Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

moonspinner55 Inquisitive teenage girl in the modern-day South--selling fish with her grandmother out of their house on the river--forges a friendship with the father she's never known, just out of jail after 13 years. As the paroled ex-con who killed a man during a robbery, Tommy Lee Jones adds some hot-tempered fuel to these otherwise juiceless proceedings. Jones, playing the kind of loner who thaws out quickly, overcomes the manufactured grit and sentiment in this script and manages to give an interesting performance. Debuting director Tom Rickman, who also wrote the cliché-ridden script, allows many of the supporting players to overact mercilessly, while newcomer Martha Plimpton is used as the picture's 'noble conscience' (never a good idea). Rickman has so little faith in the 'family audience' he's targeting with this film, he has Plimpton's tomboyish Jonsy declare she "ain't no lezzy"--this so viewers can relax in the knowledge they're only watching an assembly-line sub-Disney movie and not anything more ambitious. The riverfront milieu is attractive, but the hick stereotypes and shady city-folk are enough to try anyone's patience. *1/2 from ****

Steve Skafte "The River Rat" is very much like a ghost story - not too much depth, but plenty of adventure and cheap thrills to keep you interested. The acting is generally good. Tommy Lee Jones and Brian Dennehy are reliable as ever, if Dennehy's character is a good bit too over-the-top. It was interesting to see Martha Plimpton so young, playing a role very much reminiscent of one she did three years later in "Shy People".This is the only film both written and directed by Thomas Rickman. It's easy to see why. Not to say that the script is necessarily bad - the dialogue is clever, and the characters are fleshed out for the most part. The main weakness is the schizophrenic overall quality of the story he's trying to tell. When he sticks to real life and family drama, it works. When he tries to turn it into a thriller, everything comes crashing down. In theory, Rickman could have filmed it in a way that brought things together, but he tends to direct in a very unrestrained sort of way, lacking the ingenuity to really pull it off.I liked "The River Rat" mainly for it's nice visual feel, and the occasional sense of reality that pushed through the lazier aspects of production. There's a lot of ways it could have been improved, but it makes for good low expectation entertainment. A fun little movie.

philramage I was lucky to be able to watch a lot of the production of River Rat. Several scenes were filmed on the Ohio River at Smithland, Ky, where I lived and also operated the local ambulance service. My Father was a Deputy Sheriff and became very friendly with Tommy Lee Jones during the filming. I also had the honor of having breakfast with Mr. Jones.Smithland was also the location of most of the "Rivers" segments of the classic movie " How The West was Won ". I still have cast photos and autographs from Jimmy Stewart, Agnes Morehead, George Peppard and Debbie Reynolds from that movie. " The River Rat " was and in my opinion is a great movie.

m_hebner I was only 2 years old when this movie was made but I watched a few years later then I understood it, probably the reason I like this movie because it was made here in my home state of Kentucky, but thats not the main reason I like this movie, I also like it because its got action and Drama in it, I love action and drama movies. If any of you are big fans of Tommy Lee Jones then you should see this movie because it is one of his best.