Ah, where to begin with Tobacco Roody. One of the more underrated films of 1971, this hillbillies-n-hayseeds flick nevertheless deserves its own special place in '70's rural americana pop culture. I have never seen a movie quite like it and likely never will again. A very strange but ultimately enjoyable film, it manages to somehow be charming despite its shoestring budget ( Hey, you gotta love any movie that features the opening credits in paint on the side of a barn!) and features a wonderfully silly-for-the-sake-of-being-silly script.
Basically, the movie traces the events in a single afternoon in the lives of a group of country bumpkins in the small, rural, West Tennessee farming community of Tobacco Roody, whose horniness and libidoes are exceeded only by their sheer stupidity. Among the host of characters are main protagonist Farmer Mose, his niece Tootie whom he displays lascivious (and incestuous) affections towards, his bored wife and two sapphic-tendencied daughters, an easily distracted sheriff, a trio of brain-dead hayseeds and even an inexplicable French tourist girl (!?!) for good measure.
Somehow these characters all come together in this zany plot, if it can truly be called that. Of course, it all amounts to LOADS of bare skin and some surprisingly graphic sex scenes. In fact, there's so much nudity and sex in this film that one get's the impression that there's not very much else to do in Tobacco Roody but get liquored-up and make love, aside from farming and making moonshine. It's not exactly porn, per se, but it's pretty damn close. Easily earns its X-rating.
So what made this film work for me? Well, aside from the prerquisite gobs of nudity, it also has a charming, unmistakeable early '70's vibe, some genuinely funny scenes, some really stupidly funny lines and is also hilighted by a very good soundtrack featuring several Johnny Cash songs. The dvd is a nice one, too, and the video transfer is an impressive one. The movie hardly shows its age and I never once got the impression that I was watching a truly shoddy or poorly-made motion picture. For a low-budget movie, it is actually made quite well and you can tell the filmmakers put a definite sense of fun into making it.
If you like to laugh and don't mind the occasional insult to your intelligence, do yourself a favor and see Tobacco Roody. You might lose a tiny bit of respect for yourself afterwards, but chances are you'll have had a fun time doing so.
