Review of The Whole Shootin' Match

The Whole Shootin' Match is a decent movie that has many flaws. The director has a captivating story and theme to the movie, however the continued hardships of the main characters becomes exhausting to watch. I found the soundtrack to this film very entertaining, and alive. I think it is one of the focal points of this film. There were many scenes of this film that I found hard to watch or just distasteful; the first being the unnecessary whipping of Frank's son TJ. Frank decides that TJ could not keep his bike he received as a gift from Olan because Frank was weary of Olan's intent. When TJ learns he cannot keep the bike he begins to cry, but Frank being the tough man decides to whip TJ to give him something to cry about, and the sound is stomach turning. After this scene I found Frank's character more unlikeable for the remainder of the movie. The majority of this movie centers on Frank's misfortunes, bad decisions and adultery. It is very aggravating to watch Frank's wife strive to be a dedicated mother, lover and homemaker for a man that has no respect for her or himself. He cheats on her in the movie with his friend Lloyd after an argument he has with her over the bike and Olan. Another, awkward and somewhat disturbing scene is the bar fight that takes place in the women's bathroom and then moves to the center of the bar. Instead of Frank and Lloyd breaking the fight up they instead grab a female and the winner of the fight and leave the bar for other entertainment. Eventually, Frank decides to apologize to his wife and swears that he will change, but later you see him with another movie having more than a drink. Frank also uses his friend Lloyd for money. When Frank does come across money instead of putting it to good use he decides to buy a car and suit that he does not need. I really found this movie more annoying than enjoyable but I do feel the director captures the essence of living poorly along with struggling to make ends meet. Overall this movie is bearable but I wouldn't put the effort into renting this movie.