The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

A Masterpiece!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

If you're a fan of 80s movies & TV, you'll have a blast watching "The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag". Released in 1992, I consider this one of the last "80s movies" with an allstar cast (though sadly underrated today).For starters we've got the amazing Faye Grant (remember "V" & "The Greatest American Hero"?) in a role like you've never seen: a frustrated southern belle housewife who's just 1 Gucci away from being trailer park trash. She steals the show in every scene.Then there's William Forsythe (Al Capone in "The Untouchables" TV series, the bad guy in "Out for Justice", etc) who plays such a creepy villain you almost forget you're watching a comedy.It gets better... how about Meatloaf, yes, MEATLOAF in a cameo as "Larry".There's my personal fave, Cathy Moriarty ...or as I like to think of her, the closest thing to Lauren Bacall since Lauren Bacall... as the tough street walker who changes Betty Lou's life. Cathy has played almost every mobster wife in every mobster movie ever made. Absolutely perfect.There's the incomparable Julianne Moore (who's been in everything, but my fave would have to be her recent appearances on 30 Rock) as Betty Lou's nutty slutty sister.How about Alfre Woodard (Betty Applewhite on "Desperate Housewives") as the rookie lawyer who's "defending" Betty Lou against murder charges even though she got her attorney's license through the mail.And that brings us to Betty Lou herself, played by Penelope Ann Miller whom I'll always remember as Winnie, Pee-wee Herman's girlfriend in "Big Top Pee-Wee". She does such a great job as the repressed, oppressed & distressed housewife who decides to go on an adventure for the first time in her mousey life.The director, Allan Moyle, may not be as famous as Spielberg, but he's done some great comedies such as "Pump Up the Volume" and "New Waterford Girl" (two films I highly recommend).There are more actors I didn't recognize until I saw the credits: Catherine Keener (the hot chick in "Being John Malkovich"), Stanley Tucci ("Miami Vice" TV series), and did I mention MEATLOAF? The result of this great lineup is a film which was obviously a lot of fun to make, and it's certainly a lot of fun to watch. Even if you're not familiar with all these people I've mentioned, their colorful characterizations will be very memorable.The story itself is an interesting blend. It's a badass chick flick like "Thelma & Louise" crossed with a small town crime caper like "My Cousin Vinny" and a light thriller like "Get Shorty" wrapped up into one. The presentation, though at times intense, remains breezy throughout, and although there are several murders on screen, it doesn't get too disturbing. They don't make em like this anymore. Like I said earlier, don't miss the chance to see one of the last of the "80s" crime-comedy classics.

I saw this movie on Christmas Day, 2005, having never seen it before. The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag really captures the mood of the early 1990s (has some of that '80s vibe present). Penelope Ann Miller is fun as Betty Lou, and Eric Thal and Cathy Moriarty also give fine performances.The movie is about a repressed, but zany woman who works in a library and is married to a police detective in small-town Missouri. When she happens about a gun one day, one thing leads to another and she ends up firing it, by accident, and later she confesses to killing someone all because she wants a more exciting life and for people to notice her.This movie has the same vibe as some others released in 1992 (Mo' Money, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Jersey Girl)--I do not know how to describe it--I guess it has a sort of innocence that seems to have all but vanished these days. I recommend The Gun In Betty Lou's Handbag for a rainy day.

Spoilers herein.Comedy films like this are cheap. Sometimes they accidentally hit, so a few experiments are worthwhile for the backers. The most common formula is a comedy about the `battle' between the sexes, and the most common `spice' a little violence.This is one of the failures, but you can see that it lacks only a few elements between where it is and a moneymaker… Like say a typical Julia Roberts movie. I think even something as minor as a faster more detached pace and better score could have put this over the edge. All it really needs is a little irony in the camera.Redheads again. There is something in the playbook about redheads and ambiguity that some actresses have tapped: Kate, Cate, Julianne, Nichole. But not Penelope, alas. ` Ted's evaluation: 1 of 3 – You can probably find something better to do with this part of your life.

I saw this movie on TV and I have to admit.. I loved it! I was planning to go to sleep but once this movie came on I watched it all the way through! Although not exactly an Oscar winner, it had a charm all it's own. I think the cast was what made it, I loved Betty Lou and especially Eric Thal as Alex! They had great chemistry and were really cute together! This is a fun cute movie definitely NOT to be taken seriously, but just to sit back and enjoy! It still has a little bit of 80's fun to it.. I think in the 80's a lot of movies were made that would NEVER be made now, but now they are so fun to watch! This had a little bit of that. I dunno, I just loved it!