Review: County Line

This past Saturday night I was waiting for Darling Hubby to come home from our house in the country.

I'd finished my writing and was flipping through Netflix and Prime Video, looking for some mindless entertainment.

On Prime Video, I came across County Line, starring Tom Wopat, Jeff Fahey, Patricia Richardson, Grant Goodeve, and Abbi Butler.

About County Line

When his best friend (Jeff Fahey) is brutally gunned down, a former sheriff (Tom Wopat) is left with many questions and no answers.

After the investigation stalls and his replacement turns a blind eye, he takes the case into his own hands.

Why I Watched

When our youngest daughter was in elementary school, The Dukes of Hazzard came on television every afternoon. She loved that show! I thought it was the most amazing thing that she loved it so much. To be honest, I'd listen as I prepared dinner, but I'd never actually watched an episode.

However, that hugely popular TV show is part of the cultural fabric of our country which is why there were reunion TV movies and 2 forgettable big screen versions which, I understand, all the fans hated.

So I was interested to see this production starring Tom Wopat. To my surprise, and I don't mean to sound elitist, the movie was quite entertaining.

Wopat and Fahey, two veterans who've toiled away in guest spots and B movies know their craft.

The movie reminded me of the TV series Justified, one of the best series ever, which starred Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, and Nick Searcy.

It has that same "down home" feeling you'll recognize if you grew up in a small town.

Wopat and Fahey are perfect as the Sheriffs in adjoining southern counties. They know everyone and their families and take law enforcement seriously and professionally.

The best scenes for me were the ones with Wopat and Abbi Butler who played his daughter. They were emotionally convincing. Ms. Butler was perffect as the only child of a lawman who taught her everything she needed to know.

I watched the take-down scene a couple of times. That was where several men tried to intimidate her and her father, and it didn't turn out so well for the men.

Some enterprising television producer ought to fill the gap created by the cancellation of Longmire.

A series about Sheriff Alden (All Out) Rockwell, played by Wopat, and Sheriff Clint Thorne, played by Fahey would have a good chance of being a hit.

There's a market for that kind of small town, smart sheriff kind of show! Plus, there's the nostalgia factor. Maybe AARP should produce it since most TV and movie producers think a series and/or a movie should always appeal to the under 45 crowd.

Will they ever realize that the over-45 crowd has far more money to spend and will spend it for good products?

Takeaway Truth

All in all, I have to give this surprising film a thumbs up.