Customer Reviews

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Gus Van Sant explores deeper into his favorite theme of the plight of the outsider in this strange film.Not perfect, but it is a faithful adaptation of Robbins' classic novel.Some scenes tend to drag, but the overall effect of the film is mesmerising. Sissy Hankshaw joins Van Sant's gallery of outsiders alongside Bob,Mike,Suzanne Stone,Will Hunting and Norman Bates. Lots of cool movie star cameos and great acting from Uma Thurman and Rain Phoenix while Lorraine Bracco, John Hurt and Angie Dickinson camp it up.

When people ask me to name my favourite novel "Even cowgirls get the Blues" always springs to mind. A film translation can never match the intimacy you feel reading the book, but it can bring those treasured characters and locations to life. This is where the film version really shines.

Gus Van Sant is my all time favourite director- his prevoius picture "My own private Idaho" broke my heart. It may have been over ambitious for him to bring this magical novel to the silver screen, but I find the fact that he did so, marvollously admirable. The storyline and ideals of this tale are truely unique and need to reach a wider audience.

Uma Thurman is perfectly cast as Sissy. She displays both innocence and enigma quite beautifully. Support is given by a whole host of interesting performers- John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, Crispin Glover, William Burroughs and many of the "Idaho" cast make breezy cameo's. Tom Robbins himself performs voice-over narration. Little known fact- River Phoenix (to whom the film is dedicated) makes his final screen appearence as a birdwatcher in the climatic scenes.

Read the book first- then give the film a chance!

There are movies like "Plan 9" that are so bad they have a charm about them, there are some like "Waterworld" that have the same inexplicable draw as a car accident, and there are some like "Desperate living" that you hate to admit you love. Cowgirls have none of these redemptions. The cast assembled has enough talent to make almost any plot watchable, and from what I've been told, the book is enjoyable.

How then could this movie be so intolerably bad? To begin with, it seems the director brought together a cast of names with no other tie than what will bring in the 20 somethings. Then tell them to do their best Kevin Costner imitations. Open the book at random and start shooting whatever is on the page making sure to keep the wide expanses of America from being interesting in any way. Finally give the editing job to your brother-in-law, because the meat packing plant just laid him off. He does have twenty years of cutting experience.

This movie now defines the basement for me. It is so bad, it isn't even good for being bad.

Uma Thurman is not a very good actress. She's tall, & reasonably attractive, & sometimes blonde, but she was the poster-girl for the Uber-hip set in the late 80's/early 90's so for that set, she was a perfect choice as Sissy Hankshaw. Having read & loved this book, I knew she was not a good choice, and she was subsequently was named Worst Actress of 1993 for her terrible attempt to portray Cissy. Likewise, Rain aka Rain- bow aka Rain Phoenix was also miscast, as well as not being talented enough to pull off the role of Boss Cowgirl Bonanza Jellybean. She seemed to be attempting to read off a Teleprompter, or maybe she should have been. Did I detect her lips moving before she attempted to deliver her lines? The reason she was not named Worst Actress of 1993 was that to win that award, she had to be an actress, which she clearly is not. I've seen better acting on an X-rated channel. Angie Dickinson, that 60's-70's retread hearthrob of teenage males was nearly as bad as Phoenix & Thurman, but she had an excuse, she hadn't worked for many years, & was critically hungover. At least she seemed that way. That's the bad news. The good news is, the rest of the cast was a hoot! Batting leadoff, the always weird & wonderful Carol Kane & Buck Henry(why don't those two have children?? What a great idea), John Hurt in drag, Crispin Glover, Pat Morita(as Noryuki)as The Chink("Ha Ha Ho Ho and Hee Hee!!"), Sean Young looking so sexy I almost forgot about her psychotic meltdown over James Woods, Keanu Reeves was entirely adequate as Julian Gitchee, but any one of a number of Native American, Canadian, or Ecuadoran actors would have been a better choice, such as the lovely & talented Gary Farmer. Two other bones to pick: 1) Tom Robbins' favorite Native American tribe, is not pronounced See-Wash, but Sigh-wash and B) Why was the locale moved from the Dakotas to Deschutes County, Oregon? Stupid idea. I really loved Pat Morita & John Hurt, but their performances are not enough to tempt me to watch this terrible movie again. Like an earlier reviewer, anger is my strongest emotion at this attempt to adapt a really good book.

