Urban Cowboy (1980)

Bud (John Travolta) is a young man from the country who moves to Houston to work at the local oil refinery and starts to spend a lot of time at the local country and western bar named Gilley's where he meets Sissy (Debra Winger).  Over much dancing and drinks, they start to fall in love and eventually get married.  Since they are young and impetuous, they start to have problems....and things just get more complicated from there, but can their love prevail?  Along the way, there's plenty of great music and dancing as director James Bridges (The China Syndrome) takes us into this unique subculture of two-step dancing and mechanical bull-riding!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

URBAN COWBOY – 1980

Directed by James Bridges

Starring John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Brooke Alderson, Cooper Huckabee, James Gammon, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Bonnie Raitt, Betty Murphy, Charlie Daniels, and Barry Corbin

Genre:  Western Romance (Audio clip)

I don't know quite why...never much liked country music but I just dig this movie! Travolta in his early days is a big draw (and he pulls off the accent suprisingly well) as is Debra Winger who is pretty terrific in this, also proving me right once again how she would have been a SIGNIFICANT upgrade over Karen Lynn Gorney in Saturday Night Fever. 🤫They play Bud and Sissy respectively….a young couple who live just outside Houston, fall in love, and then have NO clue how to share their lives together after getting married.  Both actors were in their mid ‘20’s at the time and just PERFECTLY cast….not only their undeniable chemistry but the youthful impetuousness of both characters. 

And then you have a young (but still looking significantly over 40 as he always has) Scott Glenn looking bad-ass and menacing too as one of this film’s pseudo-villains, the recent convict Wes Hightower.....who can not manipulate the mechanical bull well and effortlessly swig an entire bottle of tequila WORM included….but also VERY much pulls off the mesh shirt look.  For the record, Glenn WAS forty at the time of filming…..damn! 😉 Barry Corbin also steals all of his scenes as the loveable Uncle Bob. Just an engaging (if a bit overlong at 140 minutes) time capsule movie which kinda-sorta follows the formula of so many other films (An Officer and a Gentleman, Cocktail, Top Gun, Saturday Night Fever) from that era about the young raw hot-shot who needs to hone his skills to win....of course, there HAS to be the untimely death of some one close to them in the third act. This subgenre first starred Travolta and then mostly Tom Cruise for a while.

Also the bar Gilly's is a character in itself, the ORIGINAL Gilley’s Club in Pasadena, Texas where much of this was filmed, including all of the scenes featuring dancing, drinking, bull riding AND even Bud & Sissy’s wedding.  Oh and would you believe they even had a Dolly Parton look-alike contest? (Audio clip) 

It’s funny but if you were watching this now for the very first time….you would THINK it was some ridiculous overblown set but nope was a REAL cavernous bar with multiple hang-outs and dance-floors and I’m pretty sure that my parents took me to see it when I was really young....mechanical bulls and beer-soaked dance floors for as far as the eye can see! (Although I am STILL at a loss as the kind of constitution one must have to be able to ride a bull RIGHT after consuming mass quantities of beer) It also helps that there are some VERY memorable on-stage appearances from the likes of Charlie Daniels AND Bonnie Rait. :) Even if you’re not a country and western fan, you gotta appreciate just the scale of Gilly’s….at one point, it was THE largest bar on the planet with a 14,000 square foot dance floor and with enough space to apparently hold around 6,000 people on any given night.  This place ran from 1970 to 1990 though apparently it was NEVER bigger than in the aftermath of this film’s release….and for good reason. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

If anything else, this film’s soundtrack was arguably just as successful and as influential as the film itself – it features music from various country legends along with luminaries considered JUST outside of the country genre including Kenny Rogers, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Walsh, Anne Murray, Boz Scaggs, and Linda Rondstadt.  Also prominently featured was Mickey Gilley himself, yes the SAME country star who owned the titular bar I described earlier. (Audio clip) 

The soundtrack had several high-charting hits but likely none better than from Texas City, Texas’ OWN (no I’m not making up the name of that town) country favorite son….John Lee Ham, OFFICIALLY known as Johnny Lee.  For about ten years before this film was made, he was a regular performer at Gilley’s often alongside Mickey Gilley himself….but his prominence within this movie took him to the stratosphere.  He has two songs featured on this soundtrack though one of them is utilized for a future category to come soon….but the BIG one has to be what many consider to be the official song for this movie, a lovely, lilting ballad featuring his smooth Southern baritone which we FIRST hear over a nice montage of Bud and Sissy getting to know each other at Gilley’s. (Audio clip) 

