Crazy in Alabama is a 1999 American crime film directed by Antonio Banderas in his directorial debut and written by Mark Childress based on his novel.

The film follows an abused housewife (Melanie Griffith), whose nephew (Lucas Black) identifies a corrupt sheriff (Meat Loaf) as a murderer.

The town sheriff, John Doggett, inadvertently kills a young black boy, Taylor Jackson, by pulling him off the fence he is climbing and making him hit his head on the floor.

However, the sentence is suspended when she earns the judge's sympathy after testifying to the abuse she received, and she is put on a five-year probation with the condition that she seek psychiatric help.

[2] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "an ungainly fit of three stories that have no business being shoehorned into the same movie," awarding it two out of four stars.

It presents Melanie Griffith as the kind of fanciful creature who looks flirty even on her Wanted poster, and whose escapades en route to Hollywood have a dizzy spin.

"[4] Paula Nechak of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the film "funny, eccentric, and touchingly just, combining a unique interpretation of the time with an offbeat sense of humor.

"[5] Griffith was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for the film, but lost it to Heather Donahue for The Blair Witch Project.