The Cisco Kid

I remember the television series when I was a kid, it wasn't shown on television very often, as it was a bit controversial even back in the 70's, but even then, I remember it was a bit more comical than any of the other westerns. And when a 12 year old can tell the difference...that's not good.

This new version is fun. Cheech Marin as Poncho is simply brilliant casting. Jimmy Smits might not be the best choice as the Cisco Kid (Johnny Depp would have been a much better choice, and probably a bit more believable.) Less believable were the women's costumes and some of the uniforms (I crave your pardon, I study historical costuming...and believe me, it's not difficult to find references or even patterns with very little effort, on the other hand it likely took a LOT of effort to get it wrong.) But I ENJOYED the film. It was as much fun (or more) than the old black and white episodes I used to watch on TV on a Saturday afternoon. The first thing I did when I finished watching "The Cisco Kid" on video was re-wind it and watch it all over again. There are some movies that are just fun, and this is one of them.

A fun spoof of the classic Movie/TV/Book character featuring Jimmy Smits in the title role as a rebel who has the hero role pressed upon him. Cheech Marin does a credible Pancho, and joins with the band War in a great rendition of their hit "The Cisco Kid". The initial TV release featured a music video of Cheech and the Band that was an advertisement for the movie that was lost too soon, probably never to be seen again. A real shame! It was a highlight of the release. Smits is surprisingly good in the swordfights. Oh, Cisco! Oh, Pancho!

This is not an academy award winner by any means, but it has all of the elements that has kept these characters popular for more than a century, since they were invented Willian Sydney Porter (who wrote under the name of O' Henry). Cisco and Pancho are certainly his most enduring creations, having appeared in films since the early days of the silent films. Probably the best known pair of actors in the roles were Duncan Reynaldo and Leo G, Carillo from both forties movies, and then many years on the small screen. But this film adequately captured their essence and struck just the right note with Jimmy Smits as Cisco, and the always enjoyable Cheech Moran as Pancho. This was the first time I had seen a back story, as it were, about how these two fighters for justice came together. The even got the period right. The only really jarring role was Ron Pearlman attempting to be a Frenchman. I'm sorry but he just doesn't pull it off very believably. The film is a lot of fun though and worth a visit.

To start with, I'm not going to complain about the cinematography. It looks as if it were videotaped and then left to age.

This was not a theater movie. Jimmy Smits would disappear on film; but, as a television movie, he did just great. He played the role of dashing caballero as well as Tyrone Power in Mark of Zorro. Cheech Marin is a fine actor when given the chance to actually act. It was kind of funny to see Ron Pearlman with a twisty French mustache. The cast was definitely competent.

As a kid, I used to watch the Cisco Kid series and I enjoyed it. I think that, if this were a series or a limited steaming series, it would be above average. Also, I kind of dig how they made the theme song the great "Cisco Kid" (was a friend of mine).