This charming film (aka Handle With Care) was a commercial failure, but it holds up well and resonates more strongly when examined vis-a-vis Demme's other communal films, Melvin and Howard and Something Wild.
Citizens Band (1977)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:4
Fresh:4
Rotten:0
Average Rating:N/A
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: This dynamic Jonathan Demme comedy, set during the time of the Citizens Band radio craze of the 1970s, interweaves the different stories of several characters in a small town. At the center is Paul... This dynamic Jonathan Demme comedy, set during the time of the Citizens Band radio craze of the 1970s, interweaves the different stories of several characters in a small town. At the center is Paul Le Mat, a CB vigilante named Spider who incurs his wrath on anyone who misuses the airwaves--his chief beef being his unnatural attachment to his father, Papa Thermodyne (Roberts Blossom), who becomes decent and kind only when he is sitting at Spider's microphone. Other characters include a small-time prostitute on wheels and a cattle-truck-driving bigamist (Charles Napier), known by the handle name Chrome Angel, whose two wives unwittingly discover each other when he has an accident. The movie uses the CB trend as a metaphor for lack of direct human communication, alternating between darkly comic and poignant moments. Demme has created another insightful and illuminating character-driven slice of Americana that is made complete with down-to-earth hipness and hard-edged goodwill. [More]
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Ed Begley, Ann Wedgeworth
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Ed Begley, Ann Wedgeworth, Charles Napier, Roberts Blossom, Bruce McGill, Marcia Rodd, Alix Elias
Director: Jonathan Demme
Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriter: Paul Brickman
Producer: Freddie Fields
Composer: Bill Conti
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Reviews for Citizens Band
An engaging and modest movie about how individuals in a small town are drawn together through their CBs.
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