{"id":33291,"date":"2026-04-06T16:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33291"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:36:25","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-randy-and-the-mob-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33291","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: RANDY AND THE MOB (2007)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray from Lightyear Entertainment will be\nreleased on April 7th<\/sup>, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m not an authority when it comes to comedies set in the\nSouth. I suppose I\u2019ve seen some Burt Reynolds pictures from the 1970s and 80s,\nand one could argue that the great O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em> from the\nCoen Brothers might qualify, but the latter hardly seems like an authentic,\nhomegrown comedy. However, the low-budget indie comedy Randy and the Mob<\/em>\n(or Randy & the Mob<\/em>) is most definitely a title that would qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film is noted for managing to bring together an\nimpressive cast that includes Ray McKinnon, a young Walton Goggins (who has\nsince shot to fame with roles in Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight<\/em>,\nand programs like Justified<\/em> and, most recently, White Lotus<\/em>),\nLisa Blount, and even Burt Reynolds himself. Because it was a small film, this\ncult item hasn\u2019t been easy to find for some time, but a new Blu-ray from\nLightyear Entertainment is correcting that issue. While the movie isn\u2019t\nperfect, it is a surprisingly sweet, low-key feature that offers chuckles and\nallows viewers to see a rising star early in his career. The disc also contains\na couple of great extras that make it a worthwhile purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randy Pearson (Ray McKinnon, who also wrote, directed and\nco-produced the movie) is a smalltown Georgia-based, sweet-natured wannabe\nbusiness tycoon whose big plans are falling apart. He owes big money to the IRS\nand loan shark Franco (Paul Ben-Victor) who has ties to the mob. Randy\u2019s gas\nstop\/cold storage operation is losing money, as is the restaurant he co-owns,\nnot to mention every other endeavor he attempts. Even his dance instructor wife\nCharlotte (Lisa Blount) is in a dark place. She is depressed over being\ndiagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, noting she will not be able to teach\nchildren to twirl batons and thus should end her career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Randy is also at odds with his estranged gay twin brother Cecil (also McKinnon) and his sibling\u2019s life partner Bill (Tim DeKay). Despite his inability to pay debts, associate Franco wants to control that cold storage business and insists that a mob fixer be sent in to streamline Randy\u2019s businesses. Tino Armani (Walton Goggins) arrives, who is as blunt and straight-forward as it gets (to the point of appearing to be on the Autism spectrum). He spouts philosophy with a Southern drawl, and not only reprioritizes Randy\u2019s businesses, but personal life as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a quirky little movie, where much of the humor does\ncome from Tino. While one expects him to be a dangerous thug, the character\u2019s\nunique speaking tone and ability to make characters question their life\nchoices, open up and come together for the betterment of all, is surprising and\namusing to witness. Some of the sight gags are particularly funny, as Tino\ngives lessons on clogging at Charlotte\u2019s studio, encourages and teaches Randy\u2019s\nson how to better play soccer, and shares \u201cinspirational\u201d stories that\noccasionally have very violent aspects which receive appropriate double-takes\nfrom listeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Goggins is very amusing in the role, and McKinnon is fun to\nwatch as the exasperated, struggling lead who can\u2019t wheel or deal in spite of\nhis best efforts (a scene with Burt Reynolds entertainingly shows off his lack\nof bargaining skills). There are also a couple of broad but effective physical\ngags involving the land falling into a particularly nasty pile of garbage while\nat a dump, signaling the character at his absolute lowest. The actor also does\na great job with Cecil, the more reasonable, financially astute and\nlevel-headed brother whom Randy may be secretly envious of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are definitely plenty of quirks on display with all\nthe characters, but they are sensitively delivered and the film has an\naffability that makes it easy to understand how it connected with audiences at\nfilm festivals and in limited release. For a comedy made on a very limited\nbudget, the entire cast are fun to watch and the movie is pleasing and far more\neffective than one might expect.