Latest news with #PennyJo
Cosmopolitan
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
The Ending of 'Americana', Explained
A valuable antique Lakota Native American ghost shirt is at the center of the crime thriller Americana as various South Dakotans are all after the garment for their own reasons. There's new couple Penny Jo (Sydney Sweeney) and Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser), who want to sell the ghost shirt—said to be worth $500,000 to $1 million—so they can move to Nashville for Penny Jo's music career. There's Mandy (Halsey), who wants to use the money to flee an abusive relationship along with her son, Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman). There's Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex), who wants the ghost shirt for his museum of Native American artifacts. And then there's a group of Lakota people, called the Red Thunder Society, lead by Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon). They want the shirt back since it is rightfully theirs. All of this leads to car chases and shoot-outs and looks at tough backstories for some of the characters. If you've already watched Americana and want to make sure you followed the ending, read on for a rundown of how it all shakes out. Spoilers, obviously, ahead. Mandy ends up with the ghost shirt when she steals her partner Dillon's (Eric Dane) car after she runs away from their home. Dillon had stolen it from a wealthy art collector (Toby Huss) on behalf of Roy Lee Dean. Mandy drives to her parents' home in Wyoming—a cult controlled by her father that she had escaped from years earlier—because it's heavily guarded and she feels she won't be found there. Of course, all of the other characters are still able to make their way there. Mandy strikes a deal with Roy Lee Dean to sell him the shirt for $100,000, but this doesn't go to plan when the Red Thunder Society and Penny Jo start a gun and crossbow fight. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Bang, bang, bang. Violence, violence, violence. Mandy is injured, but does not die. She, her sisters, and her mother flee the scene and take Mandy to the hospital. After getting bandaged up, she escapes out of a window and goes to find her young son, Cal. Cal, for the entire movie, has claimed to be the reincarnation of Sitting Bull, which caused problems for pretty much everyone as he wasn't very willing to help anyone out. At the end, Cal removes the beaded headband he's been wearing and embraces his mother. Next up: Hopeful country star Penny Jo and her new boyfriend, Lefty, who doesn't even want the money, but just wants her love. Penny and Lefty stalk Mandy to her parents creepy cult house in pursuit of the ghost shirt. It doesn't go well: Penny Jo ends up with her hands tied behind her back and Lefty nearly dead. Eventually, Penny Jo is able to fire her gun and set off the main fight. Penny Jo survives the whole thing and leaves in Mandy's car with the ghost shirt, bags of cash that belonged to Roy Lee Dean, a barely hanging on Lefty, and Cal. Penny lets Cal take the ghost shirt to return to the Red Thunder Society. (He's already dropped it off when he reunites with his mom. People really let this, like, 10-year-old boy be in the middle of nowhere by himself a lot.) Lefty proposes to Penny, but then immediately dies of his gun woulds. Penny Jo leaves him propped up in a random field next to a six-pack of beer, and sets off on her trip to Nashville with her bags of cash. Well, obviously he doesn't end up with the ghost shirt. Roy Lee is killed in the fight by Ghost Eye, meaning all of the cash he brought with him is up for grabs. It ends up mostly with Penny Jo, but the cult escapees get some, too. Ghost Eye describes his group, the Red Thunder Society, as being like the Black Panthers. Many members of the group show up to the final battle to fight to get the ghost shirt back for themselves. Some are killed or injured while others survive, including Ghost Eye, who kills Roy Lee. He also is the one who finds Cal and gets the shirt from him. The last scene shows Penny Jo driving off and singing the very apt "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" by her idol Dolly Parton. Guess Penny will have a lot to write about herself after all she's been through! Those will be some pretty dark songs.
