The Karate Kid Part III

Directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid Part III is the third film of the series where both Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi become victims in a revenge scheme by an old foe, his friend, and a young contender where the two find themselves diverging into different paths. The film is a revenge tales of sort but from the antagonists point of view where it’s the good guys that get attacked forcing them to fight back as both Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita respectively reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Keisuke Miyagi. Also starring Thomas Ian Griffith, Robyn Lively, Sean Kanan, and Martin Kove as Kreese. The Karate Kid Part III is a silly and idiotic film from John G. Avildsen.

The film is a revenge tale of sorts as it relates to character of John Kreese where the film picks up months after the events in the second film where he loses his student and his dojo is going bankrupt where he gets help from his old Vietnam comrade in Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) who is a billionaire that actually founded the dojo. Silver decides to give Kreese a vacation to Tahiti while he would be the ones to find LaRusso and Miyagi and make their lives hell with the help of a vicious karate fighter who wants LaRusso’s title where Silver promises a cut of dojo’s profits if he beats LaRusso. It’s a film that is very strange in the way it handles the concept of revenge as it’s told from the side of its antagonists where it is an interesting idea but there’s a lot of problems with the way it’s handled.

Robert Mark Kamen’s script (which was largely re-written by another writer) doesn’t just portray many of the revenge aspects of the film to be very silly but it’s also in the motivations. While Kreese has legit reasons for wanting revenge on Miyagi and LaRusso, the character of Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) is only involved because of money while Silver is just there for kicks. For LaRusso and Miyagi, the script has them returning from Okinawa where Miyagi loses his job until LaRusso has an idea to create a bonsai tree shop for Miyagi that he could run. At the same time, LaRusso is asked to return to defend his title but doesn’t want to at first until he is threatened and blackmailed by Barnes which only causes a schism in his relationship with Miyagi where he unknowingly turns to Silver for help unaware of Silver’s true intentions. The development in LaRusso is very startling in how bad his character would regress from confronting someone who is able to kill him to now being whiny and doing stupid things around guys who are just as idiotic.

Another aspect of the script that doesn’t work is another love interest for LaRusso in a pottery shop clerk named Jessica (Robyn Lively) who is really an uninteresting character that is put in bad situations whenever LaRusso finds himself in trouble with Barnes and his goons. It adds so much to LaRusso’s regressive development where he would become scared of these guys forcing Miyagi to finally step in and set his student back on the right path.

John G. Avildsen’s direction doesn’t really do anything new at all in terms of compositions and such but that isn’t really the problem with the film at all. Avildsen does manage to keep things lively and engaging at times despite the many problems with the script but it’s really a lot of things that is wrong. The film is set months or days after the event of the second film as it had been three years since the release of that second film and five years since the release of the first. There is something wrong with the way it is set as LaRusso looks older as well as the fact that a lot of things had changed in the past five years from the music and the culture itself. It is among the many things in the film that feels very wrong not just tonally but also in some of the visual aspects of the film. It’s also a bit more violent as it also adds to the awkwardness of what Avildsen wants. Even as the climax where LaRusso would face Barnes comes off as idiotic and pointless. Overall, Avildsen creates a very messy and nonsensical film about a man and his student being victims in a silly revenge scheme.

Cinematographer Steve Yaconelli does some nice work with the cinematography as it does have some amazing lighting in the sequence where Miyagi confronts Kreese, Silver, and Barnes along with some of the daytime exteriors as it‘s shot largely in Southern California. Editors John G. Avildsen and John Carter do OK work with the editing as it relates to some of the suspense and action though not enough work is put into trimming a few things that went on for too long. Production designer William F. Matthews, with set decorator Catherine Mann and art director Christopher Burian-Mohr, does terrific work with the sets from the look of Miyagi‘s home to the bonsai tree shop he and Daniel would hope to run.

Sound editor Scott Hecker does nice work with some of the sound in the way action is presented along with some of the intense moments in the Californian forests. The film’s music by Bill Conti is superb though it‘s just really just re-hashes of previous scores from the other films though they‘re still effective while music supervisor Brooks Arthur provides a terrible music soundtrack of pop and rock music of the late 80s that just sound very dated and slick.

