Clay Hewitt(Vince Vaughn)is a drifter from Missouri stopping in 1960s Kansas in hope to earn some money. He only has seven bucks in his pocket. He meets some locals, including Joel(Daniel Meyer), Earl(Paul Rudd), Patsy(Jessica Capshaw) and Kitty(Ashley Judd). Earl suggests he look for employment at Delilah Ashford Potts'(Kate Capshaw) feed ranch. Delilah's reputation of sleeping with her hired hands is common place. She demeans her son 'Flyboy', who is traumatized from his father's death. Clay finally fits in with the other workers and of course is a sexual target of his boss lady. Before Clay talks Kitty into moving on to California; he discovers two big Potts family secrets. The strong sexuality earns THE LOCUSTS the R rating. I really like the diverse characters. The photography catches the moodiness of the story.

...in the type and class of 'Cat on a hot tin roof' and 'Summer and smoke'. Jeremy Davies should have won an award for his very talented performance of a difficult role-he's this generation's Anthony Perkins. Vince Vaughn's performance was excellent and moving too, and a meaty role for him-a Marlon Brando-type role, to be sure! Dark, depressed, tragic movie,with an air of inevitability hanging over it, beautifully photographed, with a lovely sound track with several golden oldies. The soundtrack really set a tone and time for the movie, and was at the right volume, unlike so many current artless movies where blasting music or car engines obliterate the dialog. Too bad that the delay of Clay in running after Flyboy at the end of the movie, as Flyboy ran from his mother's bedroom, was not believable-it was obvious that Clay would have ran after his very distraught young friend right away.

This is the second movie in a row that I've watched which has good acting but is let down by a wayward script. I was amazed at Ashley Judd's commanding performance as Kitty. All credit too for Kate Capshaw, Jeremy Davies and Vince Vaughn. The pace of the whole movie was painfully slow and the ending was a huge disappointment. The castrating of bulls was really excessive and unnecessary. Watch this as a measure of how big a star Ashley Judd will become.

A cliche-ridden movie with a lusty widow and a mysterious drifter. And oh yeah, they have secrets. And we know it takes place in the quasi-South since everyone drinks iced tea out of Mason jars. Despite the cliches and sloppy film-making, it's completely enjoyable. Cheesy, corny, fun, sexy and often touching thanks to lovely performances by Vince Vaughn and Jeremy Davies. And someone PLEASE remake Streetcar Named Desire quickly. Vince Vaughn is a star in the making, and he and Ashley Judd sizzle. Stanley and Stella, anyone?