The Cowboy and the Ballerina

LM has "aged horrendously" from his Heath Barkley days? Absurd...it is 20 years AFTER The Big Valley, and he is 45, not 25! Considering how good he looked in the Fall Guy, to be fair, he has always been an attractive man for his age. And it is a remake/fiction, nobody cares about Russian pronunciation or what the ballerina looks like. So what? I don't think the purpose is high ballet art. Most people watching are fans of a highly successful actor, which Lee Majors is without doubt, not only in terms of acting but in drawing an audience. He made 6 figures for every episode of "The Fall Guy" which is about this same time period. Or people are interested in a rugged-man and pretty ballerina relationship story, which is fine!

When I first saw this film, I was shocked. Lee Majors had aged horrendously from the way he looked as Heath Barkley. Also, whoever wrote the script didn't do their research. John MacIntyre says to Leslie Wing, "I saw Madame Spessysayva dance Giselle." LW corrects his pronunciation by saying, "Spessivyayva." Well, both pronunciations are wrong--they are no doubt referring to Olga Spessivtzeva (Spess-seevt-sa-va). He goes on to say, "You look like her." Well, Leslie Wing bears absolutely NO resemblance to Olga Spessivtzeva. If you have to watch anything connected with ballet, which is the only reason I watched it, you will be disappointed. I wonder why they bothered?

This movie views as fresh today as the year it was first aired. It has something for both adults and children, and hence makes great family viewing. Children dream of what they might become. For some it is cowboys, or ballerinas. The cynics would say these are popular culture stereotypes. But in this movie they are real characters, flaws and all.

It deals with the stuff of dreams, and the stuff of life. Dissolution/exhaustion with career, family, and the fragility of relationships. It also explores what happens when dreams hit reality, how things change over time as the main characters mature,and how two adults try and hold onto their dreams. When two strangers meet they are both at pivotal points in their lives, both personally and professionally. As Clay says to Natalia "Love isn't a strong enough word for it. sometimes I hate it! But... it's what I live for, you know?"

Features some great rodeo action, including bull and bronco riding by Lee Majors' character Clay.