The casting by Caro Jones is alright for the cast that is assembled as it features appearances from Frances Bay as the old lady that lived in Daniel’s old apartment complex, Randee Heller as Daniel’s mother, Gabe Jarret as a guy that was harassing Jessica at a club that Daniel would brutally beat up, fight choreographer Pat E. Johnson as the tournament referee, and Jonathan Avildsen as one of Barnes’ friends and goons in Snake who is just very annoying. Sean Kanan is alright as Mike Barnes as a skilled and vicious karate fighter who agrees to antagonize and scare LaRusso into taking part of the tournament for Silver with a cut of whatever Silver plans to do for the resurrection of the Cobra Kai dojo. Martin Kove is terrific as John Kreese as the former Corba Kai sensei who feels humiliated by Miyagi as he turns to Silver for help where gladly takes part in Silver’s plan for vengeance.

Robyn Lively is terrible as Jessica as this young woman who works at a pottery shop that finds herself in trouble whenever she’s around Daniel as it involves Mike Barnes as she and Macchio have no chemistry at all. Thomas Ian Griffith is fantastic as Terry Silver where he just exudes the idea of a slimy billionaire that wants to help his friend Kreese and just bring hell to Miyagi and LaRusso where he is just fun to watch. Noriyuki “Pat” Morita is excellent as Miyagi as the karate master who is concerned with LaRusso’s behavior as well as becoming disappointed with LaRusso’s decisions where he try to stay out of the way until he realizes what is really going on. Finally, there’s Ralph Macchio in a horrible performance as Daniel LaRusso where he spends a lot of the film either being whiny or being angry where Macchio would overdo things as he just makes LaRusso even more pathetic than he was in the first film.

The Karate Kid Part III is a horrible film from John G. Avildsen. Despite a few top-notch performances from Noriyuki “Pat” Morita and Thomas Ian Griffith, the film isn’t just a re-hash of sorts of the original but it lacks heart and characters to care for. In the end, The Karate Kid Part III is a film that just plainly fucking sucks.

John G. Avildsen Films: (Turn on to Love) - (Guess What We Learned in School Today?) - (Joe) - (Cry Uncle!) - (Okay Bill) - (Save the Tiger) - (The Stoolie) - (Fore Play) - (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings) - Rocky - (Slow Dancing in the Big City) - (The Formula) - (Neighbors) - (Traveling Hopefully) - (A Night in Heaven) - The Karate Kid - The Karate Kid Part II - (Happy New Year) - (For Keeps) - (Lean on Me) - (Rocky V) - (The Power of One) - (8 Seconds) - (Inferno)

© thevoid99 2016

The Karate Kid, Part II

Directed and co-edited by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid Part II is the sequel to the 1984 film as Mr. Miyagi returns home to Okinawa to see his ailing father while being accompanied by his student Daniel LaRusso where they deal with an old enemy and his brutish nephew. The film is a continuation of a father-son bond of sorts between Miyagi and LaRusso as they’re once again respectively played by Noriyuki “Pat” Morita and Ralph Macchio. Also starring Nobu McCarthy, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Komekona, Yuji Okumoto, and Martin Kove as John Kreese. The Karate Kid Part II is a heartfelt and thrilling film from John G. Avildsen.

Set six months after the events in the first film, Kensuke Miyagi receives news from his home island of Okinawa in Japan that his father is dying as he decides to return home. With his student/friend Daniel LaRusso wanting to accompany him as an act of gratitude, the two deal with Miyagi’s own past actions as they’re confronted by an old friend of Miyagi who has a legitimate grudge towards him over a woman Miyagi wanted to marry. Adding that troubling turmoil is the man’s nephew who targets LaRusso where LaRusso realizes the concepts of honor is very different in Japan than in America where he tries to maintain the idea of what is right. Robert Mark Kamen’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the concept of honor but also cowardice as the latter is something Miyagi is accused of from his former friend Sato (Danny Komekona) who was also a student of Miyagi’s father.

