nebraska

Director: alexander payne

Actor: bruce dern,will forte,june squibb,bob odenkirk

Data Published: Fri Dec 06 2013

Genres: Adventure,Comedy,Drama

Key Words: billings montana,small town,dementia,confronting the past,grumpy old man

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821549/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_(film)

Description: Nebraska is a movie starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, and June Squibb. An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

Plot: In Billings, Montana, a police officer arrives and discovers Woody Grant walking around in the traffic. Woody is picked up by his son David, who learns that Woody wants to go to Lincoln, Nebraska, to collect a million dollar sweepstakes prize he believes he has won. When David sees the sweepstakes letter, he knows immediately that it is a mail scam designed to get gullible people to purchase magazine subscriptions. David brings his father home, where his mother Kate becomes increasingly annoyed by Woody's insistence on collecting the money. After Woody is picked up again trying to get to Nebraska, David and his brother Ross discuss putting Woody in a retirement home. David pays a visit with his ex-girlfriend, Noel, who returns his belongings and refuses to move back in with him. Their conversation is cut short by a call from Kate reporting that Woody has taken off once again. David retrieves Woody and decides to drive him all the way to Lincoln, much to Kate's dismay. While in Rapid City, South Dakota, Woody goes on a bender and hits his head while stumbling back to their motel room. David takes him to the hospital to get his head stitched up. David learns that they will be passing through Woody's hometown of Hawthorne, Nebraska, and suggests they spend the night with Woody's family. Woody is against the idea, but they end up going anyway. They stay with Woody's brother Ray, his wife, and their two sons, Cole and Bart. Woody and David visit a mechanic shop Woody once co-owned, followed by some beers at a bar. When David brings up Woody's alcoholism and problems within the family—with Woody implying that he did not love Kate nor really want children—they get into an argument. At another bar, they meet Ed Pegram, whom the family blames for stealing Woody's air compressor decades ago. Over David's objections, Woody mentions winning the money and the barflies toast his good fortune. The next day, they learn that the news has spread through the town like wildfire. Kate arrives by bus in Hawthorne, where David escorts his parents to the cemetery. Kate pays her respects there while providing some colorful history on Woody's relatives, particularly their sex lives. A local newspaper owner wants to run a story about Woody and his sweepstakes "victory." She is an old lover of Woody's and provides David with some background about his father, including how he was affected and turned to alcohol after being shot down during the Korean War. That night, Ed corners David in the men's room about some money Ed loaned Woody years ago that he wants back, threatening legal action. The rest of Woody's family, including Ross, come to visit him. Cole and Bart, and others approach David and Ross about their share of the money that they believe Woody owes them. A fight begins, ending abruptly with Kate calling out the relatives for their own unpaid debts. David, Kate, Ross and Woody tour the former's childhood home, which has fallen into disrepair. They drive past a house Kate identifies as Ed's, so David and Ross conspire to steal back the air compressor. Kate soon realizes that the house actually belongs to another couple. She distracts the homeowners so David and Ross can quickly return the stolen compressor. At the bar, asking Woody for money, Ed reveals that Woody cheated on Kate before David's birth. As they leave, they are attacked by a masked Bart and Cole, who escape with the sweepstakes letter. They later tell David they threw it away after finding out it was a scam. Nevertheless, David and Woody go searching for it. They enter a bar where they find Ed reading the letter aloud to the other patrons, humiliating Woody. After Woody takes the letter back and goes outside, David punches Ed in the face. Woody has repeatedly said he wants to buy a truck with the money. He cannot drive any more, but Woody tells his son that he also wants to leave something for his family when he passes. David says that they are not going to Lincoln, at which point Woody collapses. David takes him to the hospital in Norfolk. In the middle of the night, Woody abruptly leaves and starts walking, so David relents and drives Woody to Lincoln. They arrive at the marketing agency, where they are told that Woody did not have the winning number. He is given a consolation gift of a hat that reads "Prize Winner". David goes to an auto dealership and trades in his Subaru for a late-model truck that his father always wanted, along with a new craftsman air compressor. While driving back through Hawthorne, David lets Woody take the wheel for all to see, hiding below the dash to allow Woody to feel that his days of independence are not over yet. Among them is Woody's former flame who smiles at him, a nonplussed Ed with a black eye, and Woody's brother Albert. Woody waves goodbye and drives out of town, then stops in the middle of the road and switches seats with David, who takes them the rest of the way back home.