Urban Cowboy (1980) 6.2
Bud is a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston bar. Director:James Bridges |
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Urban Cowboy (1980) 6.2
Bud is a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston bar. Director:James Bridges |
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Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
John Travolta | ... | ||
Debra Winger | ... | ||
Scott Glenn | ... |
Wes
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Madolyn Smith Osborne | ... |
Pam
(as Madolyn Smith)
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Barry Corbin | ... |
Uncle Bob
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Brooke Alderson | ... |
Aunt Corene
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Cooper Huckabee | ... |
Marshall
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James Gammon | ... | ||
Mickey Gilley | ... |
Himself
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Johnny Lee | ... |
Himself
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Bonnie Raitt | ... |
Herself
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Charlie Daniels | ... |
Himself
(as Charlie Daniels Band)
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Taz Di Gregorio | ... |
Himself
(as Charlie Daniels Band)
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Charlie Hayward | ... |
Himself
(as Charlie Daniels Band)
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Betty Murphy | ... |
Bud's Mom
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Bud Davis is a country boy who moves to the city to visit his uncle and his family. He starts hanging out at Gilley's, the popular nightclub owned by Mickey Gilley himself. He takes a job at the oil refinery where his uncle works, hoping to save enough money to buy some land. He also meets a cowgirl named Sissy, they dance together, fall in love and suddenly get married. And then their marriage is shattered when Bud sees Sissy allegedly seeing con man Wes, who teaches her how to ride the mechanical bull... and plans to rob Gilley's. When a bull-riding contest at Gilley's is announced, Bud decides to sign up. Can he win the contest and save his marriage to Sissy? Written by watzdabigdeal <watzdabigdeal@aol.com>
For Urban Cowboy John Travolta plays one of the stronger alpha males ever portrayed on the big screen. He's a decent enough young kid who leaves his parent's homestead and strikes out for the big city of Dallas where his uncle Barry Corbin has promised to find him work in the petrochemical industry. In 1980 that was beginning to boom and Texas was definitely a growing place in the USA.
Travolta does a good job in making we the audience care about his character who when you come right down to it is a sexist pig. He meets and marries Debra Winger who's from the same background, but she's got some ideas that women should not be shadows of their men. And when she beats him at Gilley's mechanical bull, a man's game, that's it for him.
Scott Glenn who's an ex-convict is working at Gilley's and this film was his breakout role. He's a real snake in Urban Cowboy, he gets Travolta's goat with a mere look and he moves in on Winger. Travolta in turn takes up with rich girl, Madolyn Smith Osborne who's slumming at Gilley's.
Despite the characters, Urban Cowboy was really one gigantic commercial for the self-styled biggest honky tonk in the world. Gilley's is no longer there in the suburban Texas community of Pasadena, but the memories do live on. And the best thing about Urban Cowboy is the wonderful score of country/western songs that were featured in the film. I'm not sure if some of the songs were not written specifically for Urban Cowboy, but it's the only reason I can think of why the Motion Picture Academy ignored the musical aspects of this film. I especially liked Johnny Lee's Looking For Love, if it was specifically written for this film, it's a disgrace that it wasn't nominated for Best Song.
I liked Debra Winger's character best in this film. She doesn't lose a trace of femininity, but she stands up to Travolta and does it in style. And this review is dedicated to that yet as unknown woman who will one day be the first woman bull-rider in the Professional Bull Riders.