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Daniel Stern, Patricia Richardson, James Caan, Sherry Stringfield, Shaun Johnston ... see more see more... , Tim Abell , Carrie Schiffler

A small-time loser who dreams of the big time discovers just how far wrong a good deed can take him in this black comedy. Frank Jacobs (Daniel Stern) is a guy with perennial bad luck living in a small... read more read more... town in Kansas, where he runs a gone-to-seed motel and is married to Helen (Patricia Richardson), a shrewish woman with a sharp tongue and little affection for her husband. Frank's great dream is to make a career for himself as a country and western singer, and while scrambling for a spot during an open mike night at a roadhouse, he makes the acquaintance of Julie (Lacey Kohl), a fellow singer who is married to past-prime C&W star Roy Baker (James Caan). After a quarrel, Roy leaves Julie by the side of the road, and Frank offers to give her a place to stay for the night. Helen is certain Julie's a home wrecker, and a serious argument erupts between Helen, Frank, and Julie; a gun goes off, and Helen is dead. Certain there's no easy way to explain Helen's death, Frank and Julie bury her in the backyard, and Frank soon finds himself having a fling with the attractive young singer. But before long, Roy arrives, eager to take Julie back whether she likes the idea or not, and matters are complicated when Helen's twin sister Wanda (also played by Richardson) arrives, determined to find out what's become of her sister. Viva Las Nowhere (also shown as Dead Simple) also stars Sherry Stringfield as another aspiring singer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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8% want to see it

828 ratings

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Jason Bloom

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DVD Release Date: August 21, 2001

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Critic Reviews

Wesley Lovell
September 28, 2001
Wesley Lovell, Apollo Guide

Great things come in small packages and this treat of a movie definitely comes in the smallest of cinematic packages. Full Review

Christopher Null
August 19, 2001
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

An amusing time Full Review

Ken Eisner
June 17, 2008
Ken Eisner, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
October 8, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Steve Tilley
March 9, 2002
Steve Tilley, Jam! Movies

Click to read the article Full Review

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Dead Simple Trivia

  • In what 1957 movie did a wrongly-executed man come back from the dead to wreak vengeance on those who dared to have him killed? He was finally re-killed by a simple knife through the heart.  Answer »
  • In which of the three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies did Captain Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp) say the line "I like it, simple easy to remember."  Answer »
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