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Title: Urban Cowboy (1980)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| John Travolta | ... | Bud | |
| Debra Winger | ... | Sissy | |
| Scott Glenn | ... | Wes | |
| Madolyn Smith Osborne | ... | Pam (as Madolyn Smith) | |
| Barry Corbin | ... | Uncle Bob | |
 |
Brooke Alderson | ... | Aunt Corene |
| Cooper Huckabee | ... | Marshall | |
| James Gammon | ... | Steve Strange | |
| Mickey Gilley | ... | Mickey Gilley | |
|
|
Johnny Lee | ... | Johnny Lee |
| Bonnie Raitt | ... | Bonnie Raitt | |
|
|
The Charlie Daniels Band | ... | The Charlie Daniels Band |
| Betty Murphy | ... | Bud's Mom | |
|
|
Ed Geldart | ... | Bud's Dad |
|
|
Leah Geldart | ... | Bud's Sister |
Bud Davis is a country boy who moves to the city to visit his uncle and his family. He starts hanging out at Gilley's, the popular nightclub owned by Mickey Gilley himself. He takes a job at the oil refinery where his uncle works, hoping to save enough money to buy some land. He also meets a cowgirl named Sissy, they dance together, fall in love and suddenly get married. And then their marriage is shattered when Bud sees Sissy allegedly seeing con man Wes, who teaches her how to ride the mechanical bull... and plans to rob Gilley's. When a bull-riding contest at Gilley's is announced, Bud decides to sign up. Can he win the contest and save his marriage to Sissy? Written by watzdabigdeal <watzdabigdeal@aol.com>
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PERSONAL NOTE: I saw this movie in the Palms Theater, in Sugar Land Texas, in August 1980, with my high school girlfriend. The theater, and the girl, are both long gone.
Back to the review....
For those of you who grew up, or lived in and around Houston during the 70's, this is a delight to watch. I tend to endure Travolta, and that horrid "twang" he tries to do, but it's okay, the rest of the flick makes up for that!
-Minor Spoilers-
We start the movie w/Bud coming to town. Just watching him drive thru Houston, thru the 610 loop, and on to his Uncle's place is a treat. There is the Houston of "Big Oil and Big Space". When I was little, and went on vacations, if some one asked me where I was from, their next question was "Do you have a ranch, own an oil well, or know astronauts?" That was part of the joy of being from Houston, back in the old days.
But I'm rambling. The casting on URBAN COWBOY is great, not a dud in the bunch, even counting the Travolta factor. Only he could have pulled this movie off, at the time it was made. On a side note, it was common practice during the filming of "UC", for the local media to have a "Travolta Sighting" comment on the news, or in the newspapers. The biggest spotting occurred in mid 1979 at the sports arena, known at the time as "The Summit". Travolta appeared, in "the white suit" from Saturday Night Fever at a Bee Gee's concert, and hopped up on stage. No one recognized him at first, as he had grown a beard for the opening parts of the movie.
If you grew up around Houston during this long-past era, this is a "MUST OWN". My daughters always ask if I ever rode a mechanical bull when we watch it.
But I have always wondered about one small thing in this picture. And this is simply 'cause I am a car geek. Why, at the end of the movie when Bud and Sissy drive away from Gilley's, is there, parked amongst the F-150's, GMC's, Chevy Big 10's, and other pick-up trucks, a Volvo P1800 wagon? You can't miss it.