City Slickers
1991  PG-13  COMEDY  1h 52min
CAST— Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, Jack Palance
MUSIC— Marc Shaiman  DIRECTOR— Ron Underwood

     Pull on the Justins and slap on the Stetson for the rootin’ tootin’-est adventure this side of the Pecos. Or whatever. Friends Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern are always being dragged along on whatever dangerous expedition that currently strikes the fancy of their friend Bruno Kirby. Whereas Kirby has married a gorgeous twenty-something underwear model, Crystal laments approaching his fortieth and Stern’s marriage has dissolved. Sounds like another life-affirming, male-pattern bonding trip is in order. This time the New Yorkers head to New Mexico, where they’re soon up to their ears in beef jerky and cow chips. They hire on for a two-week cattle drive, the real deal, complete with tumbleweeds and saddle sores. They find themselves constantly amazed at the life on the open plain, the death on the open plain, and crusty trail boss Jack Palance, who pretty much is the open plain. This dude’s no dude; he’s a cowboy through and through. As the city boys traverse the harsh terrain they learn valuable life lessons they wouldn’t have learned on Wall Street. Takes many a detour into sentimentality, but those detours are welcome. As heartwarming as it is funny this fish-out-of-water/coming-of-age tale may even have one shedding a tear by the time the credits begin to roll. Yee-haw! Watch for a young Jake Gyllenhaal as Crystal’s son. Oscar-winner for Best Supporting Actor (Palance).
OUR RATING— *** ½
FOLLOWED BY— City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)