| The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Julien Nitzberg |
| Produced by | Katie Doering Julien Nitzberg Storm Taylor |
| Starring | Jesco White |
| Edited by | Ben Daughtrey |
| Music by | Deke Dickerson Hank Williams III |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Tribeca Film |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is a 2009 documentary film directed by Julien Nitzberg chronicling the White family of Boone County, West Virginia.
The film follows the White family over the course of a year in their daily life through first-person interviews. The film mentions the details of the death of patriarch Donald Ray "D. Ray" White, as well as his rise to stardom as one of the most famous mountain dancers of his time. The illness of his widow, Bertie Mae White, is documented throughout the course of the film. Locals consider Bertie Mae "The Miracle Woman" because of her lifelong dedication to raising abandoned children. Throughout the film, Bertie is seen supporting her family despite her intolerance of their dangerous and reckless behavior. The younger generations of Whites are followed to drug deals, criminal trials, hospital beds, and jail cells to recount the wild and outlandish events in their lives. A group of local professionals in Boone County act as a Greek chorus as they speak about the Whites, mostly criticizing their negative influence on the community. [1]
Stemming from generations of coal miners working in risky job conditions, most of the White family possesses a fatalistic attitude and lack a fear of death. Various members recall violent fights with neighbors, family members, and other locals. Other legal troubles include larceny, prescription fraud, shootings, armed robbery, forgery, stabbings, and child custody battles. D. Ray worked in the coal mines during the scrip payment era; Mamie explains how D. Ray's frustration with his employers' corrupt practices led him to "outsmarting the system." D. Ray legally signed each of his children up for "crazy checks" during their early adolescence. Mamie discloses to the audience that each month, she (and all the other offspring of D. Ray and Bertie Mae) receive social security checks monthly from the government due to their inability to hold employment because of alleged psychiatric disability. [1]
Six of D. Ray and Bertie's 13 children are featured in the film. [2]
The film, by Dickhouse Productions, was the first non-Jackass feature produced by Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine.
Knoxville had been a fan of Director Nitzberg's documentary about Hasil Adkins, and of The Beastly Bombing. Having seen Nitzberg's early footage of Jesco White, Knoxville and Nitzberg convinced Nitzberg to return to West Virginia, in order to film a feature around the rest of the White family. Nitzberg spent eighteen months with the notorious family of Jesco White, documenting their history as dancers, criminals and the impact of the coal mining culture upon them.
Shot cinéma vérité style, the film followed four generations of the White family as they flowed in and out of prison and scrambled to get by in rural West Virginia. The film also featured sequences featuring Jesco White tap dancing, accompanied by Hank Williams III. [6]
The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and was one of the first films distributed by Tribeca Film's distribution arm. It was an immediate success, knocking Best Picture Oscar winner, The Hurt Locker, from Amazon's top video-on-demand spot. It also aired on Showtime. [7]
Upon release, Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing proclaimed it “a masterpiece.” [8] Chris Morris in Variety said “Drinking, gas-huffing, drug dealing and drug-taking (and rehab), brawling, infidelity, armed robbery, attempted murder, incarceration and parole – it's all here. The Whites make Faulkner's Snopeses look like the Royal Family.” [9] A.O. Scott in The New York Times reviewed it favorably, noting, “Its governing spirit, captured in the raucous music that punctuates the story (including songs performed live by Hank Williams III), is one of outlaw celebration. An anthology of country standards unfolds in real life and real time: murder ballads, cheating songs and rebel hollers, with an occasional pause for fatalistic spiritual meditation. One thing is certain, and is in a way the whole point of this fascinating and problematic documentary: The Whites don't care what you or anyone else thinks of them.” [10]
On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 10 critics. [11]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Simple Gifts" | Greg Herzenach & Al Wolovitch | |
| 2. | "D-Ray White" | Hank Williams III | |
| 3. | "Jessico" | The Kentucky Headhunters | |
| 4. | "Mama" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 5. | "Train to Nowhere" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 6. | "Cha Cha Cha-Ching!" | Phil Gough | |
| 7. | "Oh Dem Pills" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 8. | "Straight to Hell" | Hank Williams III | |
| 9. | "Theme of Violence" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 10. | "Party at My Pad" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 11. | "Happy Birthday" | Jesco & Mamie White | |
| 12. | "Lightning When I Need" | Five Horse Johnson | |
| 13. | "No Rules" | GG Allin | |
| 14. | "Whose Baby Are You, Baby?" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 15. | "Sorrow And Pain [Acoustic Mix]" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 16. | "West Virginia White Boy" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 17. | "Diggin’ It" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 18. | "I Love My Job" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 19. | "Mountain Lullaby" | Benedikt Brydern | |
| 21. | "Pine Tree" | Ponty’s Camper | |
| 22. | "Long Day" | Jay Hill and The Dirty Coal River Band | |
| 23. | "Hook and Line" | Ponty’s Camper | |
| 24. | "Darkness Breeds Contempt" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 25. | "Fortified Wine" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 26. | "Big Fat Woman Blues" | Voodoo Whiskey | |
| 27. | "Asphalt Aisle" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 28. | "Double Dealin’ Man" | Heather Marie Marsden and Phil Gough | |
| 29. | "P.F.F" | Hank Williams III | |
| 30. | "Wedding March" | Richard Hardelstein | |
| 31. | "Wedding March Recessional" | Felix Mendelssohn | |
| 32. | "Plague of Angels" | Earth | |
| 33. | "William Morgan" | John Haywood | |
| 34. | "Coal Miner’s Daughter" | Mamie White | |
| 35. | "Coda Maestoso in F (Flat) Minor" | Earth | |
| 36. | "Wild Wild Party" | Charlie Feathers | |
| 37. | "Sick, Sober and Sorry" | Lefty Frizzell with Johnny Bond | |
| 38. | "Fugue for Two Guitars and Spoons" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 39. | "Moss on the Trees" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 40. | "Lonely Holler" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 41. | "Sorrow and Light" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 42. | "Mama [Instrumental Reprise]" | Deke Dickerson | |
| 43. | "Big Ass Happy Family" | Roger Alan Wade |
Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,809. Its county seat is Madison. Boone County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Leading industries and chief agricultural products in Boone County include coal, lumber, natural gas, tobacco, and strawberries.
Bertie County is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Bertie Precinct and gained county status in 1739.
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Julien Nitzberg is an American screenwriter, stage writer, lyricist, theater director and film director, best known in the film world as the director of the documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. In the theater world, Nitzberg is best known for writing the book and lyrics for two musicals. His first musical was "The Beastly Bombing or A Terrible Tale of Terrorists Tamed by the Tangles of True Love." Nitzberg wrote the book and lyrics and directed this musical in Los Angeles and New York. The Beastly Bombing won the LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Musical of the Year. His second musical was "For the Love of a Glove: An Unauthorized Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson As Told By His Glove."
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Donald Ray White, more commonly known as D. Ray White, was an American mountain dancer and entertainer, and the patriarch of the White family. He has been featured in several American documentary films that detail the White family. His style was a subtle mix of tap and clog dancing that is native to the Appalachian Mountains and Appalachia. D. Ray rose to regional stardom before his murder in 1985 and became known as one of the greatest mountain dancers of his time. His son, Jesco White, known as "The Dancing Outlaw," who has also been the subject of several documentaries, has carried on his style and continues to perform.
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