A la deriva

I very much wanted to see this film because I so enjoyed the Tim Sandlin trilogy (Skipped Parts, Sorrow Floats, Social Blunders) from which this film is derived. The books are far superior but this movie was able to capture some of the spirit of the book upon which it was based (Sorrow Floats). I couldn't accept the casting of Paul Hogan, with a thick Australian accent, stopping in the American South to see his mother -- who also has a thick Australian accent -- at what was supposed to be his boyhood home. He stuck out in the movie like a sore thumb. He also looked to be too healthy to be a dying wheelchair-bound alcoholic. When I read the book M. Emmett Walsh came to mind. There must be some odd story behind the casting of this film. The other movie to be based on these books, SKIPPED PARTS, is very good and remarkably loyal to the source.