Nothing like two weeks herding cattle on a dude ranch in New Mexico and Colorado to clear up a pesky case of middle age angst. Actually I wouldn't know, but watching the timeless comedy CITY SLICKERS gives me a pretty good idea. When three New Yorker buds (Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby), all with midlife crises of their own (although Crystal's seems forced and contrived), venture west to do something they know nothing about (ranching), the fun truly begins. From learning to ride horses, to birthing calves (and that scene is quite the eye-opener), to being intimidated by a crusty, cantankerous old ranch hand (Jack Palance is a treasure), this comedy will charm the buttons off of you.
The dialogue is seamless and funny, and often heartwarming, while Stern by far gets the best line, as he confronts his soon-to-be ex-wife: "If hate were people, I'd be China!" Palance steals every scene he's in, I'm at a total loss why Helen Slater is in the cast (she adds nothing), and Crystal's burned-out-radio-adman shtick comes across as whiny and petulant. (Yet here's a film that has him manning up admirably.) CITY SLICKERS is a warm, rousing comedy that still feels good. And that, pardner, is pretty durn charming.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
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Very funny
Added 9/17/2009
A humorous story about married guys going to a dude ranch to help them get a tilt on their lives. A great movie to buy for the entertainment value dollar. Another great addition to have in your DVD library.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Still funny, even for today's teens!
Added 9/8/2009
Watched "City Slickers" with my two children: 17-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. Wasn't sure it would be as funny as I remembered when I saw it when it was released originally. I asked them to watch it for 30 minutes and we could turn it off if they weren't enjoying it. Well, we watched the whole thing and it was as great, if not better, as I remember. My children loved it! My daughter fell in love with Norman, and my son wants to go on a cattle drive.
As we watched the movie, I kept saying to my kids that the actor playing Billy Crystal's son looked like a young Jake Gyllenhaal. Imagine my surprise to see in the credits that it was, indeed, a very young Jake. (Yee hah!! I love being right in front of my kids once in a while.)
This film is probably not appropriate for young children as there is crude sexual language, some swear words, and the birth of a calf grossed my kids out. I'm not sure if it was real or not but you see it all.
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The Greatest "Guy" Movie Ever (Yet, With Feeling)
Added 8/3/2009
As old as the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Jupiter" ponderings is the difference between "guy" films and "chick flicks". Though not trying to stereotype the genders too much here, the camp of movie-goers that will watch "The Notebook" or "A Walk To Remember" have different hormones flowing through them as those that go to "Terminator Salvation" or "Rambo IV". There's just a fundamental difference that often cannot be overcome by either gender.
"City Slickers", however, is the rare film that, while being a complete "guy" film, also proves to be as introspective as any emotional drama. Basically, "Slickers" tells the story of a middle-aged man named Mitch (played superbly by Billy Crystal) who undergoes a mid-life crisis. He works a dead-end job, has kids that think he is an "old fart", can't keep up on his best friend's big adventures (the film opens with the trio of buds running from the bulls in Spain), and is on the verge of complete depression. However, an opportunity (two weeks herding cattle at a Dude Ranch) presents itself for Mitch to be able to re-capture his youth, and he reluctantly takes it. Over the course of the trip, Mitch (and his pals, by extension) slowly but surely (and with often hilarious results!) begins to recapture the excitement that seemed to have been missing from his life.
Besides the inspiring storyline that rivals any feel-good film, "Slickers" vaults itself into the stratosphere with the quality of both its humor and acting. The jokes in this film, while not the physical comedy of, say, Jim Carrey, are still hilarious, and mirror the changes that each friend is going through. Speaking of those friends, Phil and Ed (played by Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, respectively), they each in turn provide the perfect compliment to Mitch's old-age crisis...Ed is the go-getter who never seems to slow down, while Phil is stuck in a heartless marriage and wishes he could just start over. The camraderie, struggles, and real-life discussions between those three guys provides the emotional backbone of the film. Plus, the auxiliary characters (including Jack Palance as the trail-hardened cowherd Curly) each add their own take on life into the picture.
Towards the end of the film, Mitch proclaims that he has finally found his "one thing" in life. Though that "one thing" is never revealed, that is actually the point...everyone must go out and find it for him/her self (much like the viewer may begin to contemplate while watching). So guys, the next time your significant other wants to watch another two Kleenex-box romance, suggest this film as a change of pace (but make sure she watches the whole thing...as the meat of the message is saved for the finale). She may not laugh at all the same things you do (which will be pretty much everything!), but she may also come away with a bit better of a perspective on what it's like to be a guy.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Amusing In Parts But Poor DVD Quality!
Added 7/18/2009
Very few comedies age well and this one isn't an exception; some of the jokes are still funny but many have aged poorly and have become lame as a result. The fortunate thing though is that this film is not just an outright comedy but it also has a timeless theme of dealing with mid-life crisis and understanding that "one thing" in life that matters.
For this reason, this film will still amuse and remain relevant for some years to come. Too bad this dvd version is so poor though as the picture quality was poor on too many frames and there was a glaringly large white spot on the frame where Daniel Stern's character gets discovered for his infidelity. The sound quality isn't the greatest either and so my suggestion is to wait for either a properly restored Blu-ray or standard version which addresses both these picture and sound quality deficiencies to be released and to give this particular dvd version a miss.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Nothing like two weeks herding cattle on a dude ranch in New Mexico and Colorado to clear up a pesky case of middle age angst. Actually I wouldn't know, but watching the timeless comedy CITY SLICKERS gives me a pretty good idea. When three New Yorker buds (Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby), all with midlife crises of their own (although Crystal's seems forced and contrived), venture west to do something they know nothing about (ranching), the fun truly begins. From learning to ride horses, to birthing calves (and that scene is quite the eye-opener), to being intimidated by a crusty, cantankerous old ranch hand (Jack Palance is a treasure), this comedy will charm the buttons off of you.
The dialogue is seamless and funny, and often heartwarming, while Stern by far gets the best line, as he confronts his soon-to-be ex-wife: "If hate were people, I'd be China!" Palance steals every scene he's in, I'm at a total loss why Helen Slater is in the cast (she adds nothing), and Crystal's burned-out-radio-adman shtick comes across as whiny and petulant. (Yet here's a film that has him manning up admirably.) CITY SLICKERS is a warm, rousing comedy that still feels good. And that, pardner, is pretty durn charming.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Very funny
Added 9/17/2009
A humorous story about married guys going to a dude ranch to help them get a tilt on their lives. A great movie to buy for the entertainment value dollar. Another great addition to have in your DVD library.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Still funny, even for today's teens!
Added 9/8/2009
Watched "City Slickers" with my two children: 17-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. Wasn't sure it would be as funny as I remembered when I saw it when it was released originally. I asked them to watch it for 30 minutes and we could turn it off if they weren't enjoying it. Well, we watched the whole thing and it was as great, if not better, as I remember. My children loved it! My daughter fell in love with Norman, and my son wants to go on a cattle drive.
As we watched the movie, I kept saying to my kids that the actor playing Billy Crystal's son looked like a young Jake Gyllenhaal. Imagine my surprise to see in the credits that it was, indeed, a very young Jake. (Yee hah!! I love being right in front of my kids once in a while.)
This film is probably not appropriate for young children as there is crude sexual language, some swear words, and the birth of a calf grossed my kids out. I'm not sure if it was real or not but you see it all.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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