Though for me, the BEST use of this song remains when it closes out the movie….wow the last twenty minutes of this movie are just JAM-PACKED but they work…and after some VERY tumultuous stuff, Bud and Sissy are reunited….at Gilley’s of course. (Audio clip) 

Though what kicks off this particular song is Bud simply saying, “Let’s go home” as they walk off arm-in-arm into the parking lot……get into their truck, smile at each other, put back on Sissy’s mini-license plate in the window, kiss passionately with the camera behind them….and then drive off into the night as the song builds into its memorable chorus…..with the last shot being….you guessed it, the bright blue Gilley’s awning center-frame as we hear the orchestra perk up with the credits rolling.  It’s a genuinely FANTASTIC ending…..just goofy and sweet….featuring what I believe is one of THE best soundtrack ballads of the ‘80’s….how did this NOT get an Oscar nomination?  I’m referring to the elegant and catchy “Looking For Love.” (Audio clip)  

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Now I’m going to revisit something I said in a previous review for a film she was co-starring in – Rachel Getting Married – but I feel like with THIS review, it’s even more relevant as this was a true breakout for then 25 year old Debra Winger.  You look back at her career especially during her ‘80’s hey day, she delivered several memorable performances in several memorable movies including Terms of Endearment, Betrayed, An Office and a Gentleman, AND this being my personal favorite.  Winger ended up being nominated three times for Best Actress by the Academy, had a couple of notable leading roles in the early ‘90’s in some strong films like Leap of Faith and Shadowlands and then…..POOF she was gone….oh right sorry, no she just made the mistake of turning 40.  Seriously you look at her IMDB and there is SUCH a sharp drop-off after ’95 which is fact the year she turned 40….a couple of smaller roles on TV here and film with previous episode Rachel Getting Married KIND of being a mini-comeback for her all the way in 2008.  WHY?  

Well I’ve been through this before in this category, it’s simple – Hollywood has never quite figured out what to do with most notable actresses once they reach a certain age.  Now some have defied the odds and have even found new success outside of cinema with one foot still planted in movies….like a Meryl Streep or Nicole Kidman.  But they’re the exceptions….even if she finds new life on a streaming series at some point, I still feel like we lost at LEAST ten years of interesting performances from Debra Winger and that’s unfortunate. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Oh yeah back to Johnny Lee, yes we see him performing on-stage about 20 minutes into the movie AT Gilley’s during what I consider to be the best scene in the movie….when Bud and Sissy first meet.  This time it’s a more lively Lee number, named “Cherokee Fiddle.” (Audio clip) 

So yes our two lovebirds meet….and GUESS who makes the first move no less? Winger and Travolta just KILL it here with their casualness and swagger….and ever better, we get to see John DANCE….the Two-Step which they do together, very lovely! (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

You know there are certainly aspects of this film which have dated quite badly including an questionable incident of physical abuse which occurs between our two leads around half-way through the movie….HOWEVER to be fair, you compare the treatment of female characters here VS. just a few years prior with the film it was most looking to emulate – Saturday Night Fever – there’s progress for sure.  Yes this is Texas Faux-Cowboy Culture but it’s STILL better Bay Ridge, Brooklyn TRUST me. (Audio clip)

But one thing which HAS aged well is just how beautifully this film was cast…on paper, Madelyn Smith, Scott Glenn, the late great James Gammon….they’re playing full-on tropey characters but they’re playing them WELL.  Every one has a distinct face and voice, adding a layer of dimension even with limited screentime….and at the top of this call sheet are the TWO leads…yes I saw two leads even though at the time of release, this was VERY much a John Travolta vehicle.  As I said, Travolta is fantastic here – with or without the beard no less – even with the accent, his charm, charisma, and vulnerability shines through.  AND we get to see him do a stand-alone dance no less….this tie a hoe-down. (Audio clip) 

But Debra Winger is RIGHT there with him….she is SO engaging and charismatic, she’s holding her own on the dance floor AND she’s even holding her own on the mechanical bull.   I just can’t see this movie working NEARLY as well if we didn’t have such well-paired leads so as a RARE exception to a rule for this category which established last year, I’m going to BREAK that rule by anointing John Travolta and Debra Winger CO-MVP’s. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

No worries, I won’t make a habit of stretching that category.  By all means, check this out especially if you dig early Travolta AND Debra Winger.  Happy 45th to one of THE more underrated pseudo-musicals of the 1980’s! 

Streaming on Prime Video & Paramount Plus

And that ends another PLAYING A FOOLS GAME, HOPING TO WIN…review!