Review of Cat Ballou (1965) by Forrest P — 28 Jun 2010

Cat Ballou was a surprisingly funny western spoof that has more to offer than I originally thought, even if the story wasn't a whole lot to shake a stick at.

Cat Ballou stars Jane Fonda in perhaps her most charming role I've seen her in yet. She plays a cowgirl who turns into an outlaw in very much a typical fashion. She tries to protect her father, and when he is shot out of cold blood, she wants revenge. There is even a very funny train robbery scene in the film. Of course, none of it has anything on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or even Blazing Saddles in terms of whit or charm, but there is still something very satisfyingly poignant about the picture.

Of course, a piece of that may be due to Lee Marvin, who excellently plays a gunslinger who cannot shoot straight unless he is drunk. Again, this is not overly clever, but certainly very funny and charming. Lee Marvin won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, even though his role is more of a supporting rather than leading character. In any event, his performance is very funny and got a majority of the laughs from me.

Cat Ballou is, in a word, charming. I was not overly impressed with the picture. I thought the director was very competent, and I did not see a single bad performer on screen, but I didn't find a whole lot about the movie that was overly clever. Perhaps it wasn't trying to be, but in any case, it is a very fun experience, even though it doesn't feature too much the audience has not seen before.

8/10.