Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls

This is not Jurassic Park. This is not a great film. It is however, a fun film. If you go in to it with the right attitude you might enjoy it. Sometimes that's all I want.

Right, well with a title such as "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls", then you pretty much know beforehand what you are getting yourself into here. And chances are that this movie will either be downright terrible and unwatchable, or it might actually just be so bad and cheesy that it turns out to be fun to watch.

And luckily it was the latter. Yeah, "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls" is a bad movie, no doubt about it. I mean, just look at the storyline and script; it is so far fetches that it makes absolutely no sense. But the movie manages to be so corny and cheesy that it was actually fun to watch.

Seriously, who comes up with ideas such as "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls"? Well, in this case, writer and director Joshua Kennedy did.

The special effects in this 2021 movie are bad, very, very bad. Trust me. But it is part of what makes it fun to watch a movie such as this. It is just beyond me that special effects of that magnitude still manage to get to see the light of day in this age. "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls" makes use of some horrible outdated special effects, but you can't help but laugh at the pterodactyls whenever you see them on the screen, given their horrible animation and stop motion jerky movements.

The acting in "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls" was as to be expected for a movie of this caliber. So you know what you are getting here. Yup, this is not a Shakespearian display of thespian skills and art.

"Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls" is a campy movie for a particular audience that enjoy these types of bad horrible B-movies. So if you sit down to watch writer and director Joshua Kennedy's movie with the intention of seeing a full-fledged serious movie, then you'll be sorely disappointed.

My rating of "Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. This was by no means a grand piece of cinematic history.

Don't bother. The special effects are truly dreadful but they are stellar in comparison to the script.

One doesn't go into a film titled "Cowgirls vs Pterodactyls" and expect cerebral fiction. If you're in the right mood., this is one of those "so bad it's fun" films. In places it moves slower than a constipated snail, but other than that it's a romp.

First thing to realize: this is intentional schlock. It's not an "Asylum bad" film... this is intentional camp and absurdity. To mention just a few points that happen within in the first 5 minutes of the movie:

* Pre-credit rubber pterodactyl props * Cracking whip and horse whinys in the theme soundtrack * Narrarator: "They were indeed pterodactyls... creatures, that no MAN could stop..." * Nice opening credit landscapes with ridiculously large lettering. * Narrarator: "Our story begins on a dark, and stormy night." * A cowboy is smoking a FILTERED cigarette * Many of the guns are obvious toys. This had to be intentional, because real black powder pistols aren't expensive. * They actually used stop-animation along with paper mache puppet heads rather than CGI

Best line in the movie: "Yaaay horsies!"

I didn't go in taking this movie seriously, and as a result somewhat enjoyed the terrible directing, hammy acting and ludicrous script. I actually chuckled at a few of the lines and comic bits-- which says something of itself.

This isn't a "bad" movie. It's a goofy movie; there's a major difference. If not for the current pandemic I would actually put this on my "watch with friends and have a good laugh" list. They'll either enjoy it with you or question your sanity. : )

The title alone says so much, but the first 3-4 minutes tell us everything we need to know about 'Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls.' We get our first peek at the flying reptiles, and as subpar Ray Harryhausen-style creations, they neatly fit with the low budget nature of the production that includes bare-faced, unembellished cinematography that's nearly on the level of "home video." Heavy use of still images are accompanied by Martine Beswick's (!) ham-handed narration to provide exposition, and the very first scenes to greet us, like all to follow, are characterized by dialogue, costume design, filming locations and set design, and acting that all generally meet the bare minimum requirements to be called "serviceable" (and scarcely deign to exceed that base level). Transitions and otherwise editing are curt and brusque, including where the pterodactyls are inserted into scenes, and sometimes painted over with very modest visual effects to distract from the forcefulness.

In all fairness, however - none of this matters. Because as the title also portends, 'Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls' is intended and built, truly, for only one thing. In his direction and certainly in his screenplay, Joshua Kennedy wants naught but to entertain. To be sure, one must be prepared to accept direly meager production values to be able to appreciate this. However, so long as you can, this is actually more enjoyable than I expected. The performances that the assembled actors turn in are decidedly over the top, leaning into the low-grade flavor of the feature, yet even within that slant all demonstrate some small measure of nuance and personality that I welcome. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I genuinely like the cast and their contributions here, especially Madelyn Wiley, Haley Zega, and Carmen Vienhage in the primary roles, and I would like to see what they're capable of in a film with more duly expansive writing. At all times the special effects can best be described as "shoestring," and all but painfully overt - and honestly, that goes as well for the music, too - but nor is there any pretense otherwise.

Characters are ostensibly given different backgrounds, motivations, and personalities, but this isn't the type of picture where these are of major importance. Dialogue is surprisingly filled with cheeky humor that's more fun than I could have anticipated, and the cast sell the delivery of their lines with aplomb, including the application of some referential humor and anachronisms. That same tongue-in-cheek bent is echoed in the narrative, unquestionably silly but complete and mostly coherent, while also marked with emphatic incongruities; in the writing and realization of scenes, preposterous but varied, and well considered as they provide a good time; and in some specific shots that Kennedy arranges that wink as they mimic big studio westerns. 'Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls' is at once terribly inauthentic - and wonderfully sincere in its ludicrous bombast. I'm not really sure why I like this as much as I do, but sometimes it's the most blithering nonsense that sparks the imagination, and we're at a loss to totally account for our reasoning.

Even at only 73 minutes, the feature is arguably a tad longer than it needs to be. A couple scenes are allowed to linger just a bit too much, and the humor isn't quite sufficient to compensate for the indulgence. Above all, it's necessary to highlight once again how very, very low-budget this is - any viewer who can't abide the deep inelegance of a picture that rarely rises above bottom tier production design should immediately point their browser elsewhere. The nearest point of comparison I can draw is 'Velocipastor,' yet even that is a tour de force by comparison. And still, for all the possible weaknesses, shortcomings, and faults, I was consistently amused. There is a simple charm and earnestness to a film that is conjured and made on a lark, that everyone involved obviously had a blast making, and that cordially invites all comers to parlay with the absurdity it represents. I understand how this isn't going to be for everyone - and also can't help but wonder if those who speak most ill of it have watched the same movie I have. Against all odds, the purely daft gaiety of this lightly funded romp is endearing and satisfying: though I'm unsure who I'd recommend it to - I, for one, find 'Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls' to be to my liking, a frivolous bit of movie-making that's a fine way to whittle away a small bit of time. What more is there to say?