Beer for My Horses

I wasn't surprised that the popular 2003 Country single would end up to be a film adaptation five years later. If your familiar with the music video of the song Beer for My Horses, you knew some extension and maybe transformation could lead to a movie. The question was, would they do it? The answer, was yes. As much as I loved the song when I was younger, I wasn't going berserk for the film. I was shocked when discovering it I hadn't seen it until about two years later. The main reason was, I was upset Willie Nelson (co singer in the song) wasn't Toby Keith's sidekick/partner in the film. Thats why I avoided it.

Though as soon I started watching it, I inevitably got hooked. It surpassed the video. It honestly did. The video's plot involved a serial killer who would kill prostitutes, and it was up to Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and another cop to find out who it was. The movie's plot has a lot more suspense, and effects the protagonist, more than the music video did.

Toby Keith plays lovable deputy Rack who's sidekick is more than meets the eye Lonnie (Rodney Carrington), his bumbling sidekick, and silent and solemn Skunk (Ted Nugent). The three deputies recently arrested a group of Mexicans who tried to steal fertilizer from a shop. The brother of one criminal kidnaps Rack's love interest who he goes back to after his most recent girlfriend dumps him. Rack, Lonnie, Skunk, and the criminal head to Mexico to claim the girl and return the criminal.

Besides some bad jokes, cliché moments, and foreshadowing of help from something useless, this movie proves to be okay. There's just a few problems I have with this. The song Beer for My Horses is heard for fifteen seconds (barely) in the near opening of the film. Thats fine, maybe if the movie wasn't called Beer for My Horses, but why would you name a movie after a song, thats not even in a movie? Its on the soundtrack, and the quote "Whiskey for my man, beer for my horses" is said in the movie.

The last thing I have to complain is the fact that Willie Nelson is the sidekick in the song, but not that movie. Instead he plays a random trucker who fixes the guys' car. Why couldn't all three men (Lonnie, Rack, and Willie) be the lead characters in the film. I don't have a problem with Skunk, but he wasn't even in the video.

This will probably be the closest to the video we will get. Im still hung up on the fact that one of my all-time favorite songs has been made into a movie. Not a bad film, with likable characters and some funny humor. Its not often a good country song gets made into a movie. Though lets hope the next one includes the TITLE SONG.

Starring: Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, Willie Nelson, and Ted Nugent. Directed by: Michael Salomon.

I read on the message boards the following line: "For the love of god, how did an angel like Claire Forlani end up in hell?" And I think that sums up my thoughts on this film.

So, you give Rodney Carrington and Toby Keith the power to write a movie, named after a Toby Keith song, and directed by a guy who has done some Garth Brooks music videos. Throw in Willie Nelson, an arrow-launching Ted Nugent and David Allan Coe. I just don't know what to think anymore.

The movie is absolutely stupid, and you may enjoy that if you need to turn off your brain or you've already seen every episode of "Bridezilla". I don't know what the political message here is... I'm sure it's convoluted and stupid, though, since that's what happens the second you associate with Nugent (a fine musician, an idiot otherwise).

I only rented this because of Rodney Carrington. His songs on Youtube are hilarious!!!!!! I didn't expect much and just hoped that there would be enough funny parts to pull the movie through. I was shocked at what I saw. Granted the movie is not going to win (or be nominated) for best picture, but it was original, and very entertaining. The story was far better than I expected, and I had some laughs. After watching it my wife asked me to buy her a copy of it for Christmas.

If you see this show expecting a dumb comedy you will be pleasantly surprised. If you see it expecting it to be "picture of the year" you will probably be disappointed.

"Beer For My Horses" is a redneck-flavored "buddy cop" comedy starring country music superstar Toby Keith and down-home comedian Rodney Carrington (the pair also co-wrote the script) as small-town Oklahoma sheriff deputies. Toby's the strong silent hero type while Rodney provides the goofball comic relief. When the two stop a gang of crooks from stealing fertilizer from a local farm, one of their prisoners turns out to be the brother of a particularly vicious Mexican drug lord. From there you can pretty much write the script yourself -- the prisoner tells Keith "My brother is going to kill you," Toby laughs it off, then his girlfriend is kidnapped right out of her car on a country road late at night. Of course, the prisoner's brother is responsible, and he arranges an exchange -- "You bring me my brother or I'll kill the girl." Thus, Keith and Carrington sneak their prisoner out of jail and head off to Mexico in Carrington's absurdly over-the-top monster pickup truck, having various misadventures along the way (some of which are far too silly to describe here) before a final showdown South of the Border. Do I really need to tell you how it all turns out? I didn't think so. Toby Keith has suggested that this film is meant to be an homage to the "Cannonball Run" or "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, i.e. not to be taken very seriously. To me, it seemed like they weren't sure whether they were making a straight-up cop movie or a screwball comedy, and never found the proper balance between the two. Toby's a decent enough actor, and Carrington is always good for a few yuks, but I was actually embarrassed for him by the time we got to the scene in a rest-stop men's room where he leads a group of loitering gang-bangers in a sing-along. Willie Nelson is always a welcome presence in movies like these, but he seems wasted in a bit part as the father figure of a traveling circus. I got the most laughs out of the first half hour or so, showcasing Toby's domestic problems and the lack of respect he gets at work from his superior officers. Once they hit the road for Mexico, the movie starts to fall apart. My favorite character in the whole movie is Ted Nugent, who plays a fellow deputy who never speaks (except for two words at the end) -- knowing what a motormouth he is in real life, I imagine it must've been hell for him to keep his trap shut for nearly the entire movie!! In short, "Beer For My Horses" is OK for a few laughs if you happen to catch it on Country Music Television (where it airs on a seemingly weekly basis) but not something you need to seek out unless you're a fan of any of the participants.

Looking at the rating, it looks like this is one of the worst movies ever. But fact it's a lot of fun. It is not, as I expected, a movie where the action takes place only to tie together various music videos. I don't know why I expected that.

But I was pleasantly surprised. The main characters are fun, and easy enough to root for. The bad guys are really bad, with hardly any redeeming virtues--at least none that we see in the movie. The conflict is laid out very simply, in the form of a challenge, and the main characters go for it. Hilarity ensues.

Also, always good to have a dog.

OK, the movie pulls in a lot of typical tropes, but it executes them well.