Guncrazy

A teenager, Anita, murders her stepfather, a sexually abusive man, after he teaches her how to use a gun. Through a misapplied school pen-pal assignment, she meets a prisoner, Howard, whom she seduces back into the world of guns. She marries Howard and decides to show him the remains of her stepfather; Howard helps her dispose of the body. After they dispose of the corpse, Howard commits several homicides, although he was provoked in every instance. After killing a hospital security guard, they go on the run, but are eventually cornered by police in an empty house. Howard convinces Anita to say she was kidnapped and held against her will, then goes down the stairs of the house, where he's killed in a hail of bullets.

• Drew Barrymore as Anita Minteer
• Michael Ironside as Mr. Kincaid, Joy's Father
• James LeGros as Howard Hickok
• Billy Drago as Hank Fulton
• Robert Greenberg as Mr. Sheets
• Rodney Harvey as Tom
• Jeremy Davies as Bill
• Dan Eisenstein as Chuck
• Joe Dallesandro as Rooney
• Ione Skye as Joy Kincaid
• James Oseland as Sally
• Lawrence Steven Meyers as Larry "Crazy Larry"
• Herb Weld as Clyde
• Lee Mary Weilnau as Susan
• Dick Warlock as Sheriff
• Michael Franco as Officer Frank
• Tracey Walter as Elton
• Roger Jackson as Joe
• Zane W. Levitt as Ed Hopper
• Damon Jones as Damian
• Harrison Young as Mr. Hickok, Howard's Father
• Leo Lee as "Soda Pop", Pimp
• Rowena Guinness as Ruby, The Prostitute
• Jaid Barrymore as Woman With Dog
• Diamond The Dog as Schlitzy The Dog

Guncrazy was Tamra Davis' directorial debut, and was written by Matthew Bright. The film was inspired by the 1950 film Gun Crazy, but is not a remake.^[1] Davis originally read the script in 1985 and "loved it because it was one of the few scripts I'd come across that revolved around a strong female character. I then spent years trying to set the picture up and hearing people say, 'Why do you want to make a film about two awful kids who go around killing people?' But that wasn't the picture I saw." According to the Los Angeles Times, Davis was interested in the script because of "the complex psychology of the female lead character, the lower-middle-class milieu where the tale unfolds, and how the story romanticizes the gun." Davis said, "I'd never held a gun before making this movie, I don't own one now and the last thing I want to do is romanticize guns. I wanted to show that America is obsessed with guns, and that if you have them around, bad things can happen because it only takes a second to pull the trigger."^[3]

Barrymore repeatedly called to plead that she play the role of Anita. Davis later said, "I saw her and knew she was perfect. You could see she's been through a lot, and the world has not been easy to her. And yet she has this incredible vulnerability. She's so determined to prove that she's worthy of the Barrymore name." Barrymore said, "Anita was very close to home for me. Not that I was so much like her. I'm not. But I had the best understanding of her than any character I've ever played in my life." Barrymore declined to have a chauffeur drive her to the filming locations, which is commonly done for actors. According to Davis: "She said, 'No, you're not going to treat me like a baby.' She said, 'I can get to work on time on my own.'"^[4]

Merrie Lawson, the film's costume designer, observed girls at Pasadena's Eagle Rock Plaza shopping mall to determine how Barrymore's character should dress: "We were looking for a real-life gutter image. We didn't want it to look like Hollywood. We wanted a little girl, living without a mother, who only can buy clothes every few years. I got everything from the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul's and Goodwill shops." According to Lawson, undersized dresses were chosen for Barrymore "as if they were years old and all of a sudden she grew a bust." Lawson also tie-dyed all of Barrymore's clothing, including the socks, "to give the image of someone who doesn't do laundry very often, and does it all together."^[5]

Filming began on November 10, 1991, in Los Angeles, California,^[6] where a majority of filming occurred. Filming in Los Angeles concluded after 23 days.^[3] Guncrazy's opening shots were filmed in Ely, Nevada.^[7] The film was created at a cost of either $800,000^[3] or $900,000.^[8]

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 1992.^[9][8] The film did not attract much interest from theater exhibitors at the festival, and its distribution rights went to Showtime and Academy Entertainment, which had the highest bids, covering the cost of making the film. In September 1992, the film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was noticed by Los Angeles film consultant Ray Price. The film's producers were asked by Price if he could organize a theatrical release, despite the film being categorized as a television movie and being planned for video release.^[8]

The film began airing on Showtime in October 1992,^[8] and aired five times during that fall.^[1] Price recalled, "I found myself saying to theater people: 'I have this film which has been on television and is coming out on video. Would you like to play it?'"^[8] The film was shown at Los Angeles' Landmark Nuart theater in January 1993, and successfully earned $9,211 after five showings.^[10] Later that month, on January 27, 1993, the film premiered at Manhattan's Film Forum theater for a scheduled two-week period.^[1] In its second weekend at Film Forum, the film's revenue decreased 34 percent as a result of only being shown on one screen instead of two; however, the film still earned a successful $10,302.^[11] In its fourth weekend at Film Forum, revenue decreased 30 percent, earning the film $5,191.^[12] In its sixth weekend at Film Forum, the film earned $3,971, up 19 percent from the previous weekend.^[13]

As of February 1993, the film was also being shown in Dallas, Cleveland, and Seattle, after it earned positive reviews from showings in New York and Los Angeles. Academy Entertainment released the film on VHS on February 24, 1993, while it was still being shown in theaters. At that time, the film had grossed $125,000 from theatrical showings. The New York Times noted that it was unusual for films to be shown in theaters after they have been broadcast on television and released on video.^[8]