hannahroseimagery

I grew up watching those silly, sentimental old Westerns like Roy Rogers. The ones where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and the guy always gets the girl in the end.

This movie starts out with the proverbial 'city slicker' coming to a small western town to marry the country girl he met in the city. She's sweet and pretty, but the main character, Jim McKay, learns that there's a lot of classicism and prejudice under the surface in his family-to-be that he just can't support. What really takes the forefront, though, is Mckay's gentle gallantry coming into full opposition against what we would call today, toxic masculinity. He comes into a world where men prove themselves in fistfights and he refuses to prove himself to anyone. He tries to make peace between warring families who want to see each other wiped out. And as it turns out, the good guys aren't all good and the bad guys aren't all bad. Maybe he won't get the happy ending he came for. And maybe he can't fix the war that's brewing.

I would compare this movie to The Sons of Katie Elder or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; it subverts, it makes you think, and it leaves a bittersweet taste in your mouth.

My mom adores this movie, and I watched it with her as a teen. I confess, I don't understand why it has a cult following. It's a very poorly made fever dream about a young, foolish girl and her creepy adult stalker. It's irritating, obnoxious, and frankly, boring. It tries so hard to be something worthwhile, and instead it lands with a dull thud. It drags on and on and on with egregious special effects and campy dialogue, and ends with a failed attempt at depth. Please don't put your own kids thru this misery (unless you hate them, that is). There are better ways to tell your child they should appreciate their sibling lol.

I watched this as a way to connect with my husband, who loves zombie shows. I hate zombies. Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoyed season 1 and much of season 2. The characters are amazing. However, as the plot lines grew more and more convoluted and the zombie plot line swelled, my interest waned. I enjoyed it at first as a mystery show with a plot twist. It quickly became yet another zombie apocalypse show. Of course, the makers no doubt planned that from the start, but like I said, I've never liked zombies. I think I'll keep the demented plotlines and gratuitous violence to my nightmares, thank you. I do still like the characters tho.