City Slickers (1991)

Director: Ron Underwood

Writers: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

Composers: Marc Shaiman, Thomas Richard Sharp

Starring: Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Helen Slater, Jack Palance, Noble Willingham,  Tracey Walter, Josh Mostel, David Paymer, Bill Henderson, Jeffrey Tambor, Phill Lewis, Kyle Secor, Yeardley Smith, Jake Gyllenhaal

More info: IMDb

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

Plot:  On the verge of turning 40, an unhappy Manhattan yuppie is roped into joining his two friends on a cattle drive in the southwest.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I haven't seen this since it came out and it's still just as funny as then.  Billy Crystal feels so natural as an actor and he's just great in this.  Hell, the whole cast is great.  It's a fun flick that hits the right beats.  There's the comedy, of course, and then you've got the Western adventure part which is also fun.  The location shooting is GORGEOUS!  I love that part of the country.  Jack Palance is great and I love that guy.  Did he deserve the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor?  I doubt it but it was more of a sympathy award because the guy's done so many great roles without the recognition.  At the time I loved the attention he was getting so late in life.  His Oscar acceptance with the one-armed push ups is one of the greatest moments of the broadcast.  That was back when I watched the show.  I eventually gave up on the Oscars because it it a bunch of horseshit and so often you can predict who will win given the politics of it all.  Anyway, it was wonderful seeing Palance get his late moment in the sun.  And one last thing, Bruno Kirby is delightful as always and there are few personalities that I miss more than him every time I see a picture of his.  What a talent.  The MGM DVD has a good looking anamorphic widescreen transfer with the sole extra with a fullscreen trailer.  There must be a special edition out there with loads of extras.  In a few years I'll look for the Blu-ray and give it another spin.