Wooly Boys

I enjoyed this film. It showed how a young city boy grew up and faced life, from being a spoilt brat he turned out to be a man of decisions and courage.The two main men in the film played there parts with feeling and i could belive in them.

The movie was not as good as I hoped. It wasn't bad but it was lacking. The story felt rushed, some of the humor was too obvious (there were scenes that were funny though), and there should have been clearer character development. I think it's a good film for children and older folks. I had hoped there would have been more film of the badlands and it failed to truly show the beauty of the prairie. For an independent low-budget release it was pretty good. At least it didn't make North Dakotans look like backwater hicks ( ala the horrible "Fargo" movie which was not filmed in nor did it take place in the city it was named after!)

Released to2001, "Wooly Boys" stars Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson as two aging sheep ranchers in the Badlands of North Dakota. After the former pays a visit to his daughter (Robin Dearden) in Minneapolis, he brings back his city-bred 16 year-old grandson (Joseph Mazzello). Keith Carradine plays a country sheriff, Rosanna DeSoto a ranch hand and Michael Booth an FBI agent. Jad Mager and Adam Logan are on hand as troublemakers while T. Mychael Rambo plays a hearse driver.

This dramedy focuses is on the conflict-habituated friendship of the two older ranchers and the visiting teen being a fish-out-water in the wilderness, which brings to mind 2003's "Secondhand Lions." At around the 30-minute mark there are several laugh-out-loud scenes, which are less frequent throughout the rest of the movie. The lines of the idiotic FBI agent are the best. Beyond this, the cast and authentic North Dakota locations are great, but the movie's mediocre about half the time. For instance, the kid responds to Kristofferson's character in one scene and it's wholly unconvincing. A top-of-the-line movie would re-do the scene or ad lib; whatever it took to make it work. So it's one of those part good/part meh movies, but I think the good makes it worthwhile, like the laughs, the birthing scene, the cast and the ND locations.

The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in Fryburg, Beach & Medora, North Dakota, and Minneapolis.

GRADE: C+

Mediocre movie in the vein of "An Unfinished Life" that has its moments, but falls apart because it doesn't know whether to be a drama or a slapstick comedy. Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson give amazing performances, and share some very funny and bittersweet scenes, but they're constantly being interrupted by pointless comic relief. A movie about an old man waiting to die should not have bungling cops, Dukes of Hazzard villains, and annoying teenagers. The latter is especially grating. I realize the entire plot centers around the kid, but after ten minutes of his shrill, nasal whining I wanted him to get trampled to death by the sheep.

It has beautiful footage of the North Dakota landscape (after a confusing side trip to Minneapolis), and like I said before, Fonda and Kristofferson are wonderful, but the rest is a wash. If they'd scrapped the comedy, this would have been a great movie.

I recently had the opportunity to see this film at the FARGO FILM FESTIVAL. As a North Dakotan, I must be proud of any project that promotes North Dakota. WOOLY BOYS definitely does its fair share of "promoting." To be honest, I expected more. For a film that falsely calls itself "North Dakota's first major feature film" I was anticipating a sincere look at Modern North Dakota, or maybe an ernest approach at our history. I did not, however, expect to see yet another film that explores the "golly gee" persona of our elderly and silly folk. (Though these people exist and I love them!)

In regards to FARGO (THE MOVIE), some of the same people that support WOOLY BOYS fame, claim the film (FARGO) makes us look like a bunch of "idiots" and "dorks" and "other such silly names"...In WOOLY BOYS, apparently we are epitomized by Scruffy "Sheep Lovers." That's great.

Meanwhile, Kristofferson gave a hell of a performance. I was in awe. The film had its funny moments and I was impressed with some of the photography. However, the film did not exemplify what it is to live in North Dakota or what it is to be a North Dakotan. Look for this film on USA (CABLE) Saturday afternoons. Because it is good enough to watch in its entirety, if you're a fan of the named actors. (or some silly manure jokes)