Country singer Dwight Yoakam is a co-producer of this Miramax comedy about marital infidelity among the Southern redneck set. Auto dealer Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton) and his wife, Darlene (Natasha Richardson), are best friends with good-natured Roy (Patrick Swayze) and his spitfire wife, Candy (Charlize Theron), who's ovulating and trying to become pregnant. When the quartet of Arkansas natives decides to take an SUV cross-country to a monster truck show in Reno, NV, an alarming secret is
revealed: Lonnie Earl and Candy have been having an affair. The revelation comes as a shock to the guileless Roy and much put-upon Darlene, who absconds with her husband's credit cards for a spending spree that includes designer boutiques and a Tony Orlando concert. Meanwhile, Candy's quest to have a baby takes on a new dimension in light of her extracurricular activities with Lonnie Earl. Waking Up in Reno (2002) is based on a script by longtime screenwriting partners/actors Brent Briscoe and Mark Fauser, who also play supporting roles in the film. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
I like all four of the lead actors a lot and they manage to squeeze a few laughs out of the material, but they're treading water at best in this forgettable effort.
Finally coming down off of Miramax's deep shelves after a couple of aborted attempts, Waking Up in Reno makes a strong case for letting sleeping dogs lie.
Four boring characters, a painfully unfunny road trip and drama that's not quite as convincing as a daytime soap opera add up to a wretched time in this redneck romantic comedy.
I can't begin to tell you how tedious, how resolutely unamusing, how thoroughly unrewarding all of this is, and what a reckless squandering of four fine acting talents...
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