Miyagi tries to settle matters with Sato without violence but things don’t work out so well easily where Miyagi’s home village and its villagers are also being targeted for Miyagi’s refusal to fight. Adding to the complications is Sato’s nephew Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) who is quite corrupt and has a very distorted view of honor. While LaRusso does admit that he finds Chozen intimidating, he doesn’t back down knowing that Chozen is driven by profit and intimidation where LaRusso finds a way to get the upper hand and fight another day. The script doesn’t just explore the dire situations both Miyagi and LaRusso are in but also their own relationship as LaRusso helps his mentor cope with loss while getting to know Okinawa. It’s a world LaRusso would embrace despite his encounters with Chozen as it is among the highlights though the elements of romance that involve LaRusso falling for a young woman named Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) isn’t entirely successful as it feels like an attempt to give LaRusso something else to do.

John G. Avildsen’s direction is quite straightforward for the way he portrays these two different worlds of Southern California and Okinawa as the latter was actually shot on Oahu, Hawaii with a cast of Okinawan-born actors or those of Okinawan descent to give the film an authentic feel. While the film opens with a sequence that picks up where the last film left off as it involves an antagonist from that film in John Kreese. It does open the film with a bang as it gives audience that confrontation between Miyagi and Kreese but in a way that is unexpected. The film then shifts to six months after that moment where the main narrative takes place as Avildsen’s compositions for the scenes in Southern California are straightforward while many of the scenes set in Okinawa are quite rich and entrancing. There are also these moments that are very intimate in some of the romantic elements between LaRusso and Yukie but it feels very underdeveloped. The moments where LaRusso is confronted by Chozen are very engaging with the usage of low camera angles where the latter is often dominant but LaRusso does find a way to fight back as it does lead to this very intense climax where the two fight as it is about honor and what is right. Overall, Avildsen creates an exciting though flawed film about a man and his student dealing with sins as well as loss and the idea of honor.

Cinematographer James Crabe does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in the way Okinawa looks in day and night in its exteriors along with the usage of shadows for some of the scenes set at night including the rainstorm sequence. Editors John G. Avildsen, David Garfield, and Jane Kurson does nice work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s action and fight scenes. Production designer William J. Cassidy, set decorator Lee Poll and art director William F. Matthews, does amazing work with the look of homes set in Okinawa as well as some of the places in its towns.

Costume designer Mary Malin does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual along with the look of the Japanese robes that many of the local Okinawans wear. Sound editor Tom C. McCarthy does superb work with the sound in capturing the intensity of the storm in the rainstorm sequence along with some raucous moments in a dance club scene as well as sparse moments in the fights. The film’s music by Bill Conti is excellent for its mixture of orchestral-based music with some traditional Japanese-based string instruments and woodwinds to play into some of the romantic and traditional Japanese elements while music supervisor Brooks Arthur creates a soundtrack filled with pop and rock pieces from New Edition, the Moody Blues, Dennis DeYoung of Styx, Carly Simon, Paul Rodgers, Southside Johnny, and the film’s love theme The Glory of Love by Peter Cetera.

The casting by Caro Jones is great as it features some appearances and small roles from Clarence Gilyard as an army soldier at an Okinawan bar, Ron Thomas and Rob Garrison respectively reprising their roles as former Cobra Kai students Bobby and Tommy, William Zabka as the top Cobra Kai student Johnny who is being choked to death by Kreese, Charlie Tanimoto as Miyagi’s ailing father, Joey Miyashima and Marc Hayashi as Chozen’s goons, and Martin Kove in a superb performance as John Kreese who gets himself into a disastrous confrontation against Miyagi. Danny Kamekona is excellent as Miyagi’s old friend Sato who has a grudge towards Miyagi and wants to fight him really bad where also controls the village that Miyagi lived in. Nobu McCarthy is fantastic as Miyagi’s old flame Yukie who was the source of Sato’s falling out with Miyagi as she had been taking care of Miyagi’s father while catching up with Miyagi on old times.

Yuji Okumoto is excellent as Sato’s nephew Chozen as a man who does his uncle’s bidding but also is very corrupt in the way he cheats villagers where he would antagonize Daniel over his distorted view of honor. Tamlyn Tomita is wonderful Yukie’s niece Kumiko who introduces Daniel to the world of Okinawan culture as she would later fall for him though the way some of the romance is handled is very clunky and cheesy. Noriyuki “Pat” Morita is amazing as Miyagi as a man who returns to his home island to see his dying father as he copes with accusations of cowardice by his old friend Sato as well as trying to protect his village from Sato and his nephew. Finally, there’s Ralph Macchio in a brilliant performance as Daniel LaRusso who accompanies Miyagi to Okinawa as an outsider as he deals with Chozen’s antagonistic attitude where he knows he’s being out-skilled and out-matched but wouldn’t back down.

