New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

Follow Me

• The American ***
• Going the Distance ***
• Machete ***1/2
• The Last Exorcism ***
• Takers *
• Piranha 3D ***
• Lottery Ticket **1/2
• Vampires Suck 1/2*
• Soul Kitchen ***
• The Expendables **
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ***
• The Other Guys ***
• More

• Cinévardaphoto
• City Island
• The Evil Dead
• La Mission
• Loose Screws
• Monamour
• Red Riding Trilogy
• The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season
• The Square
• More

• Tribute: Harvey Pekar
• Interview: Lisa Cholodenko
• Interview: Annette Bening
• Interview: George A. Romero
• 2009: The Year's Ten Best Films
• The Decade's Ten Best Films: 2000-2009
• The 25 Best DVDs of 2009
• My 2003 Interview with Brittany Murphy
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2009
• Richard Linklater
• John Woo
• Jared and Jerusha Hess
• Essential Halloween Movies
• Michael Stuhlbarg
• Jane Campion
• Bobcat Goldthwait
• Hugh Dancy
• Kathryn Bigelow
• Willem Dafoe: The 2009 CineVegas Interview
• David Carradine
• A 2002 Interview with Edward Asner
• Vinessa Shaw
• Henry Selick
• 2008: The Year's Ten Best Films
• The San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
• The 25 Best DVDs of 2008
• Bruce Campbell
• Darren Aronofsky and Marisa Tomei
• Josh Brolin
• A Tribute to Paul Newman
• Steve Coogan on Hamlet 2
• Manny Farber (1917-2008)
• Bernie Mac (1957-2008)
• Emily Mortimer
• Brad Anderson
• Don Cheadle at CineVegas
• Abel Ferrara at CineVegas
• Tina Sinatra
• My Top 100 Films [Updated]
• My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
• The Top 50 Movies of the Past Ten Years (1997-2006)
• Terry Zwigoff on the new Bad Santa Director's Cut
• Alfonso Cuarón Interview
• Guillermo Del Toro Interview
• Christmas Movies
• Combustible Celluloid's Big Guide to Halloween & Horror Movies
• Cult Movies
• Actress Interview Gallery
• The Top 100
• More Features and Interviews

• Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
• James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
• Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
• Guide to Essential Movies, by Joe Leydon
• Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, by Robert S. Birchard
• Profoundly Disturbing, by Joe Bob Briggs
• A Third Face, by Samuel Fuller
• Dark Lover, by Emily Leider
• Agee on Film, by James Agee
• Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks
• Negative Space, by Manny Farber
• 5001 Nights at the Movies, by Pauline Kael
• More Books

• Home
• Reviews A-C
• Reviews D-F
• Reviews G-J
• Reviews K-M
• Reviews N-Q
• Reviews R-T
• Reviews U-Z

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2006)

Rating: 2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

How Does His Garden Grow?

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Posters at AllPosters.com

Farmer John drapes himself in green feather boas and writes plays, but he drives a tractor, plays in the dirt and -- in case you're wondering -- dates girls. I suppose that's the kind of showmanship it takes to get people to come see Taggart Siegel's new documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which ran at last summer's "Green Screen" film festival and opens today in Bay Area theaters.

The film traces the story of John Peterson, who once inherited his family's massive ranch just outside of Chicago. During the 1960s he racked up massive debts as he turned the land into a kind of hippie/artist commune. Nowadays, he runs a small, organic farm and makes a living shipping subscription "boxes" out to city-dwellers.

Siegel had something like 20 years worth of footage to draw from, and despite the film's goofy title and quirky imagery, it's a hugely depressing tale. I kept wondering what would happen next? Locusts? Blindness?

Starring: John Peterson, Anna Peterson, John Edwards, Isa Jacoby, Rosemary Palmer, Jesus Briano, Robert Clothier, Lesley Freeman
Written by: John Peterson
Directed by: Taggart Siegel
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 83 minutes
Date: January 27, 2006