Review: Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

In Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, the hurt remains 20 years after one member of the small West Texas town of McCarthy fled in shame and terror. Being different here—in any way—does not exist, even now, in 1975, when a group of friends return for a reunion of the Disciples of James Dean, fans of the actor who filmed the movie Giant nearby.

Two sets of actors play the main “disciples”: Deni Scofield and Katie Peters in the challenging role of the somewhat delusional, but mostly functional Mona now and then, respectively; and Toody Lawrence and Tylar Traum as sexpot Sissy now and then. Others in the cast include Shirley Sayers as diner operator Juanita, Janine La Forge as Stella Mae, Nichole Schallig as Edna Louise, Chris Jensen as the tormented Joe, and Michelle Champoux as Joanne, a returnee no one seems to remember.

John Ewing meticulously directs the comedy-drama that mixes scenes and characters from two eras, all of which take place in the same five-and-dime.