Prairie Fever

When I stumbled upon the 2008 Western movie titled "Prairie Fever", I had only noticed that the movie starred Kevin Sorbo. And that was actually the reason why I picked up the movie.

And then I saw that the movie also had Lance Henriksen and Dominique Swain on the cast list as well, and things were definitely looking all the more brighter. But there were more familiar faces on the cast list here, with the likes of Jillian Armenante, Felicia Day, Don Swayze, Michael Ensign and a couple others.

The storyline in "Prairie Fever" was adequate. Writer Steven H. Berman put together a fair enough script that proved entertaining enough for what it was. Sure, this wasn't cutting edge cinema in the Western genre, and there wasn't really a lot of classic Western elements in the storyline. Instead, you have a drama about a former sheriff who has to escort a group of women to Carson City, and the movie follows their trek across the prairie.

Well, while the storyline was adequate, I have to say that the acting performances in "Prairie Fever", and the many familiar faces on the screen, definitely helped to keep the movie afloat and kept it as a watchable movie.

The movie was struggling somewhat with a lack of proper Western atmosphere, feel and look to it. Everything was just a bit too mint condition and lacking the dirt and dust you would assume that garments would accumulate living in those conditions back in the day.

My rating of directors Stephen Bridgewater and David S. Cass Sr.'s 2008 Western "Prairie Fever" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Probably the most famous big screen film about mail order brides is the MGM classic Westward The Women starring Robert Taylor who brought a wagon train of brides to a new western settlement. Well some marriages don't work out and in Prarie Fever Kevin Sorbo gets to return some of the brides. Sorbo gets a job to deliver Dominique Swain, Jillian Armenante, and Felicia Day back to whence they came.

Sorbo's an ex-sheriff who took to drink when he killed his own wife who was being held hostage by a bad guy. This is the only job he can get. But being an ex-sheriff he still has enemies like Don Swayze and Blake Gibbons who are looking to gun him down for the prison sentence they served courtesy of Kevin arresting them.

He's also got along for the ride Jamie Anne Allman who is fleeing her gambler husband Lance Henriksen. That proves to be the most troublesome of all.

The women seem to be suffering from some kind of psychotic breakdowns which is called Prarie Fever. The average person seems to think it's a bad adjustment to frontier life. But as we meet the women and hear their individual stories they've been stuck with some real losers for husbands.

Prarie Fever is a pleasant enough western with Kevin Sorbo showing he can play more than Hercules.

From the descriptions I'd seen, I picked this up, expecting a cat and mouse game based around transporting a trio of insane women from a small town to the railhead. A horror version of 3:10 to Yuma. Instead, I got a film that seems to have been written by a committee of executives from WE, Lifetime, and the Hallmark Channel.

Neither the writing nor the acting were top notch. Though, between the two, the acting was better. The plot was fairly cookie cutter, and only the mules couldn't have seen everything coming after the first fifteen minutes.

The budget seemed on-par with an episode of Brisco County Jr, and I think they may have shared some sets. Most of the cast was unknown to me, but it was fun spotting familiar faces like Silas Weir Mitchell.

Still, I can't say it was terrible.

Drunken ex-sheriff Kevin Sorbo gets a ticket out of the jail-house and a fistful of cash to escort three half-crazed rejected mail-order brides to the nearest train back east. Along the way he teams up with a spunky, crooked lady gambler who wants to go straight and is running from her villainous husband/partner Lance Henrickson.

Fun and a little offbeat, Kevin Sorbo gets to show off his knack for comedy as well as action with help from a good supporting cast. They all certainly interact well together. It helps that the script gives each of the women fully developed, three-dimensional characters to work with.

Great trail scenery makes for a refreshing change of pace from the usually fake looking town sets you see in most modern westerns.

Wasn't expecting a lot from this movie given other user reviews and I was mainly interested in watching Kevin Sorbo, but I was pleasantly surprised. Its a very typical and predictable plotline, but the pacing was good and entertaining throughout. As I expected, Sorbo added his terrific on-screen personality with humor which made his character, Preston Biggs, extremely likeable as the protagonist. Lance Henriksen did a solid job as the villain as he usually does in other movies. I was a little skeptical at the primary plot being centered around three women experiencing "Prairie Fever", but as the movie continued, it was well-explained and somewhat plausible.

Overall, this is a short and enjoyable western and you'll enjoy it if you are a fan of Sorbo or just westerns in general.