A chronological journey through '80s movies (and '80s culture) continues with a film about changing gender roles, identity crises, and a mechanical bull.
If I were the sort of writer inclined to including a lot of footnotes I would have included one about this Stella (sister of Dolly) Parton song defending Olivia Newton John's right to sing country music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEyR2Uu4Unc
And here we are in a post-Cowboy Carter world which brought up a lot of discussions about who gets to sing country music and what really is country music. One of country music's biggest problems, probably not until after Hank Williams died, has been gatekeeping and the accompanying fencing themselves into the genre for dumb or abhorrent reasons.
When I was a kid, I remember my parents LOVING this movie, Honey Suckle Rose, and other contemporaneous movies centered around country and 'regular people strugglin' regularly' - kept me away from country for a long time because of the mundane, downbeat vibe. Now that I'm old though, I kinda love that vibe.
Honestly, one of my all time favorite movies. Travolta in this, Grease, and Saturday Night Fever was so incredibly charismatic. It was on regular rotation on HBO and I watched it a million times growing up and my parents had the soundtrack, which I practically have memorized.
Like Power of the Dog, but with music! Oh wait... with mechanical bulls! Not sure how much sublimated homosexuality Urban Cowboy has, but that Scott Glenn pic suggests... some?
If I were the sort of writer inclined to including a lot of footnotes I would have included one about this Stella (sister of Dolly) Parton song defending Olivia Newton John's right to sing country music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEyR2Uu4Unc
And here we are in a post-Cowboy Carter world which brought up a lot of discussions about who gets to sing country music and what really is country music. One of country music's biggest problems, probably not until after Hank Williams died, has been gatekeeping and the accompanying fencing themselves into the genre for dumb or abhorrent reasons.
Side note that while Charlie Daniels was kinda nuts (and nuttily rightwing), boy does the Charlie Daniels band cook.
When I was a kid, I remember my parents LOVING this movie, Honey Suckle Rose, and other contemporaneous movies centered around country and 'regular people strugglin' regularly' - kept me away from country for a long time because of the mundane, downbeat vibe. Now that I'm old though, I kinda love that vibe.
I need to revisit it. Saw it when it came out (as an 11 yo) and my main memory is of Scott Glenn drinking mescal and eating the worm in the bottle.
I would also be curious to see how it compares to our current cowboy porn, Yellowstone (don’t judge - I was in quarantine)
Honestly, one of my all time favorite movies. Travolta in this, Grease, and Saturday Night Fever was so incredibly charismatic. It was on regular rotation on HBO and I watched it a million times growing up and my parents had the soundtrack, which I practically have memorized.
Like Power of the Dog, but with music! Oh wait... with mechanical bulls! Not sure how much sublimated homosexuality Urban Cowboy has, but that Scott Glenn pic suggests... some?