Silverado

30 September 2013

Silverado 1985

• Director: Laurence Kasdan
• Based on Book: no
• Cast: Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn, Linda Hunt, Brian Dennehy,  John Cleese, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kevin Kline - Hamlet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Prairie Home Companion, The Emperor’s Club, Life As a House, The Wild Wild West, The Ice Storm, Dave, The January Man, A Fished Called Wanda, Sophie’s Choice
• Danny Glover – Be Kind Rewind, Honeydripper, Dreamgirls, Manderlay, Bopha!, Lethal Weapon 1-4, The Color Purple, Witness
• Kevin Costner – Swing Vote, Rumor Has It, A Perfect World, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Dances with Wolves, Bodyguard, JFK, Bull Durham, Stacey’s Knights
• Scott Glenn – The Bourne Ultimatum, Freedom Writes, The Shipping News, Virgin Suicides, Carla’s Song, Courage under Fire, Edie & Pen, Silence of the Lambs, Apocalypse, Nashville
• Linda Hunt – Stranger than Fiction, The Year of Living Dangerously
• Brian Dennehy – Romeo and Juliet, The Stars Fell on Henrietta, various TV series
• John Cleese – Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda, Fawlty Towers, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Harry Potter, The Meaning of Life, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Taming of the Shrew
• Jeff Goldblum – Igby Goes Down, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, The Fly
• Rosanna Arquette – Pulp Fiction, After Hours, Desperately Seeking Susan
• Why bought: Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, remember liking it
• Seen:  Twice. First time about 15-20 years ago. Now: September 27, 2013

Actually I’m practically allergic to westerns and this is pretty much a standard western with outsider he-men good guys, mean crooks and bent sheriffs so one could ask oneself what it was I liked about this movie the first time I saw it.  I remember it as an irreverent comedy but other than Kevin Kline’s red long johns and  young Kevin Costner behaving like a dumb, sharpshooting yeehawer it’s not funny, and the yeehawing isn’t funny either, just tiresome.

I suppose what I liked back in the olden days was the inclusion of a black hero and a non-beautiful, tough and likeable leading lady. In the 80’s this was maybe a bit radical.  Sadly, maybe it still is.

I won’t go into all the clichés. Westerns are westerns. This one is without Indians except for a couple who walk across the street at the beginning. There’s no indication that all these good-hearted wagon train people are land robbers.

Without the cast this film wouldn’t get more than a puny little star from me but Danny Glover and Kevin Kline bring quality to everything they do and Linda Hunt makes any scene she’s in worth watching.  Thanks to them:

2 * of 5