The 'neighbours' analyzed

I have seen this movie a few times now, and it always strikes me, how Robin's character's family treats these fun, energetic, friendly neighbours like dirt. They seem to be so endearing, helpful, kind and so on.

However, I am starting to see that this family and the situations are more complicated than you'd normally remember. When you watch this movie analyzing all this, it starts to become clear.

First, this 'trailer family' seems to be your typical riff-raff, they love the lowest common denominator stuff, they perform amateur musical number to strangers and think that's normal, and that they don't need to polish the notes they sing (especially the daughter, that slides -just- past the correct ones), and they live in a trailer, do homeschooling and have a dubious way of 'making a living' (I could talk about -this- particular weird topic for horus and not scratch the surface, but I'll let it go for now).

All in all, these people come off as some tedious rednecks that everyone would rather just .. Runaway [sic] from.

I think this is Robin's (I just call the character 'Robin', as I can't remember the name) family sees them - some obnoxious riff-raff that impose their low-life crap upon them, whereas their family is used to a more high-brow lifestyle.

It's easy to blame Robin's family for it, especially when he keeps cracking those awful 'jokes', like 'hooking?' - come on, that job would've gotten them WAY more than 60 thousand a year - especially with a .. let's say 'good-bodied blonde Leo like that'.

But watching this movie, it's easy to see WHY he is so apprehensive and unappreciative (well, maybe not this one fully, but still) of these new, talkative folks.

The 'cowboy family' is actually intrusive, pushy, overbearing and overwhelming. Think about those four qualities in a family - you wouldn't want to be intruded, pushed, overbearificated (?) or whelmed over.

Their meetings are not a harmonious, organic affair, where two families find they have common interests and become more and more interested in each other's company and excited about showing things to each other, but it's more like they are not given the freedom to say no, they don't have the freedom of choice, they other family just pushes themselves upon them with big force.

So they are pushy, intrusive and all that, that can easily trigger a flight response in anyone, no matter how kind you are otherwise.

The problem IS that this family actually turns out to be kind, accepting, helpful, self-sacrificing, appreciative, friendly, noble and even intelligent and very competent.

So here we have an interesting dilemma, almost paradox - we have a family that's intrusive, pushy, overbearing and overwhelming, but also at the same time kind, accepting, inviting, friendly, helpful and so on.

It's easy to love this 'trailer family', and forget just how pushy and intrusive they actually are.

The dynamic between these two families is very interesting, because you get a full load of both barrels - on one, you get all this overbearing awfulness, but on the other, you get this angel-like love and kindness as well. These are good people, that just don't know how to respect other people's natural and organic boundaries, let alone 'social boundaries' and whatnot.

I have never really seen something like this in a movie before (or since), because they are not a villain, they are definitely good people, but at the same time, you can easily see why someone would want to Runaway (tm) from them. In the end, it's almost hard to know what to feel about them, except that their charm and kindness will win you over at some point in the movie, or you have no soul.

I want to see more this kind of excellent writing and character study, it's pretty unique and very interesting, and it's hard to write characters this solid and lovable, while still making them a bit overbearing and annoying at the same time. This is not your normal, everyday garbage bin movie (I think I paid about the equivalent of around a dollar for it), this movie actually contains some brilliance buried under all that (in-movie literal) fecal matter.

I would be a bit appalled at first, but in the end, I would probably grow to love neighbours like this - they don't have an evil thought amidst them, and that shining and all-permeating goodness redeems all.