Sidekicks

As the other reviewer here states, this is a great and sadly neglected comedy. I loved it back in the 70s and it needs to be released on DVD!!!! Larry Hagman and Jack Elam were fantastic. Hagman played such a great role on I Dream of Jeannie and here he continued with his great sense of timing and comedic skills that would eventually fade into his later years doing serious drama in Dallas, where he transformed into the anti-Nelson character JR. He showed great versatility in these two roles alone, yet appeared in many other films. Those who appreciate Hagman as a great comedian must see this film and Sidekicks must be released on DVD soon!

Back in 1971, James Garner and Lou Gossett starred in "Skin Game", a western comedy about two hucksters who make money selling Jason (Gossett) and Quince (Garner) rescuing him and splitting the money. The plot makes no sense and goes beyond 'not politically correct'....but was, in a weird way, kind of fun.

In 1974, a sequel to "Sidekicks" came out...but this time, instead of Quince being played by Garner, Larry Hagman played the role. In so many ways, it's essentially the same sort of story...though, of course, there were a few differences and the story wasn't quite so original any more. Of course, neither story was 100% original, as the stories were very similar to Garner's previous movies, "Support Your Local Sheriff" and "Support Your Local Gunfighter"...which were, in many ways, similar to Garner's earlier TV series "Maverick"!

The story finds the two huckster still up to their old tricks. However, IMDB's summary is wrong...the story takes place before the end of the Civil War and slavery still is legal. But in this odd and definitely unrealistic world set in a free state, black people seem to be treated much the same as whites....no racism nor hatred here. In fact, in addition to Quince and Jason being friends (a highly unlikely thing back then), some bank robbers ALSO are black and white friends. Again...this story IS anachronistic and I am sure it might ruffle a few feathers in the way it treats black/white relations...as well as prior to this the pair were in the South selling and recapturing Jason!!

As far as this film goes, the law thinks Jason and Quince are the bank robbers, the Sheriff's insanely violence daughter (Blythe Danner) thinks the same AND a group of outlaws think the pair are the robbers. How can the pair extricate themselves from this situation? See the film.

This is an enjoyable film provided you just turn off your brain and enjoy. As a US History teacher, I DEFINITELY needed to do this!! But if you can, the film is enjoyable and worth seeing. And, if you're interested, it's now posted on YouTube.

Spunky remake of Skin Game which had come out just two years previously. Larry Hagman, during his journeyman decade between the hits I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas, and a very young Louis Gossett Jr. work well together and both show off their often underutilized gift for comedy.

They star as a pair of itinerant not terribly successful con-men who when we meet them are escaping from a posse only to soon find themselves in an even bigger mess. How they try to extricate themselves from it and come out a bit ahead spurs the rest of the film. While all this is going on they are surrounded by a terrific cast of characters actors, Jack Elam is a particular standout, and the frisky, on the rise, full of gumption Blythe Danner.

TV movies from the 70's, of which this was one, were a variable lot with some good enough for theatrical release and some utter junk this is neither but it is a most enjoyable diversion with a quality cast and a breezy story. Catch it if you can.

One of the all-time great movies and most people have never seen it! Hilarious characters, superb writing. Larry Hagman, Lou Gossett (when he had hair!), Harry Morgan, and others are all great, but veteran western character actor Jack Elam steals the show as the dim-witted "Boss". Make sure you tape this if it ever comes back on TV again. I need this on DVD!!!!