True Stories

PG

1986

1 hr. 29 min.

Comedy

List

79%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Talking Heads singer David Byrne plays host to this bizarre patchwork of tabloid-inspired tales, set in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. Cruising the streets in his cherry-red drop-top, Byrne introduces viewers to the local eccentrics gearing up for the town's 150th anniversary. They include a community leader (Spalding Gray) with a thing for veggies, a woman (Swoosie Kurtz) so lazy she won't leave her bed, a lovelorn country singer (John Goodman) and more!

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Premiered Jan 01

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Critics Consensus

Its kitschy leanings may wear thin on some, but True Stories is a disarmingly big-hearted, dreamy vision of Americana.

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Courtney K

gosh; this has been on my list to rate for a while now - i watched it maybe a month ago & i don't remember anything about it besides John Goodman's character & David Byrne himself. so i guess i must not have liked it that much, haha.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

SICKS6SIX

Just watched this film for the 1st time. watch it if you haven't as it is funny.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/30/22

Full Review

andres s

I love how quirky, offbeat and sarcastic David sounds. As if he's a presenter who doesn't really want to be presenting lol. But I think that's just the lovable way he is. I loved all the information he was giving. Explaining to us the beginnings of our country and how much war and violence there was between different cultures and settlers. It really was nasty business. "The Marshmeeaallow!" and "Yup, it's fancy driving alright" were fucking hilarious. David really has a great and unique sense of humor. Real wholesome and sweet how he had all those random people singing Wild Wild Life as karaoke. That was great. It's a clever little satire on American culture and its people. All the ridiculousness that goes on in this country. I mean look at the lady that doesn't get out of her bed because she can afford to do so, and look at the lady that has all these ridiculous stories about hooking up with presidents and selling things to secret service agents and CIA. And let's not forget the fashion shows. Which by the way those outfits during that fashion show were so silly and outrageous lol. So much random humor lmao I love it. David really let his comedic genius shine in this movie. The satirization of commercialism and advertising are at the centerfold of this movie. That whole commercial sequence with all the Talking Heads members was brilliant. Getting doused with chocolate and what not. I was pleasantly surprised by John Goodman's singing. He's got some pretty decent singing chops. It's an observational movie more than anything. We're looking through the eyeglass of David and how he sees the world, namely certain parts of our country, like Texas. Although filled with charming personalities/performances and genuine vibes, it's kind of devoid of anything really new or mentally stimulating. I don't really feel the urge to want to watch it again, which is kind of sad and unfortunate, but true. There were some odd moments like the black dude who looked like he was doing voodoo. There was too much importance put on that for no reason I feel like, it was confusing. I'd download it but I don't think I'd ever buy it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

mean m

Great performance by Hart and the ever reliable Wesley Snipes. A great ride that keeps you on the edge right to the end! 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ballooning consumerism, mall culture, American isolationism, and how rugged individualism has given way to increasingly soulless corporate consolidation are readily explored throughout, but with an infectious heartbeat and playful quirk. Amid the unspoken dire nature of the observations of Virgil As Western Civilization, Byrne goes the extremely rare extra steps to uncover the human beauty in the intents, however misfired and ridiculous they may be. Thus, True Stories emerges as the musical missing link between Wes Anderson and John Carpenter's They Live, a bright forerunner if there ever was one.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Without a clear direction or point of view, this movie misses the mark. It's never clear if this is satire, social commentary or just a vehicle to advertise the band's most recent album at the time. There are charming moments, but just as many dull ones, with a mediocre narrative attempting to weave them all together.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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David Byrne

Director

David Byrne

Narrator

Swoosie Kurtz

Miss Rollings

John Goodman

Louis Fyne

Annie McEnroe

Kay Culver

Spalding Gray

Earl Culver

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

An exuberant and wonderfully oddball stew of deadpan comedy, character drama, music video, and art installation.

Oct 29, 2016

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is not a musical. It's a bold attempt to paint a bizarre American landscape. This movie does what some painters try to do: It recasts ordinary images into strange new shapes.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Peter Sobczynski

The Spool

I still find True Stories to be an endearingly weird and charming film that still holds up pretty well today.

Oct 13, 2021

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

It would be queasily, dishonestly wholesome if it weren't a) so much fun-the surrealist fashion show! "Wild Wild Life"!, and also b) so penetrating, so willing to expose while still giving the benefit of the doubt.

Oct 23, 2020

Full Review

Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

An organic mixture of poetry and irony, tenderness and sharpness, and a sense of the ordinary and the incredible. [Full Review in Spanish]

Apr 10, 2020

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

Byrne brings [his] big-hearted love of the nakedly quotidian to his first directorial effort...

Rated: 7/10

Mar 11, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Talking Heads singer David Byrne plays host to this bizarre patchwork of tabloid-inspired tales, set in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. Cruising the streets in his cherry-red drop-top, Byrne introduces viewers to the local eccentrics gearing up for the town's 150th anniversary. They include a community leader (Spalding Gray) with a thing for veggies, a woman (Swoosie Kurtz) so lazy she won't leave her bed, a lovelorn country singer (John Goodman) and more!

Director: David Byrne
Executive Producer: Edward R. Pressman
Screenwriter: David Byrne, Beth Henley, Stephen Tobolowsky
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.6M
Sound Mix: Surround

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