The Karate Kid, Part II is a stellar yet flawed film from John G. Avildsen. While it does feature an amazing cast, compelling themes on the idea of honor, and some fine music. It’s a film that starts off great yet has some bumps along with the way in its narrative but ends on a satisfying note. In the end, The Karate Kid, Part II is a wonderful film from John G. Avildsen.

John G. Avildsen Films: (Turn on to Love) - (Guess What We Learned in School Today?) - (Joe) - (Cry Uncle!) - (Okay Bill) - (Save the Tiger) - (The Stoolie) - (Fore Play) - (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings) - Rocky - (Slow Dancing in the Big City) - (The Formula) - (Neighbors) - (Traveling Hopefully) - (A Night in Heaven) - The Karate Kid - (Happy New Year) - (For Keeps) - (Lean on Me) - The Karate Kid Part III - (Rocky V) - (The Power of One) - (8 Seconds) - (Inferno)

© thevoid99 2016

The Karate Kid

Directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid tells the story of a young New Jersey teenager who moves to California with his mother where he would encounter bullies who are taught a vicious form of karate. Following repeated encounters with the bullies, the young man is suddenly saved by an Okinawan handyman who would later teach him karate in order to defend himself from the bullies leading to a confrontation at a tournament. A blend of coming-of-age story and the underdog story, the film is an exploration into a young man not just standing up for himself but also find some balance in his young life with the help of an old man. Starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Randee Heller, William Zabka, and Martin Kove. The Karate Kid is a majestic film from John G. Avildsen.

The film is a simple story of a young teenager from New Jersey who arrives to California with his mother for a new life where he meets a girl only to be bullied by that young woman’s ex-boyfriend and his friends through a vicious form of karate. After a series of encounters where Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) tries to get revenge only to be getting a worse beating, he is saved by an Okinawan handyman named Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) who would teach Daniel karate and later have him confront the bullies in a karate tournament. It’s a film that has a simple premise but has so much more where there is this unique bond between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi as the former had just lost a father while the latter is a loner who likes to keep to himself yet is a master at karate. In teaching Daniel through unconventional means, he would show Daniel that there’s more to karate than just punching and kicking but also a way to find balance in the boy’s life.

Robert Mark Kamen’s screenplay plays up to that sense of the underdog in Daniel LaRusso as he’s this kid from New Jersey that just arrived to California where it’s a world full of beaches and palm trees. Upon meeting the rich girl Ali (Elisabeth Shue), it seems like the best decision to move from working-class Jersey to California until he meets her ex-boyfriend in Johnny (William Zabka) who is upset that she’s met someone else as he beats up Daniel with this brutal form of karate. Though Daniel only knows a few moves, he learns that Johnny and his friends go to school where their master is a former Special Forces Vietnam veteran in John Kreese (Martin Kove). One of the intriguing aspects of the script isn’t the fact that Johnny and his friends are really bad kids but misguided one as their teacher is the real villain. Kreese is a man who doesn’t believe in the idea of mercy or restraint as he’s all about destroying and ending the enemy.

It’s an ideal that is the opposite of what Mr. Miyagi would teach to Daniel who becomes frustrated with his encounters as he plead to his mother (Randee Heller) about wanting to go home. Yet, one last beat down from Johnny and his Cobra Kai gang would have Daniel find a true ally in Miyagi. Miyagi would meet with Kreese at the latter’s dojo as Miyagi would ask Kreese to have his boys leave Daniel alone until the tournament where it would be an uneasy decision for both Miyagi and Daniel to make. Still, Miyagi would prepare Daniel for inevitable through unconventional means in muscle memory It’s not just this relationship between the two that builds where Daniel learns more about Miyagi but his relationship with Ali would also grow as she would become his supporter where she would help both of them during the climatic tournament in the film’s third act.

