Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

eric262003 By the time you reach your forties, you start to have this belief that your days of fun and celebration could be winding down and fast. Yes for middle-aged men, "City Slickers" is not about lacing up your saddles dressing up cowboy duds and have an adventure out in the Wild West. It's about getting to enjoy as much about life while you can before it's too late. Even though it may have a cynical approach that middle-aged people are through with having fun according to the characters, "City Slickers" contradicts that approach by saying that happiness begins at forty and doesn't stop there. It also features an engaging performance by the underrated Jack Palance who also got his long overdue Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actor as Curly Washburn.Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) is hit the dreadful age of despair, 39. He fears there is more he could've done in life and fears he will never get that chance because of his advanced age. He's not alone in this as his friends Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby) feel the pinch as well. So the trifecta embark on a two week sabbatical to redeem themselves by saddling up their horses and ride off into the Old West from New Mexico to Colorado. They are led by an experienced cowboy named Curly (Palance) who shows them how it's done and gives them a life's lesson about the meaning of life while driving cattle to the open country.Even though the story is rich in character and performance, the plot is actually quite weak and predictable. We know that the triad will learn that that midlife isn't the be all to end all in the cycle of life. The real fun underlies within the interaction between the city folk and the country folk and though it might be a bit stereotyped from both party members, Curly's lessons about life lingers the whole way through.The juxtapose of witty comical banter and slapstick moments are carries the film in its entire 1 hr. 52 min. duration. The laughter is always there and holds up like a stampede can be caused due to the sound of a coffee grinder or the cynical gripes from Billy Crystal's Mitch. And sure the set pieces are there for a surreal goofy film that lampoons the Western genre, it all seems to be in place like it was intended to be. This may be due to the trio's realization that they had a good thing coming for them all along and that they are novice ranchers and are not cut out to hold this job. It never feels one-sided and gives equal balance between the witty banter and slapstick quality this movie has making it feel more organic and less forced.When it comes to who utilizes their acting chops at best Billy Crystal was perfectly cast as the lead role by using his cynical wit to his best capacity while succeeding in a deadpan delivery. Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby are great as the unlucky Phil and the philandering Ed respectively. The trio offer their own blend of humour as they work off their humour upon each other as they each stand out on their own. The chemistry works splendidly for each other and the jokes and the humour makes the pacing of the film flow so much easily.As the smoke clears, the mass will truly say the scene-stealing performance is Jack Palance's performance as Curly. With his menacing smile and his frontier knowledge, this has been a role he has played over the course of his 60 year career. Not to undermine him in any way some of the more funnier scenes are when he's yakking it up with Billy Crystal. It's a bit questionable if Palance deserved an Oscar win in this role due to the fact he was Oscar-worthy in other performances.("Shane" and "Sudden Fear" come to mind), nonetheless his role as Curly was fun.To say that the film was dated would be a cliche on my part, but why lie about it? The clothes, the style and the trends are permanently locked in the early 1990's. Also the humour is a lot more lighter in tone even though there is some swearing, but it's handled with precaution. The delivery has a sweeter tone (not overly sugary) but tamer than compared to most comedy themed film you get today.In a nutshell, "City Slickers" manages to successfully convey a great lesson in life and by adding a humourous take on it. That way it wouldn't go off as being preachy or self-serving. It's not the most original script and does feel 1990's stamped, but with comedic performances from Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, along with the enjoyable performance by Jack Palance, this movie is a winner.

Hollywood_Yoda Aside from Blazing Saddles, City Slickers stands as the best comedy western made in the last 25 years. An excellent film starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby and the iconic Jack Palance (in his Oscar winning role).The story was deeper than just comedy, and the dialogue was really great. The story itself had a lot of heart, each main character was dealing with something different than the other. And the dialogue between the cast was more natural than one would expect from comedy.If you enjoy comedy and/or westerns, watch this film, you'll be glad you did. You'll be hooked from the beginning and you'll hang on to every scene.

romanorum1 Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), approaching middle age, is a rather unhappy Manhattan radio station advertising salesman who decides to get away from it all by joining his two best friends, Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby), on an adventurous trip. Mitch's wife says to him: "Go and find your smile." Phil is a miserably married grocer who has committed adultery, while Ed, a sporting goods salesman, has recently married a much younger woman, explicitly a lingerie model. After Phil's wife told him that she hated him he replied, "I hate you more . . . if hate were people, I'd be in China." Ed has always suggested daring getaway vacations for the three friends, like running with the bulls at Pamplona, Spain (Ouch!). The latest adventure, Mitch's birthday present, involves joining a New Mexico working ranch (not a dude ranch), specifically a 200-mile two-week modern cattle drive that will end in Colorado. After the movie is a quarter over, the three friends finally arrive in New Mexico. There they meet five other slickers on the team, led by grizzled trail boss Curly (Jack Palance), who carries a large Bowie knife and seems to be a survivor of a century earlier. Next in command are two professional cowboys / ranch hands, T.R. (Dean Hallo) and Jeff (Kyle Secor), who repeatedly exhibit appalling behavior. But Curly teaches the dudes about life on the western range, especially during those idealistic nights around the campfire when the three guys sit back and reflect at their lives.There are various adventures, as when Mitch spooks the cattle into stampede with his modern, and loud, coffeemaker. Scenes include roping of stray cattle and Mitch helping to deliver a calf. Surprisingly, there is even a near gunfight. It concludes with a dangerous river crossing during a rainstorm. Along the way, Curly's smoking and eating bacon every day catches up to him, and he is found dead and is buried on the trail. The two professional cowboys take over for Curly, but they abandon the cattle drive. Mitch takes over, but everyone leaves except Ed and Phil. Will they make it to Colorado? Well, it all works out in the end as the men return to their eastern homes with a more positive attitude about life. The male-bonding works well here. The movie is ambitious and delivers with some great comedic lines without being baseless. Nothing is forced or contrived, and so the director gets it right. The actors are fine enough, but Palance as Curly steals his scenes with a relish! In the 1994 sequel, Palance plays his twin brother, Duke.

kai ringler Billy Crystal does a great job in this, and I'm really not a big fan either,, I'm more of a Jack Palance fan, by the way he was great as the trail boss.. I don't know what I would do if I had the money and two weeks off, cattle drive,, maybe not so much , but the movie provides an interesting premise for us guys in their late 30's early 40's . 3 men with jobs in the city , work their butt's off for a year and save up their vacation time to go on a cattle drive,, and in two weeks,, try to find themselves as men,, as each one of them has something different that he wants to accomplish. but the main thing is that they all have fun doing it,, along the way the meet "Curly" ,, Jack Palance as the trail boss,, I don't know why he wasn't in the whole movie,, but that's another subject all together,, my favorite character however without a doubt was little "Norman" the cow,, excellent funny movie,, love the river chase scene, this is one of those movies that I can watch once or twice every year and not get tired of it .