Cadillac Ranch (1996)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Lisa Gottlieb

Writer:

Jennifer Cecil (writer)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

Three sisters (Suzy Amis, Renee Humphrey, Caroleen Feeney) abandoned by their father (Jim Metzler) when they were very young...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Jim Metzler	...	Travis Crowley
Joe Stevens	...	Leroy
Bill Wise	...	Hippie Artist
Ashley Coe	...	Young C.J.
Renee Olstead	...	Young Mary Katherine
Hillary Van Scoy	...	Young Frances
Doyle Carter	...	Bailiff
Suzy Amis	...	C.J. Crowley
William Earl Ray	...	Judge
Robert Fieldsteel	...	C.J.'s Attorney
Renée Humphrey	...	Mary Katherine Crowley
Caroleen Feeney	...	Frances Crowley
Barbara Lasater	...	Mother
Jennifer Cecil	...	Bridal Shower Photographer
Brad Leland	...	Booking Deputy

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some nudity.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Coupland, Texas, USA

Company:

BMG Independents

Quotes:

C.J. Crowley: What's the matter?
Frances Crowley: Oh you mean besides being an accessory to a robbery and being shot at?!
C.J. Crowley: I forget how cranky you get when you're tired.

Never a dull--or quiet--moment

Some will compare this movie to 'Thelma and Louise' but it is no imitation and succeeds on its own terms. It concerns three aggressively colorful sisters from Texas (Suzy Amis, Caroleen Feeny and Renee Humphrey) who go on an odyssey to find out the truth about their father's disappearance from their lives. To say the least, they have "issues" with each other and their daddy's memory and these are hashed out long and loud throughout the film. The quest has something to do with that strange iconic piece of concept art in the Texas desert, the Cadillac Ranch. Throw in an evil ex-Texas Ranger who's after them and a cowboy poet who's enamored with one of the women and you have a pretty wild time.

There's never a dull moment in this flick, or at least not a quiet one. The script at times threatens to get just too clever and the characters also get a little too full of themselves occasionally, but I bought into the whole thing. The movie is as much a comedy as an adventure, and reactions to it will probably be love or hate. The three leading women and Christopher Lloyd as the bad ex-lawman give engaging performances. The movie was written and directed by women but this will not fit anyone's stereotype of a "chick flick." It reminded me of something that Beth Henley might come up with if she got a little silly and gave her characters a bit more mental health.