The Last Cowboy (2003) (TV)

Director:

Joyce Chopra

Writer:

J.P. Martin (writer)

Release Date:

17 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

After an eight year absence, a headstrong woman returns to her Texas home for her grandfather's funeral and locks horns with her father.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jennie Garth	...	Jacqueline 'Jake' Cooper
Lance Henriksen	...	John William Cooper
M.C. Gainey	...	Amos Russell
Bradley Cooper	...	Morgan Murphy
Dylan Wagner	...	Billy
Muse Watson	...	Otis Bertram
John Vargas	...	Robert Sanchez
Eugene Osment	...	Alex Kerwin
Kelly Connell	...	Jack Wainwright
Kim Robillard	...	Ira Collins
Jack Lilley	...	Fuller
Lynn Wanlass	...	Irene
Katie Thatcher	...	Nurse
Harrison Young	...	Preacher
Ronn Iverson	...	Dabney

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Del Mar, California, USA

Company:

Alpine Medien Productions

First rule of film-making:get a good cast!

Grumpy farm guy wants to keep his land, and the money folk trying to take it are all treated as reprehensibly greedy slickers (even though the money people are behaving reasonably and the farm guy is belligerent, violent, and unreasonable). Just once, it would be nice to see one of these movies where the hero is the banker... just trying to do his job and even help the farm guy, while the farm guy is recognized as an intractable jerk (No disrespect to the farming community, it's just that the banking community has had to endure such a beating from these sorts of films, that it would only be fair turnabout!) That said, this film is pretty solid for the genre. While the countryside bears more resemblance to California than Texas, it's still pretty and beautifully shot. By contrasting the three leads' different approaches, the movie actually addresses the fundamental flaw in these movies. The heroine wants to update her father's farming practices, while he is married to tradition. And I may not be a Hallmark Channel kind of guy, but it nice to see a project that is morally clean without totally whitewashing its issues.

The production's greatest strength, though, is the casting of Jennie Garth, Lance Henriksen, and M.C. Gainey. Fine actors all; it's nice to see them cast in roles with the complexity that thespians of their talent deserve. And they all look halfway plausible with the horseriding, as well.

All in all, I wouldn't watch it again, but it certainly is better than a lot of the stuff you might run across on the Hallmark Channel.