The Last Cowboy

A lot of people that have never stepped foot outside a city will not appreciate the openness of the outdoors country life..you have to be there and see it..but this comes pretty close..a man estranged from his daughter since his wife died 8 years ago re-unites with her when she returns for her grandfather's funeral..the ranch..not farm..is in debt to the bank with no real hope of operating in the black any time soon..Dad (Lance Henrickson) is stuck in the past..raising cattle and breeding them but never getting ahead..and a daughter (Jennie Garth) who has ideas that are solid and detailed for the saving of the ranching business..somewhere they will have to meet in the middle..Throw in M.C.Gainey as best friend/foreman who has known everyone involved since way back when and you have a complex family in dis-array that needs healing and understanding..Gainey, in a scene- stealing portrayal of a loyal family friend rings true and Lance and Jennie deliver a solid performance as father and daughter at odds over ideals..on a small note..a farm is where you raise chickens and maybe cows for milking..but a ranch is a somewhat larger operation requiring herds to feed off the land..an enjoyable outing on the ranch..at any rate..

The Last Cowboy tells a story with a predictable plot we've seen many times, but still find interesting. A large landowner with property held by a family for years is now in jeopardy, sought after by greedy bankers, financiers, and other bad guys who plan stealing and subdividing the valuable land to make an ill-gained fortune. The family patriarch has recently died, and it's up to the remaining family members to "save the farm." Two required components of any good movie are the screenplay (the script writers' product) and the acting/direction (the actors and their director). Both are successful in this movie. The screenplay and dialogue are very good and believable, and the actors (this movie has a bunch of exceptional actors) do a very good job executing their roles under some excellent directing.

This is an excellent movie to watch with your children. Although the main female character is unmarried but has a child (and she is initially estranged from her father), parents watching along with their children will have an easy time explaining the situation because the female leading character is so "at ease." This movie does a great job showing different family arrangements and interactions, and even young children will understand and not be disturbed.

I watched the TV movie The Last Cowboy with very few expectations and ended up unimpressed.

It is the usual stressful father/daughter relationship who find out that the need to come together through the tough circumstances, including the loss of his wife and her mother and the possible loss of his farm. Lance Henriksen (The Right Stuff, Millennium) and 90210 alum Jennie Garth play the bickering father and daughter. They do as good a job as the material given to them.

The actor who really impressed me was M.C. Gainey. Playing the farm foreman and friend of Henriksen's character and a middleman between the father and daughter, it was nice to see Gainey in a role where he is basically a nice guy. Because of his physical presence, he typically plays gruff, villainous rednecks, bikers or criminals. Sometimes they are all the same character. His appearances in movies like Con Air and Breakdown and his role in "The Last Cowboy" shows that Gainey can play different types of roles and do it well when casting directors give him a chance.

6.9 stars.

Not a bad film in and of itself, but I seen much better westerns in my time. First thing, in the first scenes it sets itself up to look like a western, no cars, no electricity, nothing modern is seen for several minutes. They are burying grandpa, and everyone shows up on horseback and wagons, including a woman (played by Garth) who is estranged from her daddy (Henriksen) now going on 8 years. She has a lot of things to say to her daddy and his first hand (Gainey) and she brought along a man that has been her friend for years (Cooper). I am surprised to see Bradley Cooper in one of his earliest major roles, and it's a Hallmark movie no less! Well, he has a two bit part, it's not much of a character really. This film is just not much more than a B rated modern western, and there isn't much depth to it unfortunately. I've always loved Jennie Garth all the way back to 90210, when she was my favorite for a while.

They may be better looking than most ranchers but the story is what rings the bell sweet and true. Even if it never happens quite like this except in the movies, it is still worth watching and believing that it is possible to have work that one loves and save it with an idea and with love, love of the family, love of friends and love of the land. I loved this movie and everyone associated it with it. I especially love Lance Henriksen, who proves that a man can keep his charm for a very, very long time. Great fun to watch and enjoy. This is worth a thousand "rom-com" movies that fall flatter than the proverbial pancake. It may be more of a rom-life but I'll take it any day. Love the feeling it gives and the love that it shares.