Urban Cowboy (1980)
Overview
After moving to Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis starts hanging around a bar called Gilley's, where he falls in love with Sissy, a cowgirl who believes the sexes are equal. They eventually marry, but their relationship is turbulent due to Bud's traditional view of gender roles. Jealousy over his rival leads to their separation, but Bud attempts to win Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley's mechanical bull-riding competition.
Cast
John Travolta
Bud Davis
Debra Winger
Sissy
Scott Glenn
Wes
Madolyn Smith Osborne
Pam
Barry Corbin
Uncle Bob
Brooke Alderson
Aunt Corene
Cooper Huckabee
Marshall
James Gammon
Steve Strange
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JPV852
Some unintentionally funny (I think anyway) and melodramatic moments and even as someone who isn't a fan of honky-tonk music, that wasn't bad. However, it is fairly long and could've been cut down by a good 20-25 minutes, also, and I'm not PC (far from it), there were some cringe moments, making most of these characters pretty unlikable. **3.0/5**
CinemaSerf
Country boy "Bud" (John Travolta) finds himself in the bright lights of Houston where he encounters "Sissy" (Debra Winger) and like grease lightening, they find themselves married. He's a grafter and works hard at a nearby oil refinery, but he also plays hard too - and that quite swiftly drives his new wife into the arms (and fists) of "Hightower" (Scott Glenn) in just about as acrimonious a fashion as you can imagine. "Bud" also tries to move on, befriending "Pam" (Madelyn Smith Osborne) but in his heart, well we just know what he really wants. Then their local bar installs a rodeo horse and with $5000 at stake (or steak), "Bud" decides to have a go at raising the cash and winning back his gal. This sets the scene for quite an head-to-head between the two men, with "Hightower" determined to have the cash, regardless of just how the tournament turns out. It's all watchable enough, this, but I couldn't help thinking that Travolta was just a too under-powered for this role. He has the swagger but not the style nor charisma and when it comes to it, Winger isn't really very impressive either as her character lurches from the feisty to the pathetic somewhat implausibly. For me, the best thing about the whole film is Charlie Daniels's ultimate toe-tapper "Devil Went Down to Georgia", but the rest of the soundtrack works well as a musical template for this otherwise all rather predictable and seriously over-stretched drama.