Certainly one of the dozen or so worst movies ever released in any form, featuring a bizarrely abominable performance by Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix (River's sister, inevitably), as Bonanza Jellybean plus inconceivably awful voiceover narration by Tom Robbins, the author of the novel, which had/retains its peculiar sweet/loopy charms.

After reading the Robbins novel my sophomore year in high school, I was fortunate enough to see this movie three times in the theatre shortly after it got released. Watching it again tonight reminded me of how much it blew my mind back then. Granted, the whole thing is gratuitously symbolic, and most of the actors speak as if they'd just skimmed their lines for the first time seconds before going on camera. Still, Even Cowgirls has a fun, campy quality to it that shouldn't be overlooked. If you like Tom Robbins then you'll appreciate the narration and the way Van Sant has the characters talk to one another. Plus the story is lovable ("greater freedom of movement"), the cast is all-star, the costumes are a riot, and William Burroughs is in it! Just relax and enjoy.

How could this "film" be credited with trying to capture the essence of the novel?!? Do not even attempt at THINKING of this film, let alone watching it, as it may cause you to doubt any faith you had in the human brain's capacity for creativity and artistic vision.

The characters protrayed in the film are nothing like the ones you meet in the novel. Every facet of this movie is horrible. It's uncomfortable to watch. Maddening even, if you are a Tom Robbins fan.

Do yourself a favour and read the book. Then read it again. If you ever come across this movie (in any form) run, duck, cover, do ANYTHING to avoid it!!! I'd rather watch the fermentation process of pudding than this abomination!

The only reason I'm reviewing this is to see how many reviewers gave this turkey a five-star rating. The fact that not even voluntary reviewers for Amazon.com could give a five-star rating tells you a great deal.

This is a baaaaaad movie. I liked the book, the director, and the major actors' other work. But only John Hurt gave a good performance here. You feel embarrassed for everyone associated with this bomb.

Uma Thurman has been in some hideously bad movies. The confusing mess that was THE AVENGERS comes to mind (despite being a studio film with Ralph Fiennes and Sean Connery!). There was that horrific Batman movie that killed the franchise until Christopher Nolan resurrected it for Warner Brothers. I haven't even bothered more recent bombs like MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND (which I thought had a decent premise).

But it doesn't really matter what grotesque misstep Uma makes next because nothing can be as head-scratchingly terrible, as mind-numblingly stupid, as frighteningly vapid as EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES.

If you're seeing something else, you're just looking way too hard.

The acting is bad, the writing is nonsensical, the production is cheap (despite some excellent nature shots), scene after scene of Uma Thurman wearing ridiculous giant rubber thumbs makes you wonder just what kind of story could make this work. And that this ain't it.

Gus Van Sant is a bold film maker. He experiments with unusual ideas and occasionally hits the jackpot. Most would agree that Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester were successful in every way, but this picture generates violent disagreement. Sadly the majority would dismiss this film as a failed experiment to bring an odd 1970s lesbian cowboy novel to the big screen. There is however a vocal minority who absolutely love the quirkiness of this film. Its difference is at the heart of its charm, and together with Uma Thurman's star quality and k.d. lang's score this movie rises above the everyday action comedy dramas or romances most film-makers are producing.

I have read the book and Van Sant's adaptation is very faithful. The sexuality is only hinted at and this is carried forward in the film in the brief scenes of touching between Rain Phoenix and Uma Thurman. Despite being twenty years old, Rain still manages to look like a young teenager, and this perhaps undermines the intention of the scenes with her. If there is such a thing as perfect casting it is that of k.d. lang as the soundtrack composer and performer, which fits as perfectly as you would expect. John Hurt almost reprises his Quentin Crisp in his role as The Duchess, a much louder performance than I imagined from the book, but nevertheless funny and well-observed. All in all, there are some enjoyable and interesting bits and pieces in this film, even if it doesn't quite hit the high tide mark of Van Sant's other achievements.