Instant Favorite.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

As old as the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Jupiter" ponderings is the difference between "guy" films and "chick flicks". Though not trying to stereotype the genders too much here, the camp of movie-goers that will watch "The Notebook" or "A Walk To Remember" have different hormones flowing through them as those that go to "Terminator Salvation" or "Rambo IV". There's just a fundamental difference that often cannot be overcome by either gender."City Slickers", however, is the rare film that, while being a complete "guy" film, also proves to be as introspective as any emotional drama. Basically, "Slickers" tells the story of a middle-aged man named Mitch (played superbly by Billy Crystal) who undergoes a mid-life crisis. He works a dead-end job, has kids that think he is an "old fart", can't keep up on his best friend's big adventures (the film opens with the trio of buds running from the bulls in Spain), and is on the verge of complete depression. However, an opportunity (two weeks herding cattle at a Dude Ranch) presents itself for Mitch to be able to re-capture his youth, and he reluctantly takes it. Over the course of the trip, Mitch (and his pals, by extension) slowly but surely (and with often hilarious results!) begins to recapture the excitement that seemed to have been missing from his life.Besides the inspiring storyline that rivals any feel-good film, "Slickers" vaults itself into the stratosphere with the quality of both its humor and acting. The jokes in this film, while not the physical comedy of, say, Jim Carrey, are still hilarious, and mirror the changes that each friend is going through. Speaking of those friends, Phil and Ed (played by Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, respectively), they each in turn provide the perfect compliment to Mitch's old-age crisis...Ed is the go-getter who never seems to slow down, while Phil is stuck in a heartless marriage and wishes he could just start over. The camaraderie, struggles, and real-life discussions between those three guys provides the emotional backbone of the film. Plus, the auxiliary characters (including Jack Palance as the trail-hardened cowherd Curly) each add their own take on life into the picture.Towards the end of the film, Mitch proclaims that he has finally found his "one thing" in life. Though that "one thing" is never revealed, that is actually the point...everyone must go out and find it for him/her self (much like the viewer may begin to contemplate while watching). So guys, the next time your significant other wants to watch another two Kleenex-box romance, suggest this film as a change of pace (but make sure she watches the whole thing...as the meat of the message is saved for the finale). She may not laugh at all the same things you do (which will be pretty much everything!), but she may also come away with a bit better of a perspective on what it's like to be a guy.

Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), approaching middle age, is a rather unhappy Manhattan radio station advertising salesman who decides to get away from it all by joining his two best friends, Phil Berquist (Daniel Stern) and Ed Furillo (Bruno Kirby), on an adventurous trip. Mitch's wife says to him: "Go and find your smile." Phil is a miserably married grocer who has committed adultery, while Ed, a sporting goods salesman, has recently married a much younger woman, explicitly a lingerie model. After Phil's wife told him that she hated him he replied, "I hate you more . . . if hate were people, I'd be in China." Ed has always suggested daring getaway vacations for the three friends, like running with the bulls at Pamplona, Spain (Ouch!). The latest adventure, Mitch's birthday present, involves joining a New Mexico working ranch (not a dude ranch), specifically a 200-mile two-week modern cattle drive that will end in Colorado. After the movie is a quarter over, the three friends finally arrive in New Mexico. There they meet five other slickers on the team, led by grizzled trail boss Curly (Jack Palance), who carries a large Bowie knife and seems to be a survivor of a century earlier. Next in command are two professional cowboys / ranch hands, T.R. (Dean Hallo) and Jeff (Kyle Secor), who repeatedly exhibit appalling behavior. But Curly teaches the dudes about life on the western range, especially during those idealistic nights around the campfire when the three guys sit back and reflect at their lives.There are various adventures, as when Mitch spooks the cattle into stampede with his modern, and loud, coffeemaker. Scenes include roping of stray cattle and Mitch helping to deliver a calf. Surprisingly, there is even a near gunfight. It concludes with a dangerous river crossing during a rainstorm. Along the way, Curly's smoking and eating bacon every day catches up to him, and he is found dead and is buried on the trail. The two professional cowboys take over for Curly, but they abandon the cattle drive. Mitch takes over, but everyone leaves except Ed and Phil. Will they make it to Colorado? Well, it all works out in the end as the men return to their eastern homes with a more positive attitude about life. The male-bonding works well here. The movie is ambitious and delivers with some great comedic lines without being baseless. Nothing is forced or contrived, and so the director gets it right. The actors are fine enough, but Palance as Curly steals his scenes with a relish! In the 1994 sequel, Palance plays his twin brother, Duke.

A wonderful, wonderful film, and if you're my age, you'll cry.From 1991, "City Slickers" stars Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Jack Palance, Patricia Wettig, and Helen Slater. Three men (city folk) whose lives range from unhappy to disastrous go on a two week holiday in the wild west driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. There, on the open range, away from their responsibilities, they can perhaps sort out what they want and who they are.Crystal is Mitch, a happily married man with children who hates his job and is depressed most of the time. When he gets a 30th birthday gift from his pals to do the cattle drive, his wife (Wettig) insists that he go rather than visit her family. If he hesitates, it's because his friend Ed's last idea, of running with the bulls in Pamplona, was a horror.Phil (Stern) is humiliated at Mitch's 30th birthday party when a woman who works for him comes in and announces she's missed her period, thus causing his wife to dump him on the spot - though they've been miserable for years.Ed has a lingerie model girlfriend who wants a family, but he's having trouble making a commitment.So all three go.There, they meet some real cowboys, and the oldest one, Curly (Palance), is one tough cookie. But Mitch is able to spend some time with him, and Curly tells him that only one thing matters. Just one. But you have to figure out what that one thing is. When Mitch has a crisis, he finally finds out what it is for him.I really loved this film. It was absolutely hilarious, with some of Billy Crystal's fabulous delivery, and yet very touching at the same time. A perfect combination, something that's not always easy to achieve. Very well acted and directed, the film moves along beautifully.Highly recommended. Full of wit, with some excitement, and poignant moments.

After watching City Slickers, I found myself shocked that it only had a 6.7 rating. The movie is the whole package. It's funny, but it has moments that are very serious and important. If examining this movie, one could find many things, such as important views on death, life and why we're all here. But let's just examine the outer layer here. It is a movie that can make you laugh very hard, but think. Jack Palace's Oscar-Winning performance as Curly does not disappoint, and Billy Crystal is hilarious as always. The characters were likable and the script was near perfection. However, apart from everything good I have to say about this movie, it also felt incomplete. I just can't put my finger on what it needed, but something was missing. Otherwise,City Slickers is a great time and definitely one to see.