Sling Blade

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Sling Blade

Sling Blade film poster
Directed by Billy Bob Thornton
Produced by David L. Bushell
Brandon Rosser
Written by Billy Bob Thornton
Starring Billy Bob Thornton
Editing by Hughes Winborne
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s) November 27, 1996 (USA)
Running time 135 min.
Language English
IMDb profile
This article is about the 1996 film. For the tool used to cut vegetation, see kaiser blade.

Sling Blade is a 1996 drama film set in rural Arkansas. It tells the fictional story of a simple man named Karl Childers who is released from a psychiatric hospital where he has lived since murdering his mother and her lover at age 12. He befriends a young boy, begins a friendship with the boy's mother and must confront the mother's abusive boyfriend, as well as his own dark past. It stars and was written and directed by actor/writer Billy Bob Thornton, and also stars singer Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, Bruce Hampton, James Hampton, Vic Chesnutt, Stacia Thomason, Mickey Jones, and Robert Duvall. The movie was adapted by Thornton from his short film and previous screenplay titled Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade. The film proved itself to be a sleeper hit, launching Thornton into mega-stardom. It won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and Thornton was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The music for the soundtrack was provided by French Canadian artist/producer Daniel Lanois.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Thornton portrays the mentally handicapped Karl, who at age twelve murdered his mother and her lover with a kaiser blade (saying "some folks call it a sling blade") and has been in a mental hospital ever since. Though thoroughly 'institutionalized', Karl is deemed fit to be released into a world "too big" for him. It is revealed early on that he had killed his mother and a schoolmate, whom he caught having sex together. Since Karl has a knack for small engine repair, the warden gets him a small job at a repair shop, but it is the friendship with young Frank Wheatley that will have the most profound impact on his life.

For Frank (whose father committed suicide because he felt he couldn't properly support his family), Karl becomes a father figure. He likes the way Karl talks; Karl doesn't make him "nervous." For Karl, Frank becomes his friend and the little brother he never had. Karl moves into the Wheatley's garage.

More than the murder he committed, Karl is haunted by the task given to him by his parents when he was a child: to dispose of his deformed, unwanted, newborn brother. He develops the urge to redeem himself for burying the child alive. In a pivotal scene, he visits his father (Robert Duvall) and admits he thought about killing him, but eventually decided he wasn't worth the effort.

Witnessing Frank's mother's boyfriend Doyle's abusive and aggressive behavior, especially his contempt for Frank, Karl slowly realizes that he is the only one who can bring about a change and spare Frank and his mother a grim fate. Near the end of the movie, he premeditatedly kills Doyle with a lawnmower blade and then turns himself in to the police.

While Karl doesn't seem to be the big thinker that Frank's mother's gay friend suspects him to be ("I was thinking I'm gonna want take some of these potaters home with me," Karl comments when Vaughan mentions his theory), Karl's exposure to real life makes him return to the psychiatric hospital with a stronger sense of moral ethics and self-awareness than ever before. Finally, he shuts down his fellow inmate, a sexual serial killer (J.T. Walsh) who brags about his crimes: "Fact of business, don't you say another word to me. I ain't listening to you no more."

[edit] Parodies

  • Mad TV aired a comedy sketch entitled Sling Blade 2: The Reckoning during their third season, a Terminator 2 parody. A second sketch entitled Blades (aka Blade/Sling Blade) aired during their fifth season, which featured Karl teamed up with vampire-hunter/vampire Blade to hunt down vampires.
  • In the South Park episode "Towelie", Cartman says a few lines from the movie ("You shouldn't a done that, he's just a boy," and "poor little feller") with an accent similar to that in the movie, when referring to Stan's mom's tampon he found in the trash.
  • In a recent interview with co-star Jon Heder for their film, School for Scoundrels, Thornton performed an impromptu impersonation of Karl chatting about french fries and llamas with Heder, who performed as his Napoleon Dynamite character.
  • In the Family Guy episode "The Fat Guy Strangler", the Griffins are at a mental hospital to see Lois's long lost and forgotten brother Patrick. Lois mentions that he seems normal and should come home with them, Stewie reacts to that by saying, "Oh, that's a great idea, maybe he can bring his sling blade and order up some french fried potaters, hmmm", the last four words being said with a gravelly deep Southern voice.
  • The nationally syndicated radio show The Big Show often parodies Karl Childers in a segment known as "Karl Childers' Story Time" in which one of the Big Show members, Jeff Pillars reads a classic children's story while portraying Childers' speech and accent.
  • In the Xiaolin Showdown episode "Mala Mala Jong", a farmer bearing a strong physical and vocal resemblance to Karl stares down at a hole in his field and complains about gophers ("Darn gophers") just as Omi appears by means of using the Serpent's Tail. After a word of pardon by Omi before leaving the farmer replies "darn talkin' gophers.. mmmmmm."
  • In the movie Dr. Dolittle with Eddie Murphy, there is a scene where he goes to the dog pound to find the dog. As he walks through the kennels, different animals with mostly celebrity voices can be heard talking. One dog says, as Karl Childers, "Mmm hmm. You can take me home Mister. I don't reckon I'll be a bitin' no one no more. Mmm hmm."
  • In an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1997, they do a Barbara Walters Oscar special which features a Sling Blade parody.
  • "Swamp Eye" Jarl in Dustwallow marsh (in the World Of Warcraft game) is looking for a certain item: "Some folks call it a sword, I call it a swing blade." in an almost word-for-word homage to Billy Bob Thornton's character Karl in Sling Blade, "Some folks calls it a sling blade, I call it a kaiser blade."
  • In the episode of King of the Hill, (Leanne's Saga) when Luanne's mom gets out of the truck she says to the manly looking woman that drove her "Thanks (forgotten name) you can just put my bags down now, thanks for the ride" and the woman replies. "MmmmHmmm All right then" while sounding exactly like Karl Childers.
  • In the New York Times Bestseller 'I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell' there is a character named Slingblade who earned his nickname mimicking the voice of Karl.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] External links