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to the specs released by Lightyear Entertainment,\nthe film has been newly restored from the original film elements for this\nrelease. Again, this is a low-budget indie film, which means that it was\nproduced quickly and isn\u2019t razor sharp image-wise. There are dirt marks here\nand there, as well as a shot or two with a little bit of damage (which may have\nactually been on the negative). But generally, the image looks clean and boasts\na healthy, strong appearance that is likely vastly superior to any previous\nedition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extras are another big plus. There is a making-of\npromotional piece that is actually full of interesting facts about the\nproduction and those involved. You\u2019ll learn that McKinnon met Goggins met on\nthe 1990 TV-movie Murder in Mississippi <\/em>and eventually became great\nfriends, along with McKinnon\u2019s wife, the late Lisa Blount (whom genre movie\nfans will know from Dead & Buried, Prince of Darkness, Blind Fury<\/em>\nand Needful Things<\/em>, the latter of which also featured McKinnon as town\ndeputy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The three produced the Academy Award winning short The\nAccountant<\/em> (2001), as well as the festival award-winning feature Chrystal\n<\/em>(2004) which starred Blount and Billy Bob Thornton. McKinnon notes that\nafter making the very depressing and grim Chrystal<\/em>, the three really\nwanted the opportunity to create something lighter and more upbeat. He also\nmentions some of the stereotypes of southerners in Hollywood movies and wanted\nto create a more authentic movie about the quirks and lives of the\nmiddle-class. The featurette also goes into the shooting of several of the more\nchallenging scenes, including the stunt at the dump, which McKinnon ended up\nperforming himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As noted, the disc also contains the Oscar-winner The\nAccountant<\/em>. It runs 40-minutes and is a slightly darker (but still very\nfunny) take on a similar theme. Struggling farmer David O\u2019Dell (Eddie King) is\nabout to lose his property. While his wife and family are out of town, he and\nhis brother Tommy (Walton Goggins) get a visit from a fast-talking figure\nreferred to only as The Accountant (Ray McKinnon), who presents options on how\nthey can salvage the land. As the brusque number-cruncher goes over receipts,\nhe identifies purchases from his wife that lead to shocking assertions. And as\nthe trio continue talking, Eddie\u2019s options become increasingly bleak, with a\nlife insurance policy seeming like one of the few means of getting the family\nout of debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film has a couple of interesting twists too. It\u2019s\nexceptional and obviously, as someone who has seen plenty of Oscar-nominated\nshorts, this is one of the best that I have come across. The image quality on\ndisplay isn\u2019t as crisp or impressive as the main feature, but it’s remarkable\nto even have the opportunity to own it on Blu-ray, so that alone makes it\nworthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Blu-ray also arrives with trailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not a Southerner, but Randy and the Mob<\/em> and The\nAccountant<\/em> are very impressive independent efforts that feel real, skew\nstereotypes and present fuller characters than others set in this part of the\ncountry. The main feature is sweet-natured, promoting tolerance and\nunderstanding, while the latter shines with its darker sense of humor. Both are\nvery enjoyable and those interested in them will be impressed with this Blu-ray\ncollection from Lightyear Entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray from Lightyear Entertainment will be released on April 7th, 2026. I\u2019m not an authority when it comes to comedies set in the South. I suppose I\u2019ve seen some Burt Reynolds pictures from the 1970s and 80s, and one could argue that the great O Brother, Where Art Thou? from the Coen Brothers might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[156,2604,3696,4660,12379,12478,15537,16642,16643,16644,16645,16646,16647,16695,19844,23950],"class_list":["post-33291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-156","tag-best-live-action-short","tag-burt-reynolds","tag-comedy","tag-lightyear-entertainment","tag-lisa-blount","tag-oscar-winner-2","tag-randy-the-mob","tag-randy-the-mob-blu-ray","tag-randy-the-mob-blu-ray-review","tag-randy-and-the-mob","tag-randy-and-the-mob-blu-ray","tag-randy-and-the-mob-blu-ray-review","tag-ray-mckinnon","tag-the-accountant","tag-walton-goggins"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}