A million miles from the mugshot…
Lee Umstetter (Nick Nolte) was a lifer, a violent criminal imprisoned with no chance of parole. So he did what many do in these circumstances, he opted to take his own life. Unfortunately he proved especially inefficient in doing this, so he decided to read a bit to fill the time.
After much reading, Umstetter decided to pick up a pen himself, and his words grew in power and became plays. And his plays were filled with an all prisoner cast and shown to the rest of the inmates. And the scope of the plays grew, and others heard of them. And wrote of them in praise filled critiques.
And – after many delays – Umstetter was released to the community after receiving much public support, a free man with all the time in the world.
But release meant empty hands. And empty hands are the devil’s playthings. So Umstetter sensibly (at the time) decides to ‘put the band back together’. He assembles all of the paroled criminals that he can find and convinces them of the merits of touring their plays to an audience that craves the redemption of others.
And they do, all the while knowing that one slip, one regression, one bloody mistake can have them back inside for life. (There is an especially funny scene where a nearby police siren creates havoc on the tour bus while everyone clears any unwanted evidence.)
Apparently based upon a true story, Weeds is a sincere, albeit clumsy and heavy handed, portrayal of a group of men doing their best to leave the past behind, with Umstetter of course being the central figure. But Nolte never plays him as wanting the lead role, in fact he often seems more concerned that the others don’t do anything that puts their freedom at risk.
Weeds may be a redemptive tale laced with the pitfalls of living life with two strikes, but it is more matter of fact than uplifting, and far too drab and plodding to garner a recommendation.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. A decent, though dated, human drama from the 80s.
