City Slickers
Cast
Billy Crystal as Mitch Robbins
Daniel Stern as Phil Berquist
Bruno Kirby as Ed Furillo
Patricia Wettig as Barbara Robbins
Helen Slater as Bonnie Rayburn
Directed by Ron Underwood
Rater #2 has description and review
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #2
7/10. Referenced to in the popular comic strip "Zits" as the funniest movie
ever, City Slickers is an ever-popular movie that spurred (pun
intended) a sequel. It has Billy Crystal as Mitch Robbins, depressed
ad guy at a local radio station. He just turned 39 and seems a bit
far away from his family. When his two main friends, Phil (Daniel
Stern) and Ed (Bruno Kirby) arrive at his birthday party, things get
worse. Phil's overbearing wife Arlene (Karla Tamburrelli) finds out
he's been cheating on her with someone at his place of work. To cheer
everyone up, they give Mitch his birthday present-two weeks in
Arizona learning to become a cattle driver/cowboy.
Well, these durn city slickers don't know codswallop `bout no cattle
drivin'. But they soon learn, and the go on an interstate journey to
prove their worth, led by intimidating Curly (Jack Palance). Along
the way they find meaning and such.
Leave it to Billy Crystal (who put a bad taste in my mouth after
Analyze This) to make a funny movie that does have some phony
sentimentality, but can still be meaningful. For the most part, the
laughs weren't constant and played somewhat like a hit-and-miss
comedy where most of them hit. The laughs that I got were good
laughs, not little chuckles and snorts. Around the middle, though, it
seemed to be bogged down by the clich�d formula of buddy/friend
movies, where they go their separate ways but some calamity befalls
one of them and they get back together. I am sick of watching
formulaic comedies. Don't get me wrong, City Slickers is a clever
idea executed well, but the obvious "twist" made me upset.
And, of course, I could guess the ending. It was a comedy, and all
comedies have happy endings, no matter what. I even could guess what
happened to Norman.
I thought Crystal was in great form here, before My Giant came out.
He really knew his groove back then, but, unfortunately, he's lost it
now. I hope he can find it. Stern and Kirby were also very good, with
grade A chemistry throughout. Palance, I don't think deserved his
Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but he was good as the leather-clad
tough-guy cowboy. The other people who are on the vacation, such as D-
list actor Josh Mostel, son of Zero, also were good. But Mostel
brings me to my next point.
There were too many forgotten subplots, with underdeveloped
characters. Mostel's character Barry Shalowitz and his brother Ira
(David Paymer) are able to find out the perfect ice cream flavor
after any meal. Why? To pad its already bloated runtime of 112
minutes. Although they are small, who ARE the people who run the
ranch? Questions like that will pester you throughout the movie. It
is quite funny, but many flaws are in it.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie
Rated PG-13 for language, raunchy humor, and scenes of peril.
Running time: 112 minutes
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