John G. Avildsen’s direction is pretty simple in the way he presents the film as this coming-of-age story about a kid who learns karate in order stand up for himself. Yet, Avildsen does create moments that is very accessible in terms of its compositions and drama while injecting some moments of humor. Some of the best moments of Avildsen include some wide and medium shots of the locations that includes this gorgeous shot of Mr. Miyagi practicing the crane kick in the beach. Much of it displays that sense of peace and balance that is in Mr. Miyagi and what Daniel needed in his life as he is still dealing with the loss of his father. Especially in the third act where he learns about Miyagi’s background as it would strengthen their relationship.

While much of the film’s karate moves, that is choreographed by Pat E. Johnson who plays the tournament referee, might not be impressive in comparison to other martial arts films. They do serve a purpose to the film where it would lead to this climatic tournament where it’s not about how much one person knows. It’s more about what one knows and how it can help them without the need to do something crazy. The film’s climax is definitely memorable in the way Avildsen position his camera and captures the action where it’s very engaging as there is that sense to root for Daniel to succeed as it plays to that underdog story. Overall, Avildsen crafts a very powerful and captivating film about a young man learning the balance in life through karate.

Cinematographer James Crabe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the sunny look of some of the exteriors in the film‘s locations in California to some of the usage of light in some of its nighttime exterior scenes as well as the lights for the climatic tournament. Editors John G. Avildsen, Walt Mulconery, and Bud S. Smith do amazing work with the editing in its stylistic usage of dissolves as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s action. Production designer William J. Cassidy and set decorator John H. Anderson do wonderful work with the look of the tournament arena as well as the Cobra Kai dojo that Kreese runs and the home that Mr. Miyagi lives when he‘s not working as a handyman.

Costume designers Richard Bruno and Aida Swinson do nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual along with the design of the Halloween costumes at the school dance as well as the karate robes for the tournament. Sound mixer Dean Hodges does terrific work with the sound from the way some of the punches and kicks sound to other moments in the film‘s locations. The film’s music by Bill Conti is just fantastic for its score that is this mixture of orchestral music that features some lush string arrangements as well as a serene pan flute performed by Gheorge Zamfir. Music supervisors Brooks Arthur and Russ Regan create a fun soundtrack that features music by Bananarama, Gang of Four, Survivor, Shandi, Paul Davis, and Joe Esposito.

The casting by Pennie DuPont, Caro Jones, and Bonnie Timmermann is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small performances from Frances Bay as an old lady with a dog, William Bassett as Ali‘s father, and Randee Heller in a terrific performance as Daniel‘s mother. In the roles of Johnny’s fellow Cobra Kai gang, there’s Chad McQueen as the cocky Dutch, Rob Garrison as the mocking Tommy, and Rob Thomas as the more compassionate Bobby. Martin Kove is amazing as the very chilling and antagonistic Kreese as a man who mocks the idea of mercy as there’s also a dark sense of humor in him. William Zabka is excellent as the arrogant Johnny as this rich kid who doesn’t like the idea of his ex-girlfriend hanging around with a working-class kid like Daniel.

Elisabeth Shue is wonderful as Ali as this young woman who wants something new as she finds Daniel refreshing while dealing with the advances of her ex-boyfriend as she proves to be no pushover. Ralph Macchio is great as Daniel LaRusso as this young kid dealing with his new surroundings as well as the bullies as he finds a new surrogate father figure in Mr. Miyagi who would help find the balance in life that he needed. Finally, there’s Noriyuki “Pat” Morita in a phenomenal performance as Mr. Miyagi as this very eccentric yet humble man who is also a master in karate as he maintains a great sense of restraint as a man with some demons inside him as he helps out this young man find balance in life.

The Karate Kid is a remarkable film from John G. Avildsen. It’s a film that features an amazing cast and Bill Conti’s soaring score as it’s truly a film that doesn’t just hold up since its release thirty years ago. It still has something to offer in not just the art of karate but what it really means as all of its imitators can wither away. In the end, The Karate Kid is a sensational film from John G. Avildsen.

The Karate Kid Films: Part II - Part III - (The Next Karate Kid)

© thevoid99 2014

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/10/08 w/ Additional Edits.

