It's hard to tell maybe, if you don't know where to look, but a lot of love went into this movie. Chris Brinker's life was cut woefully short, which may explain the mishandling of the film's post-production, but this story obviously meant a lot to him. Originally titled Whiskey Bay, which was a much better name for it, you get the feeling there was more to the story of Jesse and his wife that got cut out. Anyone could've played Lynn, but they hired Amy Smart, who's a pretty good actress and then gave her nothing to do? I don't buy that. I'd love to read this script, actually. The chances are that if the Brinkers went so far as to write a love ballad for Lynn & Jesse for the end credits, that part of the story must've had more weight at some point. It might also go a ways toward explaining why Lt. Bud Carter would develop such a genuine concern for Jesse and fight so hard for him.

There were a lot of missteps, sure. But Dafoe and Dillon are so damn solid, I'm willing to forgive most of them. Despite Berenger's accent driving me crazy at times, I got a big kick out of his Col. Sanders style and seeing him get into a fistfight with Dafoe at the end. Elias and Barnes, at it again. Neat little twist that they worked with Matt Dillon in this and baby bro Kevin "Johnny Drama" Dillon was in Platoon.

It's a safe bet that I never would've even heard of this movie if Chris Marquette wasn't in it. Guess I have casting director, Matthew Barry to thank for that. He also cast Marquette's Alpha Dog co-star Alex Solowitz in this one. Thanks Matt! You always said you'd cast Chris anytime you could. Nice to see him in a more adult role in this, even though he's playing the green fed again. LOL!

This is just one of those movies you weren't aware of lands on the shelf and you pick it up on Saturday night and take a chance. On that level, I enjoyed it.