City Slickers - Die Großstadt-Helden

The first time I saw this film I thought it was a piece of wasted Hollywood fluff. Then I watched it again for some reason and liked it a little more. The third time I watched this film I became hooked. City Slickers is wonderful fun. Billy Crystal is perfect in the mid-life crisis role and Jack Palance has been waiting for this part his whole career. Ron Underwood did a great job with this one. It seemed cliched at first, then I realized it is a great original piece of comedy film-making.

"City Slickers" is one of those curiosities that is just good pure entertainment that works in spite of itself. Billy Crystal is going through a mid-life crisis. It is time to get away. So he goes on a trail ride with friends Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby. What follows is a funny film that is full of outlandish delight. Oscar-winner Jack Palance dominates in a very short role as the man hired to look after Crystal, his friends and a group of interesting characters. Charming little film. 4 stars out of 5.

Billy Crystal does a great job in this, and I'm really not a big fan either,, I'm more of a Jack Palance fan, by the way he was great as the trail boss.. I don't know what I would do if I had the money and two weeks off, cattle drive,, maybe not so much , but the movie provides an interesting premise for us guys in their late 30's early 40's . 3 men with jobs in the city , work their butt's off for a year and save up their vacation time to go on a cattle drive,, and in two weeks,, try to find themselves as men,, as each one of them has something different that he wants to accomplish. but the main thing is that they all have fun doing it,, along the way the meet "Curly" ,, Jack Palance as the trail boss,, I don't know why he wasn't in the whole movie,, but that's another subject all together,, my favorite character however without a doubt was little "Norman" the cow,, excellent funny movie,, love the river chase scene, this is one of those movies that I can watch once or twice every year and not get tired of it .

A wonderful, wonderful film, and if you're my age, you'll cry.

From 1991, "City Slickers" stars Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Jack Palance, Patricia Wettig, and Helen Slater.

Three men (city folk) whose lives range from unhappy to disastrous go on a two week holiday in the wild west driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. There, on the open range, away from their responsibilities, they can perhaps sort out what they want and who they are.

Crystal is Mitch, a happily married man with children who hates his job and is depressed most of the time. When he gets a 30th birthday gift from his pals to do the cattle drive, his wife (Wettig) insists that he go rather than visit her family. If he hesitates, it's because his friend Ed's last idea, of running with the bulls in Pamplona, was a horror.

Phil (Stern) is humiliated at Mitch's 30th birthday party when a woman who works for him comes in and announces she's missed her period, thus causing his wife to dump him on the spot - though they've been miserable for years.

Ed has a lingerie model girlfriend who wants a family, but he's having trouble making a commitment.

So all three go.

There, they meet some real cowboys, and the oldest one, Curly (Palance), is one tough cookie. But Mitch is able to spend some time with him, and Curly tells him that only one thing matters. Just one. But you have to figure out what that one thing is. When Mitch has a crisis, he finally finds out what it is for him.

I really loved this film. It was absolutely hilarious, with some of Billy Crystal's fabulous delivery, and yet very touching at the same time. A perfect combination, something that's not always easy to achieve. Very well acted and directed, the film moves along beautifully.

Highly recommended. Full of wit, with some excitement, and poignant moments.

Excellent. Funny, romantic, coming-of-middle-aged, must see.

I had some difficulty trying to categorize this movie. It is extremely funny most of the time, but has an underlying emotional element throughout the film which can send you to a reminiscent mood at times. The beauty of this film is that it explores an uncommon theme among movie makers - the bond between male friends which is just as strong as the female version, but not discussed as often.

Billy Crystal plays a typical bloke in that uneasy period between being "one of the lads" and being "old" i.e. coming up to his 40th birthday. We are drawn in to the lives of all the three main characters with the ups and downs of having lived it all, settled down, and remembered what our youth was like. To get an escape by going away with your old friends once a year to relive your youth - sorry ladies, but all us guys do it now and then - provides an excellent theme for this movie made better by the fact that most viewers will relate themselves to at least one character in the cast, from the lively funster who always has the bright ideas to the quiet lad who secretly looks forward to finding out what his mates have lined up for him this year. The fairer sex are not in any way left out of this character identification with characters from the middle-aged housewife through the feisty-but-dull teenager and back to to good ol' Old Dear - all smiles, reliable no matter what life throws at you.

Without giving too much of the story away, it's difficult to say any more, other than I voted this movie 8 out of 10 and if you do decide to watch it, feel free to complain to me if you don't enjoy it - I don't expect any complaints for this recommendation :-)