City Slickers (1991) – Film Review

Director: Ron Underwood
Cast: Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Jack Palance
Certificate: 12

By Roger Crow

It’s probably 20 years since I last saw City Slickers, which is strange considering it’s one of my favourite comedies of the 1990s. A note-perfect tale of a frustrated businessman who is trying to deal with a soulless job and the passing years by engaging in ever-more adventurous holidays. We open with the bull-running festival in Spain, which is an adrenalised, grab-you-by-the-lapels cold intro.

Billy Crystal is as good here as he was in When Harry Met Sally made a couple of years earlier with (much-missed) co-star Bruno Kirby. Anyway, a year after that Spanish adventure, Mitch (Crystal) is facing another birthday and feeling more numb than ever by his soul-crushing job.

And he’s only 39 years old.

“It strikes such a chord”

When I first saw this in 1991, that felt like a lifetime away. Now Mitch may as well be stressing about graduating from school, he’s so young by comparison.

Obsessed with the hair in his ears and the dreaded 40 on the horizon, he realises he needs to do something to overcome the numbness of his advertising job.

The subject matter doesn’t just resonate with this fan; it’s like a massive cymbal being banged repeatedly it strikes such a chord, and is bound to have the same effect for countless other viewers. It certainly did in 1991, when it was not only one of the most successful films of that year, but also landed a coveted Oscar for co-star Jack Palance (who memorably did press-ups at the ceremony).

“Witty, smart and relatable”

Picture quality on the latest release is a little grainy, which is understandable for a 35-year-old-movie. But it doesn’t detract one iota from the quality of the film, which is still as witty, smart and relatable as it was all those years ago.

The real bonus for this fan is the commentary by Daniel Stern, Ron Underwood and Billy Crystal, which is a feast of trivia and memories which offer a fresh take on the movie. Example: Charlton Heston’s son Fraser shot second unit footage of the opening in Spain (though some scenes were shot on the backlot at Universal Studios in California). Made in an era before CGI, as the film-makers remind us, that intro is every bit as dangerous as it looks – well, almost.

And if the cartoon opening titles are reminiscent of the classic Pink Panther movies, that’s because Crystal reveals the old Peter Sellers intros were a major inspiration.

Whether you’re an old school fan like more or new to the movie, City Slickers is an absolute classic, which is well worth the price, not least because of those extras.

Roger Crow( Writer )

Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast

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