City Slickers (1991)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (written by) &
Babaloo Mandel (written by)

Release Date:

7 June 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Yesterday They Were Businessmen. Today They're Cowboys. Tomorrow They'll Be Walking Funny.

Plot:

A mid-life crisis plagued man and his friends find renewal and purpose on a cattle driving vacation.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Cowboy | Birthday | Radio | Spain

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

9:00 PM

TVLAND

Cast

Billy Crystal	...	Mitch Robbins
Daniel Stern	...	Phil Berquist
Bruno Kirby	...	Ed Furillo
Patricia Wettig	...	Barbara Robbins
Helen Slater	...	Bonnie Rayburn
Jack Palance	...	Curly Washburn
Noble Willingham	...	Clay Stone
Tracey Walter	...	Cookie
Josh Mostel	...	Barry Shalowitz
David Paymer	...	Ira Shalowitz
Bill Henderson	...	Dr. Ben Jessup
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Lou
Phill Lewis	...	Dr. Steven Jessup
Kyle Secor	...	Jeff
Dean Hallo	...	T.R.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:12 | UK:15 (TV rating) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Norway:10 (1991) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The cow-giving-birth used a puppet calf, as several takes were wanted. The shot of Norman getting to his feet was real footage taken just after birth. Billy Crystal actually assisted in the delivery. Six calves were used in all, and Crystal arranged for them all to live full lives on a farm. The shots featuring Crystal were filmed in Colorado, but the shots from the same scene featuring Jack Palance were filmed in New York.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The cow that gives birth is a steer - a castrated male.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[running through the streets in front of angry bulls, deliberately]
Mitch Robbins: Whose idea was this anyway?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Legacy of the Cowboy/Blazing Saddles/Pony Play (#7.5)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

WHERE DID MY HEART GO?

First-rate comedy with some serious themes running just beneath the surface.

City Slickers entertained me enormously when I was a teenager because it has some good, solid laughs. Nowadays, as I approach my thirtieth birthday with frightening momentum, it still entertains me but it touches me too. That's probably what makes it such a great film: the skillful intertwining of humour, emotion and action.

New Yorker Mitch (Billy Crystal) has reached crisis point in his mundane life. Bored by his job in the lower reaches of radio broadcasting and frustrated by the alarming rate at which years seem to be passing him by, he senses that his life has been a failure. His two friends, Phil (Daniel Stern) and Ed (Bruno Kirby) buy him a two week vacation for his birthday. No ordinary vacation, mind... a fortnight driving cattle across the Wild West, just like in the good old days. And it is while on this extraordinary vacation that the three buddies learn how to make the most of their mixed-up lives.

The performances are uniformly excellent, especially Crystal who is in sharper form than ever before (or since, come to think of it) and Jack Palance as the leathery trail boss whose simple philosophies are surprisingly insightful. The scripting is outstanding, giving all the stars a chance to do some good character development, while providing terrific laugh-out-loud moments too. The film works on other levels too: the music is stirring, the photography spectacular and the editting very sharp (especially in a superb scene in which Crystal tries on an assortment of ill-fitting cowboy hats, only to opt in the end for his trusty old baseball cap). City Slickers is great entertainment, and one of the truly timeless comedy masterpieces from its decade.