Fantastic Fest 2022: Country Gold — A Well Done Country-Fried Comedy
George Jones invites an up and coming country music superstar out on the town in Nashville the night before George is to be cryogenically frozen in 1994.
Every Fantastic Fest, we eagerly look forward to the next feature from Oklahoma filmmaker Mickey Reece with great excitement. Reece and his team of collaborators consistently surprise and delight, and they continue to further their talents and hone their skills with each new project. Every year, we wind up saying the latest Reece film is his best, and the same is true for Reece’s latest comedy, Country Gold. We think it’s his greatest work to date, and it was one of our favorites from this year’s stellar Fantastic Fest lineup. This one hits all the right notes, creating a near-perfect blend of poignant, wistful, warm, and tender absurdist-surrealist hilarity that is sure to two-step straight into your heart.
The film harks back to Reece’s 2017 film, Mickey Reece’s Alien, which found the Oklahoma auteur ingeniously playing around with the iconography of Elvis. With Country Gold, Reece and his screenwriting partner, John Selvidge, trade in the iconography of "King of Rock and Roll" for that of country music icons Garth Brooks and George Jones. Reece steps out from behind the camera here to star as Troyal Brux, a rising star who “makes nothing but hit records and baby boys,” and he goes head-to-head with Ben Hall’s George Jones, a fading figure who Troyal absolutely idolizes. The film is framed around a wild, liquor-fueled night out in Nashville, an invitation extended by Jones to Brux, on the evening before Jones is to be cryogenically frozen (yeah, you read that right), and it tees up an evening of wonderful dialogue (like “I’m just a pipe for fluids to run through”) that sincerely probes into what it means to be happy and human.
If you combine the “cowboy reckoning with his past” aspect of Tender Mercies with the moving melancholy and evocative mood of The Last Picture Show, and then streak that mixture with the otherworldly surrealism of Eraserhead, you’re close to the kind of magic Reece and his team cook up here. Add in the energy of David O. Russell ensemble pieces (like American Hustle) and the philosophical edge of Richard Linklater, and you’re even closer to this arthouse hangout flick. In true Mickey Reece fashion, the film is loaded with delightful detours (including a funny bit about Garth Brooks’ moody alter ego Chris Gaines) that keep the audience surprised, entertained, and constantly wondering which hilariously amusing direction the film will go next. It’s a rare treat that two steps between dramatic and comedic tones with masterful grace.
One of the film’s many pleasures is watching Reece and Ben Hall verbally spare and jockey for power scene after scene. Together, they make this tale of icons colliding into one deliciously affecting dish. Reece gives his character a sincere boyish charm and soft Kenny Powers quality. He’s the good ole boy to Hall’s withered outlaw. Hall delivers another superb standout performance (something he has consistently done in each Reece film he’s appeared in), giving his character a palpable sense of vitriol and wistful sadness. Hall truly makes the dialogue sing, delivering lines like “The future used to be tomorrow, and now it’s today,” in a way that’s deeply resonate. Aside from the incredible writing and performances, Samuel Calvin's gorgeous black and white cinematography is another clear standout that turns the whole offbeat affair into a sumptuous visual feast.
Like every Reece film, you’ll be pleasantly surprised and often taken aback with what you get. Country Gold leans hard into the absurdity of its bold premise, and it finds effectively compelling, genuinely touching existential results. Its pointed and poignant contemplations on life, legacy, artistry, and ego land with powerful force, and so does its many hilarious jokes. It’s one satisfying comedy that entertainingly liberates audiences from the norm and boasts one wildly zany finale.
Recommendation: Every Mickey Reece film is a treasure, so you definitely need to seek out Country Gold when it’s released! In the meantime, you catch Reece’s previous films Climate Of The Hunter and Agnes on Shudder and Hulu respectively.
Looking for more nuggets of gold?! Check out the links below:
Country Gold Interview w/Mickey Reece & Ben Hall
Fantastic Fest Q&A: Country Gold w/Mickey Reece & Ben Hall
Country Gold roadshow Q&A w/Mickey Reece
Agnes review
Mickey Reece & John Selvidge On Agnes
Fantastic Fest Q&A: Agnes w/Mickey Reece and John Selvidge
Climate Of The Hunter review
Mickey Reece (And Friends) On Climate Of The Hunter (print)
Mickey Reece & Friends Talk Climate of the Hunter (full audio interview)
Fantastic Fest 2022 articles
Fantastic Fest 2022 reviews
Fantastic Fest 2022 podcasts
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!