City Slickers

Rating:
Summary: Good Comedy, Very Good Movie
Review: My first inclination was to give "City Slickers" a 4-star rating. Purely as a comedy it's good, it has some very funny moments, but it's not a classic of the genre. It starts with three friends, each of whom has reached midlife and found himself somewhere other than where he wanted to be. The three are also accustomed to taking very adventurous trips together. Personal issues come to a head early in the film, and the three "city slickers" find themselves on a real cattle drive as their latest adventure. Throw in a crusty trail boss, an attractive female "city slicker", some cowboys who drink too much, and a herd of cattle and you get some very funny moments. Most of the humor takes place in the initial two-thirds of the story, however. The last part of this film has something more meaningful to say about the importance of family and friends, about the meaning of life, and about finishing what you start. Some folks will find this trite, but I think most guys reach a point in their lives where they could identify with one of the three main characters in this story. Moreover, the "bittersweet" ending has an uncommonly realistic feel to it, as Tom Keogh points out. For me, it is this last part that moves this flick up that extra notch to 5-star status. This is a first-rate movie, probably Billy Crystal's best, and one that I think most people will enjoy. If you've never seen it, give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Comedies of the Ninties.
Review: New Yorker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) turns 39 and thinking that he will be misrable for the rest of his life. Then his two best friends (Daniel Stern & Bruno Kirby) offer a present to Mitch by bringing him to a cattle drive in New Mexico. Then mitch's life start to change unexpectedly by going on his fantasy vacation with his friends. They are set out to find thier freedom and thier adventure, they will remember for a life time.

Directed by Ron Underwood (Tremors, Heart & Souls, Mighty Joe Young-Remake) made a extremely likeable entertaining ambitious comedy. Crystal, Stern, Kirby and Jack Palance's wonderful Oscar Winning Performance makes this Contemporary Comedy Classic really worth watching. Crystal also Executive Produced the film. There's a nice music score by Marc Shaiman (South Park:Bigger, Longer & Uncut). DVD's has an fine anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD only extra is the Original Theatrical Trailer. This is Wonderfully Written by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (City Slickers 2:The Legend of Curly's Gold). Watch for Jeffery Tambor, Yearley Smith, Robert Contanzo, Jake Gyllenhall, Danielle Harris and that's Crystal real-life Daughter-Lindsay Crystal playing his Daughter in the flim. One of the highest grossing films of 1991. This is One of the Best & Most memorable comedies ever made, see it. Grade:A.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Comedies of the Ninties.
Review: New Yorker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) turns 39 and thinking that he will be misrable for the rest of his life. Then his two best friends (Daniel Stern & Bruno Kirby) offer a present to Mitch by bringing him to a cattle drive in New Mexico. Then mitch's life start to change unexpectedly by going on his fantasy vacation with his friends. They are set out to find thier freedom and thier adventure, they will remember for a life time.

Directed by Ron Underwood (Tremors, Heart & Souls, Mighty Joe Young-Remake) made a extremely likeable entertaining ambitious comedy. Crystal, Stern, Kirby and Jack Palance's wonderful Oscar Winning Performance makes this Contemporary Comedy Classic really worth watching. Crystal also Executive Produced the film. There's a nice music score by Marc Shaiman (South Park:Bigger, Longer & Uncut). DVD's has an fine anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD only extra is the Original Theatrical Trailer. This is Wonderfully Written by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (City Slickers 2:The Legend of Curly's Gold). Watch for Jeffery Tambor, Yearley Smith, Robert Contanzo, Jake Gyllenhall, Danielle Harris and that's Crystal real-life Daughter-Lindsay Crystal playing his Daughter in the flim. One of the highest grossing films of 1991. This is One of the Best & Most memorable comedies ever made, see it. Grade:A.

Rating:
Summary: Hellooooo?
Review: No one can ever replace this film! It's one of the best and funniest movies of all time that that reflects upon our life when we have a mid-life crisis! Very touching, and heart-filled that mixes in with good comedy from Crystal, Stern, Kirby, and Palance! Scenes that make you choke to death come from no one else but the little guy who stole the show: Norman the calf! trust me, the sequel didn't have much to offer than the original!

Rating:
Summary: Drop dead funny
Review: These three guys - well, these three city slickers - decide that a 2-week cattle drive is just what each needs to come to terms with their own individual crises - and they get the boss-man from hell, Jack Palance (who won an Oscar for this role). Slapstick in the beginning, it becomes more serious in the middle, then a sentimental wind-down toward a bittersweet ending.
Excellent!

