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Grand Theft Parsons
Grand Theft Parsons
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	David Caffrey
Written by	Jeremy Drysdale
Produced by	Frank Mannion
Starring	Johnny Knoxville; Michael Shannon; Christina Applegate
Cinematography	Robert Hayes
Edited by	Mary Finlay; Alan Roberts
Music by	Richard G Mitchell
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	6 November 2003 (London Film Festival); 21 January 2004 (Sundance Film Festival);
Running time	88 min
Countries	United States; United Kingdom
Language	English

Grand Theft Parsons is a 2003 comedy-drama film based on the true story of country rock musician Gram Parsons (played by Gabriel Macht), who died of an overdose in 1973. Parsons and his road manager, Phil Kaufman (Johnny Knoxville), made a pact in life that whoever died first would be cremated by the other in what was then the Joshua Tree National Monument, an area of desert they both loved and cherished.

Plot

The death of singer Gram Parsons prompts Phil Kaufman to fulfill his promise and a black comedy unwinds, with Kaufman bribing mortuary personnel, renting a psychedelic hearse from Larry Oster-Berg, and trekking across the southern California desert, pursued all the while by Parsons' ex-girlfriend with Kaufman's girlfriend and Parsons’ stepfather.

Cast

Johnny Knoxville as Phil Kaufman
Christina Applegate as Barbara
Michael Shannon as Larry Oster-Berg
Marley Shelton as Susie
Robert Forster as Stanley Parsons
Gabriel Macht as Gram Parsons
Phil Kaufman as Handcuffed Felon

Reception

Grand Theft Parsons was shown in the "Park City at Midnight" section at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.^[1]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 28 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10, earning it a "Rotten" score. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grand Theft Parsons pays tribute to a rock legend without following biopic formula -- and proves that a unique perspective doesn't always mean a worthwhile film."^[2] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[3]

In his review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott wrote, "Parsons himself might have written a surreal, funny-sad ballad about the aftermath of his own death, but Grand Theft Parsons is little more than a surreal anecdote, told in too much detail and without enough soul or imagination to make anything more than a footnote to a legend".^[4] Kimberley Jones, in her review for the Austin Chronicle, wrote, "Black comedy can be a beautiful thing, but Grand Theft Parsons consistently misses that mark for a more bottom-feeding tasteless and broad, with the occasional ham-handed, soulless stab at sober reflection".^[5] In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Crust found Johnny Knoxville "surprisingly good" but felt that the script left "a lot to be desired, strewn with dialogue as flat and stale as old beer and some invented characters who make the events depicted seem more silly than anarchic".^[6]

However, in his review for the Sunday Times, Bryan Appleyard wrote, "Grand Theft Parsons is a delight, a comic tragedy that, though it does not say much about Parsons's art, says a great deal about the context in which it emerged".^[7] Time Out London found that the film "hit on a pleasing vein of deadpan stoner humour, especially in the character of a hearse-driving hippie who comes along for the ride" and "could easily become a cult favourite".^[8] The Daily Mirror wrote, "It's a mark of this movie's tremendous charm that, as the flames rise towards the sky, the ending seems gloriously happy".^[9]

References

^ Susman, Gary (December 3, 2003). "Giants Steps". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
^ "Grand Theft Parsons". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^ "Grand Theft Parsons". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^ Scott, A.O (June 18, 2004). "We Love Him. Now Where's His Body?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
^ Jones, Kimberley (August 20, 2004). "Grand Theft Parsons". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
^ Crust, Kevin (June 18, 2004). "Grand Theft Parsons". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2005. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
^ Appleyard, Bryan (September 14, 2003). "Too fast to live, too young to die". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
^ "Grand Theft Parsons". Time Out London. 2003. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
^ "Grand Theft Parsons". Daily Mirror. March 19, 2004. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-16.