On C List of Movie Reviews

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City Slickers (1991)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 3/25

3/25: Where would City Slickers be if Jack Palance hadn't done one-armed push-ups spontaneously during his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor?

After seeing the film for the first time since 1991, I have to say that he didn't deserve it for his short appearance and that Bruno Kirby should've gotten the nomination. Integral in building chemistry with Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby was far better and had great conversations.

The writing is well-done, so kudos to Billy Crystal for coming up with the clever story and Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel for completing the rest of it. When Billy Crystal's character was handed the brochure for a cattle drive, I immediately thought of Red River. Then, they surprised me by mentioning it and reenacting the famous rallying cry scene. There are funny lines such as:

-"Hi, Curly. Kill anyone today?"
-"Day ain't over yet."

"If hate were people, I'd be China."

"I have a roping disability."

-"Now I'm gonna go home, and I'm gonna get Kim pregnant."
-"I hope I can help."

"He's behind me, isn't he?"

As a result, the film finished number four at the box office for the year. Among the best scenes are when Norman was delivered, Billy Crystal up the tree with coffee grinder in the middle of the stampede, and the saving of Norman on the river. It's interesting to see Jeffrey Tambor because he hadn't yet become "Hey Now" Hank Kingsley and Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, and David Paymer ended up being guest stars on The Larry Sanders Show. Yes, the little boy is Jake Gyllenhaal in his screen debut.

All in all, City Slickers works and is quite funny.

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