My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

Here's a modern Western gem from 1991 that's never been released on DVD.

Scott Glenn plays an injured ex-rodeo rider who returns home a Prodigal Son after years away.

The film follows his complicated relationships with his ex-girlfriend (Kate Capshaw), selfish wealthy brother (a surprisingly excellent Gary Busey playing against type), and aging father, a retired rodeo rider with dementia (real-life champion rodeo cowboy Ben Johnson in a touching performance).

As did many underdog movies of the era, the film awkwardly turns "Rocky"-like toward the end, when Scott Glenn's character mounts his rodeo steed once more for a chance at enough money to keep dad out of the nursing home.

And the end is jarringly abrupt, leaving several plot lines unresolved and questions unanswered.

But those are minor quibbles, when the rest of the movie is just pure joy, watching the characteristically taciturn Glenn navigate from one relationship to the other.

And the movie is peppered with old Western stars like Dub Taylor, to remind you that despite the soap opera drama, this here's a rodeo show at heart.

I cannot count the number of movies that I have seen with Scott Glen. But not one of them, with maybe the exception of the role of Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff has stuck with me. I saw him the other night in what I though was an outstanding performance, so I thought I would take another look. I was not disappointed.

Playing a role that many of us have been in, a man with a difficult relationship with his father, Glen (H.D.) really showed the right stuff in this film. he left his father, his high school sweetheart, and all responsibility to do his thing. Now, he is back trying to see if he truly is all hat and no cattle as his girlfriend Jolie (Kate Capshaw) accuses him of being. Complicating the problem is a sister (Tess Harper) that was left with all the responsibility when he left. H.D. has to get it all together to save his father and his relationship with Jolie.

Scott Glen has the right stuff and I will be revisiting a lot of films that I've seen.

What should have been a good story with a capable cast was actually hard to watch for me. Each scene seemed to be performed without any regard to the ones previous or following, and HD actually calls Jolie "Jolly" at one point (and no one caught such a basic mistake, which could have been easily corrected in post production audio work).

The ending was predictable, and disappointing in its execution. Once the final scene was underway, the acting ended, and the audience was never treated to anything like a finale that would've tied up the loose ends.

Unfortunate, given the talent available (and the cameo by Mickey Rooney).

Sheesh.

"MY Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" is a very good film due to the fine acting. As for the story, it clearly is secondary.

H. D. (Scott Glenn) is an aging rodeo cowboy who has just gotten beaten up pretty badly by a bull. As a result, he returns home to recuperate. However, his time back home is anything other than relaxing as he has to deal with an aging father (Ben Johnson) as well as renewing an old relationship with an old girlfriend.

The story is not the main focus in the film. Instead, it's much more a character study with some excellent acting, particularly by Glenn and Johnson...though they are provided some amazing support by Clarence Williams III, Tess Harper, Cate Capshaw, Dub Taylor and Clu Gulager. Mickey Rooney is also in the film...but his role is a bit bizarre and unnecessary...much like his role in "Babe: Pig in the City".

As far as the story goes, there are some pluses. I like how the film talks about aging and the subplot involving nursing homes. It's a topic most films completely ignore. But the part that left me cold was the ending...it just seemed a bit arbitrary and nothing really seemed settled by the time the credits rolled. Still, the acting is so good, I can look past this.

I saw the movie when it came out, and I think perhaps it plays much better if you live in a rodeo state (I'm in Texas) so the audience really understands what's going on. They used real rodeo performers, too, like Leon Coffee, and that's the sort of detail the average movie-goer wouldn't notice. As to the movie in terms of plot, it's fairly predictable--hometown boy makes good and saves the day--but the subplots are what make this a good, underrated movie, I think. You have a hero who's almost an antihero till he's forced to grow up and take on a normal man's responsibilities; i.e., caring for his aging father. You have a young widow with a recalcitrant son, basically a good boy who needs a strong masculine role model. You have the dutiful daughter who stayed home and took on the care of her father, even though she's married and has a life of her own. The acting overall is very good. Scott Glenn is a charming scamp, and he has a flair for light comedy. Cate Capshaw--well, she could be better. Ben Johnson is excellent. Mickey Rooney does a star turn in a cameo role. And look for the old TV western character actors from the 1960s. It's a decent movie with very good moments throughout, very honest moments, too. Maybe it didn't play well in New York or Los Angeles, but in Nacogdoches, Texas, the theatre was SRO.