Rating:
Summary: A Great "Guys" Flick!
Review: This a a terrific "feel-good" movie. What I really like about the film is that it is a "guys" movie without violence - tough to find these days. I've heard a lot of people state that Jack Palance didn't deserve his Oscar for his role as Curly, but I believe that he is extremely convincing playing a cowboy among a group of city-slickers. It must have been tough to remain serious in the presence of Billy Crystal. This is one of Billy Crystal's better films.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant Comedy
Review: This is one of those great comedies that also speaks to the great truths of life. I have watched this film over and over again and am always left with a wonderful feeling after having watched it. It lifts my spirits when I am low and helps to remind me what is truly important in life.

Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby) are three friends approaching mid-life at break neck speed. Each year they go on increasingly more dangerous adventures which Mitch's wife (Patricia Wettig) describes as desperate and juvenile attempts to hold on to their youth. When Ed suggests mushing along the trail of Admiral Byrd as a way to top running from bulls in Spain, Mitch is ready to quit the adventure trips and settle into senior life at the ripe old age of 39. After a demotion at his job and a surprise at his birthday party where Phil and his icy wife Arlene (Karla Tamburelli) have a blow out after she learns of his infidelities, Mitch's depression gets the better of his wife who sends him on one more adventure - to find his smile.

And so it is that the trio finds themselves on a cattle drive in the American west with five other lost souls and Curly (Jack Palance) as the cattle boss. Palance is wonderful as the gruff old cowboy who intimidates everyone around him (Mitch:"Kill anyone today, Curly?" Curly: "Day ain't over yet."). Yet he knows the secret to life and relates the cryptic answer to Mitch during the ride. As they drive the cattle and overcome obstacles like stampedes, drunken escapades by the trail hands and their own personal struggles, Mitch comes to realize what Curly's answer means and that it is the only answer he needs to bring the pieces of his life back together.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant Comedy
Review: This is one of those great comedies that also speaks to the great truths of life. I have watched this film over and over again and am always left with a wonderful feeling after having watched it. It lifts my spirits when I am low and helps to remind me what is truly important in life.

Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby) are three friends approaching mid-life at break neck speed. Each year they go on increasingly more dangerous adventures which Mitch's wife (Patricia Wettig) describes as desperate and juvenile attempts to hold on to their youth. When Ed suggests mushing along the trail of Admiral Byrd as a way to top running from bulls in Spain, Mitch is ready to quit the adventure trips and settle into senior life at the ripe old age of 39. After a demotion at his job and a surprise at his birthday party where Phil and his icy wife Arlene (Karla Tamburelli) have a blow out after she learns of his infidelities, Mitch's depression gets the better of his wife who sends him on one more adventure - to find his smile.

And so it is that the trio finds themselves on a cattle drive in the American west with five other lost souls and Curly (Jack Palance) as the cattle boss. Palance is wonderful as the gruff old cowboy who intimidates everyone around him (Mitch:"Kill anyone today, Curly?" Curly: "Day ain't over yet."). Yet he knows the secret to life and relates the cryptic answer to Mitch during the ride. As they drive the cattle and overcome obstacles like stampedes, drunken escapades by the trail hands and their own personal struggles, Mitch comes to realize what Curly's answer means and that it is the only answer he needs to bring the pieces of his life back together.

Rating:
Summary: How to find yourself!
Review: This is the story of three life-long friends who go on a yearly vacation together around the time of Billy Crystal's character's birthday. The story starts with his mama calling him up on the phone and giving him a blow by blow description of the day he was born, and Billy Crystal mouths the words silently word for word just as his mother says them.

Billy plays a middle-aged man who is facing a crisis in his life of who he is. He's bored with his job, bored with his life in general, and even though he claims to love his family, a little bored with them.

Daniel Stern plays a man who has a monster wife. He works at a store her daddy owns and the daddy and daughter are both tyrants. When his wife finds out he is having an affair with one of the clerks, she divorces him. He claims he had the affair because 20 years of no sex will do that to a man.

Bruno Kirby is a rounder. He has married a beautiful girl and he's thinking of playing around on her. She wants kids and he doesn't at this time.

Therefore, they go out west to find themselves on a cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado.

Billy, Daniel, and Bruno all learn that they can find themselves right where they started out from: at home. Billy realizes he cannot be without his family for very long without missing them. Daniel finds another woman who loves him for who he is. Bruno decides to go home and get his wife pregnant.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Jack Palance did one humdinger of a job as Curly? He was great, although he can't sing much, but then he's an actor not a singer. He portrays as a rough cowboy type who don't take no guff off anybody. He strikes Billy as a scary sort, but then when Curly passes on to the other side of life, Billy realizes Curly was just another lonely soul who needed friends.

This is a very good movie and I'm rating it 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Great Film, Crystal is a genius
Review: This movie, in it's essence, is a comedy. Throughout the film, there are serious moments between the trio of Mitch, Phil and Ed (Crystal, Stern and Kirby) that transcend the typical comedy genre. There is a small feeling that you're being set up in the beginning of the film, but the ride that these characters go through change their lives and you will definitely be happy you saw this film.