Woollygumps, who try to kill him, as being “just like fog, risin’ from the river”; he also claims that, as they are not actual people, “nobody cares if you kill ’em all.”
The Kid and his fiancée, Apple Lisa Weed, carjack Brother Edgar and Morales and force them to drive to Apple Lisa’s home in the hills. It is there that Apple Lisa’s parents (Bridges and Kurtz) first appear, a stereotypically hillbilly couple generally referred to as Daddy and Mama Weed (or Mr. and Mrs.—pronounced “Miz-rez”—Weed). They live in a shack raising and selling rabbits for income. In another jab at the intellect of Arkansas hill folk, the character of Mama Weed prays to and dresses like Elvis Presley because, according to her, he cured her cancer. It is after the Kid meets Apple Lisa’s loving, if weird, family that he expresses a desire to stay there and make the Weed house his home, and by implication give up his Woollygump-murdering ways.
In addition to the Kid plot thread, there is also one involving corrupt small-town law enforcement in the form of Sheriff Becker (Travis), as well as another dealing with a “soiled dove” blind prostitute (who, it is revealed at the end of the film, is not really blind) named Eva Nell La Fangroy (Barkin) who runs a “teahouse”; Brother Edgar has a liaison with her and forms an emotional attachment. None of these plot threads fit together coherently.
This film was never shown in theaters; rather, its first release was on video in Spain and Bulgaria in 1999, followed by a U.S. debut in 2001 on the Starz movie channel as a Starz Pictures Premier.
For additional information:
Dumont, Doug. “‘The White River Kid’ Takes Caddo Gap.” Mountain Signal, October 1998, 23–24.
The White River Kid. Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/title/tt0162766/ (accessed September 7, 2023).
White River. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2001.
Courtney Moore Clements
Black River Technical College
I lived in Sheridan, Arkansas, and was there at Timberfest when the movie was filmed. A very neat experience.
I was an extra in a few of the “Timberfest” scenes in downtown Sheridan. I had a great time, and it was a real eye-opener on the film-making process. All the actors were great–no “Hollywood” attitude that I saw. Banderas and Travis in particular were polite and accommodating. Having the opportunity to rent it on DVD several years later, I have to admit that it’s pretty bad. Oh well. I had a great time for a couple of days and met some great people. No complaints.
I was actually an extra in this movie, in the bar scene. I have never been able to see myself in the movie, but it was a fun two days of filming around Hot Springs. And I got to talk to Randy Travis.
I loved the movie. It was funny and kept me interested. So who cares if it has a lot of Arkansas hillbillies? Texas has a lot of Texas rednecks–that’s what makes the movie funny and interesting. Also, seeing all the nearby sites in Arkansas was neat. We own the store in Caddo Gap that is in the movie–but in the movie it says the store is in Lomas Falls. Fun and interesting movie for a good movie night at home–good job!