City Slickers (1991)

On the verge of turning 40, an unhappy Manhattan yuppie is roped into joining his two friends on a cattle drive in the southwest.

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers:

Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

Stars:

Billy Crystal, Jack Palance, Daniel Stern

Won 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crystal	...	Mitch Robbins
Daniel Stern	...	Phil Berquist
Bruno Kirby	...	Ed Furillo
Patricia Wettig	...	Barbara Robbins
Helen Slater	...	Bonnie Rayburn
Jack Palance	...	Curly
Noble Willingham	...	Clay Stone
Tracey Walter	...	Cookie
Josh Mostel	...	Barry Shalowitz
David Paymer	...	Ira Shalowitz
Bill Henderson	...	Ben Jessup
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Lou
Phill Lewis	...	Steve Jessup
Kyle Secor	...	Jeff
Dean Hallo	...	T.R.

Storyline

Mitch is a middle aged big-city radio ads salesman. He and his friends Ed and Phil are having mid-life crisis. They decide the best birthday gift is to go on a two week holiday in the wild west driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. There they meet cowboy Curly who not only teaches them how to become real cowboys, but also one or two other things about life in the open air of the west.

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Plot Keywords:

fish out of water | herman the calf character | cowboy | cattle | new mexico | 

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Taglines:

Yesterday They Were Businessmen. Today They're Cowboys. Tomorrow They'll Be Walking Funny.

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Another true story from Billy Crystal's life portrayed in the movie, is the wake-up call from his mother on his birthday. According to the DVD commentary, his mother would call him on his birthday at around 5 o'clock in the morning (the time he was born) and verbally re-enact the event over the phone. The rendition in the film is word-for-word the true story of Billy Crystal's birth.

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Goofs

When the big thunderstorm begins, a shot of the sky is completely static. Revealing it likely to be a matte painting.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[running through the streets in front of angry bulls, deliberately]
Mitch Robbins: Whose idea was this anyway?

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits show a cartoon of a cowboy practicing with a lasso

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Alternate Versions

AMC version makes two changes in the scene where Mitch talks to his son's class; Sal's story is removed entirely, and the scene begins with the kids cheering, and Sal's "masturbation" hand gesture during Mitch's speech is replaced with an alternate take where Sal instead makes the "Whoopee!" gesture with his index finger.

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Connections

Referenced in In Living Color: Green Eggs and the Guvment Cheese (1991)

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Soundtracks

Young at Heart
(1953)
CHERIO CORP. and JUNE'S TUNES
Words by Carolyn Leigh
Music by Johnny Richards
Performed by Jimmy Durante
Courtesy of WARNER BROS. RECORDS INC.
By Arrangement with WARNER SPECIAL PRODUCTS

User Reviews

you'll love it

This movie is for anyone who needs relief from a crisis, middle-aged or otherwise.

Three buddies head down the trails to relieve their midlife crises. They wind up sharing the adventures of a lifetime. I have enjoyed this movie each and every time I have seen it. The comedy is pleasant, and you will not exhale during the river rescue scene. *** out of ****

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

City Slickers

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,032,121, 9 June 1991

Gross USA:

$124,033,791

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$179,033,791

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment, Face Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1