City Slickers (1991)

Yee-haw, for the most part.

City Slickers gets a bit schmaltzy at time, but this western comedy starring Billy Crystal and, Shane!, Jack Palance is well worth a look.

Three friends, Mitch Robbins (Crystal), Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby), spend two weeks taking part in a cattle drive.

Robbins is in a funk. His sales job at a radio station ("What is my job? I sell air.") is losing its lustre.

His buddies have their own problems too. Phil is in an unhappy marriage and manages a grocery store for his father-in-law. Furillo is afraid of settling down with his young wife. She wants children. Furillo fears becoming a dad means his days of playing the field are done.

Curly (Palance) is the bonafide cowboy who'll take the trio, and the rest of the would-be cowboys including Bonnie Rayburn (Helen Slater) on the trek.

City Slickers is fun mostly for its one-liners. Most are delivered by Crystal.

Mitch to Ed on trying on western wear: "I think you look like one of the Village People."

Mitch about Curly: "Did you see how leathery he was. He's like a saddlebag with eyes."

Mitch to Curly about his lack of finesse when roping cattle: "I have a roping disability."

In-between the banter, and driving the cattle, Mitch, Phil and Ed find time to talk about their respective problems back home. I'm all for men sharing their feelings. Here, it occasionally gets to be a bit much.

That's a small quibble. City Slickers is worth a whoop, or two.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: That's Jake Gyllenhaal as Mitch's son. I didn't recognize him. Thanks, Internet Movie Database.

Veteran actress Jayne Meadows (Song of the Thin Man) is the voice of Mitch's mom.

Jack Palance won a best supporting actor Oscar for City Slickers. His last nomination was for Shane in 1954.

Helen Slater's first film role was as Supergirl.

The Princess Bride part of director's reign

Oh, Rob Reiner. What went wrong?

You had a fantastic decade-long run as director starting with the brilliant mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap, in 1984.

A string of great films followed including The Sure Thing (1985), Stand By Me (1986), When Harry Met Sally (1989) and ending with The American President (1995). You keep making films (The Story of Us, Alex and Emma), but the buzz pretty much disappeared. Where did that extra something that made your early efforts so good go?

The Princess Bride, released in 1987, was part of his admirable string of hits.

Watching it again 23 years after its original release, this fairy tale with a wry twist resembles more a series of set pieces than a free-flowing film. That's still OK. There's enough here for a fun night's viewing.

Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) fall in love. Tragedy supposedly claims Westley. Years pass.

Buttercup ends up with Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). The last syllable of the surname is fitting. We never really learn why she ends up as his potential much-better half.

The bad prince is more interested in starting his plans for world domination than providing Buttercup with a loving home. He has more dastardly schemes that will make her reign a very, very short one.

Westley returns. He encounters ne'er-do-wells Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). Challenges ensue with a constant stream of witty banter exchanged. Not all of it works, but when it does there's some big laughs to enjoy.

Westley reunites with Buttercup. Prince Humperdinck wants him dead. Watch for a very effective, and surprisingly good, turn by Christopher Guest as the prince's henchman, Count Rugen. His cool, calm delivery as he does numerous nasty deeds is a treat. He even gets a big laugh near the film's climax.

The Princess Bride introduced Wright in her first major acting role. Billy Crystal, who had a small role in Spinal Tap, shines brilliantly in a 'special appearance' as Miracle Max.

In a new documentary included with a DVD release, Crystal describes how he wanted his character to look like a cross between his grandmother and baseball legend Casey Stengel.

Carol Kane, as Max's wife Valerie, gets one of the film's best lines: "I'm not a witch. I'm your wife."

Shot in England and Ireland, The Princess Bride mostly passes for family fare except for some violence and some disturbingly large-sized rats. Oh, the numerous kisses Westley and Buttercup exchange may nauseate some younger male viewers.

Rob Reiner, please come back to the fun-filled movie-making kingdom. We miss you.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Princess Bride. 1987. 99 minutes. Director Rob Reiner. Starring: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Robin Wright.