After scoring a critical hit with 1991's My Own Private Idaho, that also became a hit in art-house film circuits, Gus Van Sant had become the leading voice of the emerging New Queer Cinema movement. Hoping to make a bid in going mainstream, Van Sant decided to make his first big-budgeted film that had the full financial backing and support of a major studio. For this project, Gus Van Sant turned to an obscure yet celebrated novel by Tom Robbins about a young woman with large thumbs who travels around the country while exploring free love and homosexuality. The novel entitled Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was beloved in the gay community that it comes as no surprise than to have Gus Van Sant to do the film. The resulting film would have repercussions for Gus Van Sant's career as he struggled to find mainstream acceptance.

Written for the screen and directed by Gus Van Sant, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a road film about a woman with large, mutated thumbs who travels around the country while trying to find love in a world that's rapidly changing. During this journey, she encounters many strange people while going through transformations politically and sexually. With the novelist Tom Robbins serving as narrator, the film explores Van Sant's themes of homosexuality and desperate love that echoes such earlier work as My Own Private Idaho and his 1985 debut film Mala Noche. Starring Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Sean Young, Crispin Glover, Udo Kier, Buck Henry, Ken Kesey, Roseanne Barr, Ed Begley Jr., Carol Kane, Heather Graham, Lin Shaye, Edward James Olmos, Rain Phoenix, and in one of his final film appearances, River Phoenix in an un-credited role as Pilgrim. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues despite its efforts, is a messy, baffling, and incoherent film from Gus Van Sant.

Ever since she was a child, Sissy Hawkins (Uma Thurman) had always wondered what power her large, mutated thumbs had until the day she hitch-hiked herself into a car. By the early 1970s, Sissy is now a traveler who constantly goes on road journeys with her magic thumbs. Yet, she briefly had success as a model when she got called by her former boss known as the Countess (John Hurt), a transvestite, feminist hygiene product mogul. Traveling through New York City via riding on cars and trucks, Sissy meets the Countess who had hoped to have Sissy meet with Native American water-colorist Julian (Keanu Reeves). The meeting turned into a disaster after Julian had an asthma attack while Sissy got seduced by a couple of Julian's entourage in Howard (Crispin Glover) and Marie (Sean Young).

After that disastrous encounter where her thumbs her due to her anxieties, Sissy is sent on a modeling assignment to a ranch he owns that's ran by Miss Adrian (Angie Dickinson). Going to the ranch, Miss Adrian is dealing with the increasing control from a group of cowgirls led by Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). Sissy finds herself attracted to Jellybean and her wild ways which included lesbianism. When the modeling job involves doing something involved with whooping cranes, it doesn't go well due to dueling factions between the Countess and the cowgirls that included the peyote-taking Dolores (Lorraine Bracco). Torn between her love for Jellybean and loyalty to the Countess, Sissy flees to the mountains where she meets a Japanese-American recluse named the Chink (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita). After her strange counter with the Chink, Sissy returns to New York where she had a falling out with the Countess.

Fearing that her thumbs has now caused trouble, she turns to her childhood doctor Dr. Dreyfus (Buck Henry) for help. What happened would change her persona while hearing about the revolt from the cowgirls as they're protecting the whooping cranes from the government. Joining the cowgirls, she helps them in their fight while discovering her own true identity for the first time in her life.

The film is about a young woman's journey to self-discovery yet, with its themes of feminism, social politics, and such. It gets lost in its translation from book to novel but then again, the book is considered to be too strange to be adapted. Robbins story of self-discovery is filled with a lot of characters that often are too eccentric for their own good. Yet, the fault is largely due to Gus Van Sant and his attempts to turn it into a film and the result is very messy. He brings a film where not much makes sense, a lot of it becomes very self-indulgent, and overly pretentious. While the film has themes about homosexuality that were explored in his earlier films. Not much ground is covered in this one because it's often overshadowed by its political leanings towards animal activism which doesn't have much depth either.

Another problem with the film is that with most adaptations, something is missing in the adaptation. The film in its original running time of two hours in its initial premiere at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival received an overwhelming negative response. Therefore, Van Sant and editor Curtiss Clayton were forced to cut thirty-minutes of the film for its official 1994 theatrical release. Yet, something got lost as it's clear that some appearances must've been cut from the original film along with characters who seem to have a much bigger impact. Therefore, if Van Sant was trying to improve the film by shortening it and to simplify the story. He didn't succeed as it's lost in its rambling, incoherent plot while Tom Robbins' narration doesn't really help things either. Some insert shots of Sissy fantasizing and such doesn't feel right and the end result overall is a messy film from Gus Van Sant.

