Think about the most extreme country western song you ever heard, a tale of outlaws who cuss and fight and then cuss and fight some more just for giggles.
You’ve just scratched the surface of the White clan.
“The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia,” produced by Johnny Knoxville and out Oct. 26 on DVD, introduces us to a family you don’t want in your neighborhood.
The documentary follows the Whites through what must be a typical year in their lives. Pity the fine folks in Boone County, West Va. who endure their law-breaking, drug-taking and gun-shooting ways.
The movie neither celebrates nor apologies for their actions, which turns what could be Jerry Springer 2.0 into an oddly compelling diversion.
Every day seems like the chance for new misadventures when your last name is White. It’s a family ravaged by drugs and unchecked tempers, and their modest fame makes them try all the harder to live up to their namesakes. It’s a family of pure Id, and in our politically correct age their candor is oddly refreshing.
The family members suffered a blow with the loss of their father, Donald Ray White, in 1985, but it’s hardly a rationale for their collective behavior. Director Julien Nitzberg doesn’t have excuses in mind here. Nitzberg objectively captures the family in action, and they’re all too happy to live up to their reputations.
They preen for the camera, eager to have their every vice on display. That changes as heartache piles atop heartache, including one White family member awaiting trial for shooting his uncle in the face.
“The Wild and Wonderful Whites” is a difficult story to tell. Title cards keep tabs on the various uncles, aunts and nephews, but only a few emerge as real people. The rest are walking stereotypes.
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The narrative flits between family members, a chaotic approach stitched together with ditties by family friend Hank Williams III.
It’s hard to find much sympathy for a clan that finds feeling others’ pain a chore. But watching the Whites’ matriarch witness her own mother’s failing health and her daughter having her baby taken from her shortly after delivery can’t help but humanize them.
The feature does offer a vivid snapshot of small-town America, a hamlet too busy living to gussy up for visitors. The annual coal mining parade offers a glimpse into the land’s lifeblood. To hear the Whites tell it, being a coal miner is about the best gig a fella could snare.
Documentary sequels aren’t the norm, but it’s hard not to imagine more installments when you see the youngest Whites romping around a local playground, their angelic faces betraying the White family curse.
The DVD features 83 minutes of extra scenes, commentary from Knoxville and a “Making Of” featurette.
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