Daily Telegraph
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Telegraph
Sydney Sweeney's real controversy is her terrible new movie
Don't miss out on the headlines from New Movies. Followed categories will be added to My News. REVIEW Who cares about a jeans ad? Sydney Sweeney's real controversy is the bell-bottom-of-the-barrel quality of her new movie, Americana. Newish, that is. The wannabe Western crime drama premiered at South by Southwest back in March 2023 and is only now skulking into some cinemas. It's a violently annoying and annoyingly violent ensemble piece speckled with 'look how wacky we are!' characters that are impossible to put up with; a copycat Coen Brothers yarn with the depth of a tortilla. The cast breakdown reads like a parody. Sydney Sweeney's latest movie to hit cinemas, 'Americana', is 'terrible'. Sweeney plays Penny Jo, a shy South Dakota waitress who dreams of becoming a country singer but has a stammer. We are supposed to accept that the constantly photographed Sweeney is a wallflower nobody pays any attention to. The actress' fake speech impediment, meanwhile, comes off both rehearsed and not nearly rehearsed enough. Penny Jo finally gets some human face time with a creepy loser. That's Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser), a breathy schlub who has proposed to four women this year alone. Despite his name, he's right-handed and tells everybody that. There's a little boy named Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman), who insists he's the reincarnation of Sitting Bull, and shoots his mum's abusive boyfriend, Dillon (Eric Dane), with an arrow. Sweeney plays an aspiring country music singer. He links up with Native American Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), the leader of a gun-totin' group that protects their tribal legacy with rifles. He says he took his moniker from the Forest Whitaker indie 'Ghost Dog.' And spitfire Mandy (Halsey) has escaped from her father's Warren Jeffs-type sex cult. And on and on. I was fed up with 'Americana' by minute 10, and the succeeding 100 did nothing to change my mind. Everybody in this quirk brigade is trying to get their hands on a rare Native American ghost shirt that's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ghost Eye wants the garment for its historic significance. The rest are hungry for the cash. At one point, a group of pretentious rich snobs displays it in their living room. The points writer-director Tony Tost makes are painfully obvious. Based on her prominence on the poster, you'd think so-so Sweeney is the lead. But the roles are equal in size — and irritation — and if there is any focal point, it's Halsey's Mandy, who has a meatier arc. Though, spoiler alert, Penny Jo finds her voice at the end, our eyes remain desert dry. Sweeney attended the "Americana" special screening in early August. Picture:for Lionsgate Tost bets that eccentricities will distract from his meandering, repetitive story, which amounts to an object changing hands a few times. Under more assured direction, the shoddy script could have amounted to something mediocre at least. When the Coens or Quentin Tarantino amp up the weird in their dark depictions of a dusty America, they do so with unsettling style and an enticingly skewed vision of reality to match. Of course, they, unlike Tost, also write strong screenplays. His 'Americana' is lifelessly visualised. Eye candy? Eye toothpaste. Pair pat-on-the-back lofty themes with bland imagery and artificially kooky characters speaking hokey, unconvincing dialogue, and you get a great big bore. Americana ends on a bloody standoff, an emotional death and a heartfelt reunion. And it's all as engrossing and moving as a tumbleweed. This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission Originally published as Sydney Sweeney's real controversy is her terrible new movie
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sydney Sweeney's real controversy is her terrible new movie
REVIEW Who cares about a jeans ad? Sydney Sweeney's real controversy is the bell-bottom-of-the-barrel quality of her new movie, Americana. Newish, that is. The wannabe Western crime drama premiered at South by Southwest back in March 2023 and is only now skulking into some cinemas. It's a violently annoying and annoyingly violent ensemble piece speckled with 'look how wacky we are!' characters that are impossible to put up with; a copycat Coen Brothers yarn with the depth of a tortilla. The cast breakdown reads like a parody. Sweeney plays Penny Jo, a shy South Dakota waitress who dreams of becoming a country singer but has a stammer. We are supposed to accept that the constantly photographed Sweeney is a wallflower nobody pays any attention to. The actress' fake speech impediment, meanwhile, comes off both rehearsed and not nearly rehearsed enough. Penny Jo finally gets some human face time with a creepy loser. That's Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser), a