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

Jake Gyllenhaal's film debut.

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Goofs

After the cattle drive is over, Clay says, "Let's get some grub". Ira, Ben and Steve, Barry, Cookie, and Bonnie follow, in that order. But when they switch cameras, their order is Barry, Ira, Bonnie, Ben and Steve, and Cookie following Clay and Millie towards the house.

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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 The Making of 'Tremors' (1998)

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Soundtracks

Tumbling Tumbleweeds
(1934)
(On-screen as "TUMBLING TUMBLE WEEDS")
Words and Music by Bob Nolan
Publisher MUSIC OF THE WEST
Administered by SGA

User Reviews

Harmless bit of fun

"I crap bigger than you!"

A decent Mid life crisis comedy, which is surprisingly deeper than you would expect. Which has many laugh out loud moments.

New Yorker Mitch played by Billy Crystal, is at impasse in his life. Unhappy with his job and going through a mid life crises. Him and his two best friends also experiencing their own crises. Decide to take a holiday experience herding cattle across the old west. Billy Crystal who is great in the role bringing great wit and not as depressing as the obvious comparative actor, Woody Allen. Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby also providing adequate support. But Jack Palance steels the show with every scene he is in. Possessing a knowing smile that he is messing with the tourists, and teaching them some simple truths along the way.

The film though does not shed new light on the mid life crisis movie, as the film is mostly predictable in how it was going to play out. The film overall is a harmless bit of fun, providing me with plenty of entertainment.

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