BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

strategym-tx To those of you who put this on your 'desert island' menu, congratulations. If you were sentient in the period contemporary to the making of Rancho DeLuxe, you get a clear picture of the real comedic and artistic value of the film. If you missed all that and the movie is still on your list, well, kind of like Slim Pickens describes missing the circus of the century, you're winging it pretty well.The mystery and controversy that kept Perry/McGuane's little masterpiece out of distribution is a travesty on par with Moby Grape's having been dealt the lousy hand as a rock supergroup. It was about 15 years after release before the film circulated on VHS and its only circulation occasionally on late night TV was in a version so mutilated by censors as to render it incomprehensible.Had the film been in wide release and properly circulated, it likely would have accrued the same sort of cult following dealt to Rocky Horror and King of Hearts. But the world went down a different path and Urban Cowboy became the substantial cinematic view of how hipsters saw 'western' and 'rural' America. Too bad. But they can't know what they don't know.If you found yourself standing in Bridges' boots in 'Last Picture Show', you likely found great reason to enjoy Rancho DeLuxe as a comedic romp on lots of levels. And his part is only a fraction of what makes this one worthwhile. I hope I'll say the same about his 'True Grit' (an inflated and mediocre dime novel in print and piddling exploitation of John Wayne's career as film), but I'm not holding my breath.

dougdoepke Genuine sleeper. Was there ever anyone better at playing a "good ole' boy" than the Hollywood-bred Jeff Bridges. Here he's an upper-class dropout turned Montana cattle rustler, of all things. When he and Indian partner Sam Waterston aren't shooting steers or cavorting with the girls, they're making plans for their Rancho Deluxe where they'll retire in luxury. That is, if inept rancher Clifton James doesn't catch them first. Back in my old Saturday matinée days, rustlers rode horses and captured whole herds, while ranchers gathered in posses and tracked them down. Not now. Instead the boys ride in pickups and chainsaw the steer where it drops, while the two-man posse gets a bird's eye view from a helicopter, not that it does rancher James any good.Chuckles galore in this crafty screenplay that manages some neat twists and a whole truck load of colorful characters. There's James's wife (Ashley), sort of a slick Montana version of Lady Chatterley, along with lucky ranch hand Harry Dean Stanton who makes first-class use of a skinny aspen tree. Then there's broken-down cattle detective Slim Pickens. You know, the guy last seen riding Dr. Strangelove's A-bomb into the smithereens of a Soviet city, along with comely daughter Charlene Dallas who's also an occasional virgin. I hope whoever did the sharp-eyed casting here got a bonus. They certainly deserved one.Actually, my favorite part is when Waterston gets together on a lake bank with wise, old Dad. Now, I was always told that drink was the curse of the working class, or maybe it was work itself. Anyhow, not so, says Dad, at least not so in Montana. Instead, says Dad, Montana's curse is the pickup truck. Everybody stays broke because everybody has to have one. Get a few bucks and what do they do—they buy a pickup, afford it or not. In fact, the state is being impoverished and overrun by these 4-wheel critters. Anyway, it's a humorous and apparently incisive observation from novelist McGuane himself.Then too, for those who've ever wondered where the store-bought flies so beloved by fishermen come from, the movie answers the burning question. And speaking of shotgun marriage, watch Bridges teach the interlopers a lesson in bedroom manners in a humorous bit that stands expectation on its head. All in all, the 90 minutes remains an oddball and unromantic look at the modern frontier. But with the clever script and colorful characters, the movie also amounts to a light-hearted and slyly understated treat.

Ralpho Rancho Deluxe is something one doesn't see much of these days, a comedy that one has to pay close attention to in order to understand what has happened at the end. Although there are broad comedy aspects to the film, such as when our protagonists shoot up a Lincoln Continental Mark IV with a Sharps 50 Buffalo Rifle, the subtlety with which the plot unfolds is not something I'm used to seeing in comedies.Having said that, I didn't find the movie funny enough to laugh out loud or interesting enough to keep (DVD version). I bought it because there were some good reviews on Amazon.com, and because Slim Pickins and Jimmy Buffett are in it.Although the movie is just 92 minutes in length, it seems longer as the plot takes its time unfolding. That's not to say the plot is complex but rather the opposite. The plot is simple and could likely have had its proper unfolding time within the confines of a one-hour TV program. Consequently, the movie seems to have been padded with scenes that do little to advance the plot.Nevertheless, it's important to pay attention if you want to understand the ending. Despite the simplicity of the plot, certain things are left for the viewer to surmise. But you might find that this movie isn't worth the effort.

lescrl Thomas McGuane, 25 years ahead of the commercial marketplace, invented the [post]modern dialogue SNAP now central to the filmfop vogue. Anyone who enjoyed Jeff Bridges as Dude Lebowski MUST see this movie. Also recommended for those interested in the final disposition of the American West, those who thought Sam Waterston might be an actor, those who can't believe Slim Pickens could improve on his "Dr. Strangelove" role, etc.