''American Cowslip'' is a 2009 independent American comedy

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

directed by Mark David. It revolves around heroin addict, Ethan Inglebrink, whose life is centered on his garden and his group of eccentric friends. ''American Cowslip'' is David's third film, following his debut, ''Sweet Thing'' (1999), and his second, acclaimed feature, ''Intoxicating'' (2003). It was

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...

's final film role.

Plot

Ethan Inglebrink ( Ronnie Gene Blevens) is an

agoraphobic Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

addict who lives in a homogeneous

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

town where nothing ever happens. A misfit, clad in a powder blue tux, he has convinced his poker buddies, and surrogate moms, Roe (

Diane Ladd Diane Ladd (born Rose Diane Ladner; November 29, 1935) is an American actress. She has appeared in over 200 films and television shows. She received three Academy Award nominations for her roles in '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974), '' ...

), Sandy ( Cloris Leachman), and Lou Anne ( Lin Shaye), that he is

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and his needles are for

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

, not heroin. His next-door neighbor is his landlord and former high school football coach Trevor O'Hart ( Rip Torn), who wants nothing more than to kick Ethan out on the street. Complicating matters even further is that Ethan's older brother Todd (

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

), the local sheriff, is convinced that his brother can only be saved by an act of God, and recruits the family priest (

) to get the job done. Meanwhile, as the Garden of the Year competition draws near, Ethan becomes convinced that he can take the $10,000 top prize and pay off his delinquent rent if he can just grow the perfect American Cowslip. Little does Ethan realize that salvation may lie not in the money he could win for growing a rare flower, but with the companionship and understanding offered by his 17-year-old neighbor Georgia ( Hanna R. Hall), who longs to escape her abusive father (

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Suppo ...

Cast

* Ronnie Gene Blevins as Ethan Inglebrink *

as Todd Inglebrink *

as Roe * Rip Torn as Trevor O'Hart * Cloris Leachman as Sandy * Lin Shaye as Lou Anne * Josh Perry as Billy *

as Father Randolph *

as Cliff * Tom Huddlestone as Rabbi Dave *

Priscilla Barnes Priscilla Barnes (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Terri Alden in the ABC sitcom'' Three's Company'' between 1981 and 1984. Barnes also has appeared in films, including '' A Vacation in Hell'' (1979), ''Licence to ...

as Samantha * Hanna R. Hall as Georgia *

Blake Clark Blake Clark is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as Chet Hunter on '' Boy Meets World'' and Harry Turner on '' Home Improvement''. Clark has voiced Slinky Dog in the ''Toy Story'' franchise starting with 2008's '' Toy Sto ...

as Grimes *

Trevor Lissauer Trevor Ryan Lissauer (born October 29, 1973) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Miles Goodman in ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''. Career Acting Born in Dallas, Dal ...

as Jim Bob * Erik Fellows as Rourke

References

External links

* * 2009 films 2009 comedy films American comedy films 2009 independent films Films set in California Films about drugs 2000s English-language films American independent films 2000s American films English-language independent films {{2000s-US-film-stub