Review of City Slickers (1991) by Lee S — 01 Feb 2008

Well, I finally saw this 'great' comedy, and as a matter of fact, it's not that great. Funny, yes. Funny throughout, yes. Very funny throughout, no. I found myself smiling at this film alot more than laughing. I don't like to watch a comedy and be thinking, "If he's holding onto the rope and the horse is pulling him along the ground, why doesn't he just let go." Yet that was the type of thing I thought while watching 'City Slickers'. I don't want to be in that analytical state of mind during a comedy. And especially a semi-slapstick one.

I do like Billy Crystal, and I very much enjoyed 'Forget Paris', but maybe this film suffers from too much praise, which then turns into hype. I did feel a warmth for Billy Crystal's character, and the acting was spot on for this type of movie. The jokes were never laugh-out-loud, but they were always there. This film is considered among the American comedy classics, and I think that is an unfair standard to put on an what is just a slightly above average buddy comedy.