The cinematography of John J. Campbell and Eric Alan Edwards, two of Van Sant's early, regular cinematographers create an interesting look in a lot of the film's exterior shots of sunlight and evening shots. Yet, in comparison to their previous work with My Own Private Idaho, it lacks the atmospheric quality of that film as well as other early Van Sant features. Despite its look, it isn't actually inspiring nor does the editing by Van Sant and Curtiss Clayton that really doesn't have much style with the exception of stock footage of flying whooping cranes. Production designer Missy Stewart along with set decorator Nina Bradford, and art director Dan Self do create an interesting look of the Rubber Road ranch as well as the New York City art scene.

Costume designer Beatrix Aruna Pasztor also does some interesting work with the costumes, notably the cowgirls with their chaps, hats, and shirts to have them look masculine in a cool way. Sound designer Kelley Baker does some nice work in the film's battle sequence and road scenes though it's nothing spectacular in comparison to Van Sant's other films. The film's score by k.d. lang and Ben Mink is a highlight with its smooth, country style score and mix with rock where lang was hot at the time as her score and soundtrack is actually one of the best things in the film.

The casting by Sharon Bialy, Debi Manwiller, and Richard Pagano is interesting but distracting due to its slew of appearances from actors that are really just strange cameos. Appearances from Roseanne as a fortune teller, Grace Zabriskie and Ken Kesey as Sissy's parents, William S. Burroughs as himself, Udo Kier as a commercial director, Edward James Olmos in an un-credited appearance as a musician in a barbeque, Lin Shaye as a ranch maid, Heather Graham and alt-folk musician Victoria Williams as a couple of cowgirls, Ed Begley, Jr. and Carol Kane along with Crispin Glover and Sean Young as Julian's snobby entourage, and the late River Phoenix in one of his final film appearances as a pilgrim. Keanu Reeves makes an extremely bad appearance as Julian with an awful tan to make himself look Native American while sporting an even more wooden performance where he has no clue what he's doing.

Buck Henry is good as a doctor who helps Sissy while Treva Jeffryes is also good as the young Sissy. John Hurt gives a strange, stylish, yet overbearing performance as the Countess with a Southern-British accent that doesn't work while at times, some of his physical performances don't really work. Angie Dickinson isn't very good either as Miss Adrian as she isn't given much to do but complain and act all shocked. Noriyuki "Pat" Morita is pretty good as the Chink, a recluse from the mountains who is very eccentric and fun despite his aversion to politics. Lorraine Bracco is good in a strange yet hilarious role as Dolores, a peyote-taking cowgirl who claims to have all of these weird, psychedelic visions. Rain Phoenix is somewhat decent though not overall brilliant as Bonanza Jellybean as while she is memorable. Her performance doesn't leave much of an impression as she's just there to talk in a drawl and look good in chaps.

Finally, there's Uma Thurman in one of her early leading roles. While it's not a bad performance, it's nothing worth celebrating either. While Thurman can portray being beautiful and naive while having this kind of drawl in her accent. There's not much she's given throughout the film despite being the lead character yet Thurman seems lost and unsure of what to do as the lead. Some of that fault can be due to Van Sant's direction though Thurman does manage to have some fine moments.

Despite its intentions, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a messy, incoherent failure from Gus Van Sant. While fans of Gus Van Sant might see this for their own interest, it's clear that this isn't one of his great films as he's already becoming one of cinema's premier directors. Yet, for all of his great films that he's made like Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Elephant, Last Days, Paranoid Park, and more recently, Milk. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is an interesting failure showing where someone as revered as Gus Van Sant can stumble. In the end, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a film that doesn't work despite Gus Van Sant's attempts to bring Tom Robbins' unique, eccentric cult novel to the big screen.

Gus Van Sant Films: Mala Noche - Drugstore Cowboy - My Own Private Idaho - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 film) - Finding Forrester - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Milk - (Restless)

The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - The Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

(C) thevoid99 2011