Beer for My Horses

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.

Please bear with the prelude because I think this is the only place to tell this story and it has something to do with the movie:

I rent the house I live in. I was hoping to buy it, but it got bought out from under me, so I continue to rent while my youngest finishes high-school. Just before the house changed hands, I took a walk with my wife and met some guy in a cowboy hat and jeans, coat and work-gloves ripping out all the brush that lined the road across from our house (good thing... it was ugly). He told us he had just bought the land and was going to build a house on it. It was some 20 acres. We thought some housing developer was going to put in a new division.

I congratulated him on his purchase and I said I was glad it was a solo owner. You can count the residences in the neighborhood on one hand, so I introduced myself and said "howdy neighbor." He told me his name was Rodney Carrington. I asked "what kind of work do you do, Rodney?" I got a stunned deer look from him as it was obvious my wife and I had never heard of him. After he told me what he did, my wife and I made a little more small-talk and we walked home. On a whim, I looked him up on YouTube. OMG! Then I found out who Rodney was... and later that he bought my house. I'm now his tenant.

Before I get to the review, I will say that I find Rodney very funny, and he's quite the regular guy. He's a hard-working comic in the tradition of Will Rogers (though less g-rated) and he and his family make mighty fine neighbors.

Now, to the movie rating. "Beer for my Horses" isn't a bad movie, nor is it a must-see movie. There are some serious plot failures (no, you can't cross into Mexico the way they did), the bad guys are sadly cartoonish and the story is overall very pedestrian.

However, the acting is competent, the cast of stars was a pleasant surprise, and we're spared the cliché of making "The Man" (Tom Skerritt's role as the sheriff) seem like a jerk or a buffoon. He recognizes his rogue subordinates as at least trying and joins in the toasts when they seem appropriate. Rodney is only really turned loose for the rest-stop scene (and it's actually worth watching the movie just for that scene). Ted Nugent is there to act up with the weapons and his best moments are at the start of the film.

Summary: If you're not sure what to watch and you need a comic moment, grab some shots and beers and watch "Beer for my Horses."

I have no earthly idea what "Beer for My Horses" is supposed to be or whom it's supposed to appeal to, but it does have one of the most unusual casts I've seen in ages. Rock and country music stars Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Mel Tillis, Ted Nugent, Mac Davis and David Allen Coe join up with actual, honest-to-God actors like Tom Skerrit and Claire Forlani in a film derived from Keith's hit country song of the same name.

In fact, Keith co-wrote, directed and plays the lead in this tale of an Oklahoma sheriff whose girlfriend is kidnapped after he and his men arrest the brother of a nefarious Mexican drug lord for stealing fertilizer, apparently a key ingredient in meth production (who knew?). Soon, the law enforcer and his posse are headed south-of-the-border to rescue the girl.

Keith has thrown just about everything he can think of into the mix: small-town buffoonery, race-tinged melodrama, low-keyed romance, a troupe of circus performers, a flatulent bulldog, and more scowling Mexicans than you can shake a sombrero at. Somehow it's all supposed to go together, but even the most accomplished filmmaker would have trouble making it all work. Still, it's so homespun, scruffy and amiable that criticizing it too harshly would be like kicking the family mutt.

I'm a woman, and usually people assume that women don't like dumb guy comedies. But more often than not, I'd rather watch something funny than something heartwarming. I'd rather have a little heartwarming in a lot of comedy than the other way around. And in the case of this silly, cheesy, predictable movie, I got my comedy with a dash of heart-warmth.

I like Toby Keith -- he's kinda hot. And I love to listen to him talk. Rodney Carrington is one of the funniest, most talented people out there. And for both of them to be a in movie together -- I was pleased. I laughed my butt off at some of the gags.

I think my favorite part, however, was Ted Nugent as Skunk. As a fellow reviewer pointed out, it was hilariously ironic at that one of entertainment's most opinionated souls, "Talks when he has something to say," as Rack put it. Genius!

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.