| Related Item |
 |
|
|
|
|
‘City Slickers II’
By Desson Howe
Washington Post Staff Writer
June 10, 1994
|
|
|
|
|
|
"City Slickers II: The Search for Curly's Gold," which brings back Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Jack Palance, might rustle up fond, cattle-drivin' memories for those who enjoyed the Three-Men-and-a-Midlife-Crisis original. But for those who woofed their campfire beans when urban cowboy Crystal took to the west, birthed a calf and found his smile, "Slickers II" is grounds for a stampede -- away from the theater.You remember the 1991 movie: On their annual manliness-infusion vacation, three city pals (Crystal, Stern and Bruno Kirby) went to the Southwest for a dude-ranching experience. Running afoul of yuppie-allergic tour guide Curly (Palance), they eventually bonded with the rugged cowboy. And in the kind of hokum Crystal loves to be caught dead in, they buried Curly out in the desert. In "Slickers II," scripted again by Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, a year has passed. Mitch (Crystal), now the manager of a growing New York City radio station, is living contentedly with his wife (Patrica Rettig) and Norman -- the now-grown-up calf. But a sequel is brewing: Mitch just turned 40. Phil (Stern), whom he charitably hired at the station, is reverting to his self-pitying state. Glen (Jon Lovitz), Mitch's shiftless brother, who likes to mooch off his relatives, has dropped in for an extended visit. And to top it all, Mitch swears he's been seeing the late Curly lately. Well, it ain't Curly, but it is Palance. In the movie's most egregious contrivance, the actor plays Duke, Curly's supposed twin, who's looking for a map to the gold bricks his long-departed, bank-robbing father buried in the desert years ago. It turns out Curly kept the map sewn in his hat -- which Mitch now owns. Duke, an even nastier version of his brother, means to get the gold (now worth $20 million) one way or another. To cut further, tiresome exposition short, Mitch heads west again, with buddy Phil, brother Glen and nemesis Duke all in tow. The script, which pays limp tribute to "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (the first movie gave the nod to "Red River"), is full of episodic meandering and klutzy coincidence: Mitch chases a wild stallion, which leads to a stampede, which leads to a discovery of the cave where the gold might be, and so on. The comedy is disappointingly uneven. Crystal has his moments: Faced with two hostile, redneck tour guides, Mitch struggles for conversation. "Gays in the military," he ventures. "Your thoughts?" But Crystal can't conceal that cheesy, borscht-belt side either, as he spins out routines about his salty-tongued father and acts -- you know -- sensitive and endearing. The supporting performers are mostly subdued. Stern lamely repeats that wide-eyed psycho act from the first movie. Palance acts as he always does; and as Glen, Lovitz is occasionally funny, but he's a little too cute for comfort, as he gratuitously recites great passages from "The Godfather, Part II" -- which still remains the only sequel that was worth making. CITY SLICKERS II: The Search for Curly's Gold (PG-13) — Contains profanity and sexual situations.
|
Save money with NextCard Visa