breathy schlub who has proposed to four women this year alone. Despite his name, he's right-handed and tells everybody that. There's a little boy named Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman), who insists he's the reincarnation of Sitting Bull, and shoots his mum's abusive boyfriend, Dillon (Eric Dane), with an arrow. He links up with Native American Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), the leader of a gun-totin' group that protects their tribal legacy with rifles. He says he took his moniker from the Forest Whitaker indie 'Ghost Dog.' And spitfire Mandy (Halsey) has escaped from her father's Warren Jeffs-type sex cult. And on and on. I was fed up with 'Americana' by minute 10, and the succeeding 100 did nothing to change my mind. Everybody in this quirk brigade is trying to get their hands on a rare Native American ghost shirt that's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ghost Eye wants the garment for its historic significance. The rest are hungry for the cash. At one point, a group of pretentious rich snobs displays it in their living room. The points writer-director Tony Tost makes are painfully obvious. Based on her prominence on the poster, you'd think so-so Sweeney is the lead. But the roles are equal in size — and irritation — and if there is any focal point, it's Halsey's Mandy, who has a meatier arc. Though, spoiler alert, Penny Jo finds her voice at the end, our eyes remain desert dry. Tost bets that eccentricities will distract from his meandering, repetitive story, which amounts to an object changing hands a few times. Under more assured direction, the shoddy script could have amounted to something mediocre at least. When the Coens or Quentin Tarantino amp up the weird in their dark depictions of a dusty America, they do so with unsettling style and an enticingly skewed vision of reality to match. Of course, they, unlike Tost, also write strong screenplays. His 'Americana' is lifelessly visualised. Eye candy? Eye toothpaste. Pair pat-on-the-back lofty themes with bland imagery and artificially kooky characters speaking hokey, unconvincing dialogue, and you get a great big bore. Americana ends on a bloody standoff, an emotional death and a heartfelt reunion. And it's all as engrossing and moving as a tumbleweed.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Sydney Sweeney's 'Tarantio-esque' thriller release date and trailer
The new Western thriller is already picking up rave reviews from critics Sydney Sweeney is back on the silver screen in Tony Tost's new Western thriller, Americana. The movie serves as Tost's first stint in the director's chair, although he's known for his writing on Netflix's hit series Longmire. His directorial debut has been met with enthusiasm, boasting an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on early critiques. What's more, the 50-year-old director is being likened to legendary filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino. IndieWire's verdict praises Americana, describing it as "a film that plays out like an early Tarantino movie directed by the Coen brothers, while never feeling derivative of either of the filmmakers." But when will audiences be able to see it and who joins Sweeney in the cast? Here's the lowdown, reports the Mirror US. When does Americana come out? Americana premiered at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival in 2023, where it initially enjoyed a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. After a lengthy two-year anticipation, the gripping thriller is set to hit the big screen on Friday, August 22. What is Americana about? The narrative centres around a heist involving a shy waitress named Penny Jo and a military vet called Lefty Ledbetter, who team up to get their hands on a rare Native American artefact. The official synopsis states: "After the artefact falls onto the black market, a shy waitress with big dreams teams up with a lovelorn military veteran to gain possession of it, putting them in the crosshairs of a ruthless criminal working on behalf of a Western antiquities dealer. "Bloodshed ensues when others join the battle, including the leader of an indigenous group and a desperate woman fleeing her mysterious past." Who stars in Americana? Euphoria actors Sweeney and Eric Dane are back together in Americana, with Sweeney taking on the role of waitress Penny Jo and Dane portraying the ruthless criminal Dillon MacIntosh. They're joined by Grammy nominee Halsey, who plays Mandy Starr, a desperate woman escaping her dangerous past along with her son Cal (played by up-and-comer Gavin Maddox Bergman). Hollywood big-hitter Paul Walter Hauser also features as Lefty Ledbetter, hot off his box office run in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Naked Gun. Rounding out the cast is Fargo's Zahn McClarnon, who steps into the role of Native American group leader Ghost Eye. Americana lands in cinemas on Friday, August 22
