Hounddog (2007)

Director:

Deborah Kampmeier

Writer:

Deborah Kampmeier (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Gotta always somehow make good outta what can poison you.

Plot:

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley. |

Plot Keywords:

American South | Elvis Presley | Elvis | Singing Girl | Child Molestation

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dakota Fanning	...	Lewellen
Granoldo Frazier	...	Band Member D (as Grenaldo Frazier)
Isabelle Fuhrman	...	Grasshopper
Cody Hanford	...	Buddy
Piper Laurie	...	Grammie
Herman McCloud	...	Band Member B
Chandler McIntyre	...	Buddy's Mother
David Morse	...	Daddy
Robin Mullins	...	Marge
Afemo Omilami	...	Charles
Tom Oppenheim	...	Mechanic
Tim Parati	...	Bartender
Ryan Pelton	...	Elvis
Robin Wright Penn	...	Stranger Lady
Ron Prather	...	Truck Driver

Also Known As:

Hounddog (USA) (working title)
Untitled Dakota Fanning Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a disturbing sexual assault of a young girl, and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Orton Plantation, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Deerjen Films

Trivia:

Headlines about the rape scene came out on July 21, 2006, the very day that the movie wrapped filming.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene in which Dakota Fanning (Lewellen) is lying in the bed, the character played by Robin Wright Penn asks her to sing her an Elvis song. She sings part of "Can't Help Falling In Love" which was not recorded until 1961 for the movie "Blue Hawaii".

Quotes:

Lewellen: Oh my God, Daddy, guess what! I saw Elvis, and he blew a kiss just for me! Daddy, I saw Elvis!
Daddy: You left me alone. You said you'd be back.
Lewellen: I am back.
Daddy: Well, you said you'd be right back, and you didn't come right back. I thought you were gone.
Lewellen: I'm sorry.
Daddy: You won't leave me, will you? Promise you'll stay with me for always. Promise you won't leave me again.
Lewellen: I promise.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

There Will Be Peace in the Valley for Me

Nothing Special...

Overall this was actually a bad movie, and really not anything different from that of any other movie of this genre. It struggled to get the main point across, and at many times it began to drag as I found myself looking at my watch more and more.

As for the acting, Dakota herself did not live up to the self hype. I strongly doubt she will succeed in her goal in getting a Oscar Nomination, as her performance was mediocre and failed to live up to any expectations. A disappointment considering some of her other great performances. However, no acting could have saved this film due to a bad script and lousy directing.

Ever since headlines about the supposed "Dakota Fanning Rape Scene" came out on July 21, 2006, this movie has been made out to be 10,000 times worse than it is. Nothing is really shown in "the rape scene" or any other scenes, it takes place in a dark room and all you see is Dakota's facial reactions and hear her cry out, and the whole thing is under a minute long. So basically it was a big fuss over nothing, but unfortunately there will still be some people who haven't even seen it attempting to make the film worse than it actually is.

3/10 - Nothing original here, nor was it worth all the talk.