Urban Cowboy
A cinematic exploration of the American subculture of country music, trailer homes, and mechanical bulls, this was a noble attempt by Travolta to branch out after hitting superstardom with Saturday Night Fever and Grease. The often uneventful, slice-of-life style of drama seen here may put some viewers off, and indeed, the first 30 to 40 minutes of the film are a tough sell, with the story appearing to be very boring and mundane, and I wondered that if it were not Travolta in the part, would I really care about watching this character in his day-to-day life. Things get better though, with the first appearance of the Scott Glenn character, an ex-con with intentions towards Travoltaās wife, and we finally start seeing the filmās central conflict develop, and Glenn certainly does his part in giving us a fascinating, yet unsavory scumbag. His Wes Hightower makes a fine foil for Travoltaās Bud Davis, and the film becomes more interesting and watchable as well. I was concerned about the script following the usual āfirst love is the true loveā conventions, since after Bud and his wife Sissy separate, the woman he starts seeing is actually more appealing and likable than Sissy was. Part of that is with the casting: Debra Winger contributes her usual āsalt of the earthā female performance as Sissy: Talented, yes, but charismatic, not really. On the other hand, Madolyn Smith (whatever happened to her?) as Pam, the āother womanā, is gorgeous, refined, and intelligent, and as she tries to mold Bud into a ābetter manā, we wonder if perhaps he is better off with her anyway, especially after Sissy starts shacking up with Glenn (indeed, the real life cowboy the story was based on wound up divorcing his wife and marrying the rich girl). Itās an interesting conundrum, even as the resolution sticks to the tried and true formula. As for other points, Barry Corbin (in his film debut) delivers a solid turn as Budās Uncle Bob, even if his demise is overly foreshadowed (might as well put a neon sign on him saying āIām gonna dieā), Brooke Alderson is equally funny and loving as the aunt, and James āLou Brownā Gammon shows up in an early role. Then thereās the soundtrack, while not designed to turn the non-country fan to the genre, does contain the undisputed legendary tunes āLookin For Loveā and āThe Devil Came Down To Georgiaā. That, plus its strong ending, with the requisite emotional impact, helps lifts this story slightly above the ordinary…
7/10