Official Synopsis:
More hilarious than ever, and packing a slew of special features, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary and deleted scenes, it's the insightful, delightful film about cowboys, careers and mid-life crises starring comic genius Billy Crystal and Oscar Winner Jack Palance! Thirty-nine-year-old New Yorker Mitch Robbins (Crystal) is tired of his job and bored with his life. So he and his two best friends (Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern) trade their briefcases for saddle bags and set out to find freedom and adventure herding cattle under the wide New Mexico sky. But what they discover instead is scorching sun, sore backsides... and more about themselves and each other than they ever thought possible!

  
Our Take:
It’s easy to forget what a funny movie City Slickers is. It’s been almost 20 years since it came out, and there’s that crappy sequel to dilute the memories of the first film, but City Slickers really holds up. The chemistry between Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and the late, great Bruno Kirby is one of the best comedy ensembles of the last few decades, and Jack Palance’s Oscar-winning role is simply the icing on the cake. Even the supporting characters, such as the Ben & Jerry’s stand-ins (yay, David Paymer!) are funny. It’s easy to see why this movie was such a big hit, and while it’s not the first film I think of when I go to pick out something to watch, every time I see it I’m reminded of how good it really is.

Just in time for…well… nothing, actually, Fox/MGM has finally released a decent DVD version of the film with the City Slickers: Collector’s Edition. I’m not sure what the reasoning for the timing behind this release is, but I’m not complaining considering that this film has only ever appeared as a barebones DVD release. Here’s the breakdown of the extra features:

* Audio Commentary – A very funny track with director Ron Underwood and stars Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern.
* Back in the Saddle: City Slickers Revisited – A retrospective look back at the film.
* Bringing in the Script: Writing City Slickers – Pretty much just what it sounds like.
* A Star is Born: An Ode to Norman – Fond memories of a baby cow.
* The Real City Slickers – Meet real people who have joined cattle drives for vacations.
* Deleted Scenes – Two deleted scenes.

City Slickers has long been a favorite of mine, even though it’s easy for the film to slip off your radar a bit. If you don’t own it on DVD already because the original release was so vanilla, now’s the perfect time to pick it up and rediscover a comedy gem.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: A
DVD: B

- Mike Spring

Editor