City Slickers is a comedy about 3 40-something schlubs who are trying to rekindle their youth, their latest attempt being that of taking part in a cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado. The story focuses primarily on Billy Crystal, a guy with so much pessimism that he’s tearing his family and friendships apart. You see, he’s a guy that sells ad time on the radio and is ashamed that his life isn’t nearly as epic or glorious as it could have been. Now, all of a sudden he’s nearly 40; where did all that time go?
Thematically, this film revolves around age. Age is a little something that we all go through; we all also handle it very differently from each other. Some people think they will be young forever and some people couldn’t give any more of a crap. Still, some people live a life of regret and cynism. It can be pretty brutal for someone who isn’t ready to inevitably age. Quick lesson here: everybody gets old and everybody dies. Be happy instead of some boring old bitty, k? This also means do what makes you happy, so get the hell out of your computer chair or off your phone or whatever and go out on a goddamn adventure.
For what it’s worth, City Slickers is a straight-forward, unremarkable film. The only thing that really sticks out is the cattle drive premise and it doesn’t appear immediately to be pulling any inspiration from the cinema-ether. This might seem refreshing to a present-day film goer who expects his comedies to be rife with stupid in-jokes and gags. While the film might incorporate some of these, it subdues them pretty decently; it opts instead to give Billy Crystal some air to spout witty, cynical dialogues. Your mileage… and annoyance… may vary.
ThomFiles 