A Simple Plan (1998)

Good purchase
This was a good choice; it came on time and quality was great. I'm glad I bought it. I'm always glad to purchase from Amazon. Good service and good products. Keep it up.
Rita Allen

The genius of Billy Bob in a story you'll interact with
As you watch this movie, about 3 dillweed country men who happen upon $4 million in a crashed and forgotten plane, you'll think, "What would *I* do?" Clearly the movie's characters make some colossal mistakes, but the frustration the viewer feels is intentional, just like jump scenes in a thriller, or tears in a chick-flick.

I'm not a big fan of Bill Paxton, but he does well in this role as a "college edumacated" feed mill worker. It's a good role for him. However, Billy Bob Thornton, who I personally feel is our finest living actor, always adds dimension to any charcter he portrays. His character is a pathetic, rather homely fellow who actually seems brighter in many respects than his brother, the Paxton character. Billy Bob's sad character is egged along to make poor choices, when it seems that had he been alone, it all may have worked out.

Paxton's wife, Bridget Fonda, plays a creepy woman who goes along with all the deciet as easily as deciding what to make for dinner. She tries to interject intelligent ideas, but no idea involving dishonesty is ever a really GOOD one.

The last main character, played by Brent Briscoe, adds even more low-quality morals to the mix. Briscoe has done several other movies with Billy Bob, such as Sling Blade, Mr. Woodcock and Waking Up in Reno. They work well together. His brash personality in movies softens Billy Bobs Southern flair some.

I **LOVED** this movie. I'm not one to love the happily ever after type movies. I like reality, grit, depression, sadness, drama. This fit the bill. I'm also a fan of 'the whole package', a movie just can't ride on one actor, or one good plot. This movie is visually beautiful, has some great odd lines, mostly delivered by Billy Bob, such as "like, TA-DA, y'know" and his reference to Easy Rider, "waahn-ditdit, like that guy, remember?". It has suspense, the interaction as there's no way to not think, "I'd have done this..." some action, murder, deceit, friendship, painful truths, painful lies, greed and can all be summed up by the famous quote, "the love of money is the root of all evil". How true.

One can't go wrong with a Billy Bob movie, with extremely few exceptions. I don't have the DVD, just VHS, but am slowly converting my library to DVD. I don't expect "extras" on a DVD, so the lack of them would not be a disappointment. (as one reader complained about) The movie is what I enjoy, and this is a fascinating tale of a tangled web of deceit and lies and dishonesty that swallows up character after character as it snowballs.

Take the time to appreciate the depth of Thornton's character, and the visual beauty of the stark landscape, and evaluate your own morals against the characters. Don't miss it.

A SIMPLE PLAN...GREATEST CRIME THRILLER!!
A SIMPLE PLAN IS THE GREATEST CRIME THRILLER. THE STORY ABOUT 3 GOOD PEOPLE AND A WIFE INVOLVED WHAT LOOKS TO BE A SIMPLE PLAN....KEEP THE MONEY TILL SPRING, WAIT TO SEE IF ANYONE IS LOOKING FOR IT AND IF NOT SPLIT THE MONEY AND LEAVE TOWN. SOUND SIMPLE RIGHT....DEAD WRONG AND THIS MOVIES WILL SHOW U THE NUMEROUS THINGS THAT GO WRONG FROM DISTRUST TO BACK STABBING TO EVEN COLD BLOODED MURDER. THIS FILM HAS IT ALL BLACK HUMOR, CHILLING THRILLERS, GORE AND AMAZING STORY LINE. I HAVE TO SAY THE PERFORMANCES ARE BRILLIANT THE CAST WAS SO GOOD I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY WERE NOT NOMINATED FOR THEIR ROLES ESPECIALLY BILL PAXTON AN UNDERRATED ACTOR WHO GAVE SUCH A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES AS HANK...THE SMART YET WORRIED OUT MEMBER OF THE GROUP TRYING TO KEEP THIS SIMPLE PLAN TOGETHER. BUT THERE IS A LEARNING LESSON IN THIS FILM THAT STANDS OUT
THE MESSAGE IS THAT CRIME WILL ALWAYS COST MORE THAN IT PAYS!