If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Admirable film.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Blistering performances.

This is an offbeat sort of movie for Sam Peckinpah, master of celluloid violence. The plot is quite minimal - broken family trying to reconnect, wandering dad, a mother with a soft spot for her wayward husband, and 2 sons - one on the make and the other down and out,. Nothing really dramatic happens here, and the dialogue is spare, but somehow you come to care about the characters. The performances are wonderful all around, especially from the venerable Robert Preston. It is clear that the movie intends to give us a good look at what rodeos are all about, although perhaps it's more of a look than we want (I tended to fast forward through the rodeo scenes). But the movie is worth watching just for the sake of what is probably the most brilliantly hilarious version of a saloon brawl ever filmed. It's worth a look.

Much like The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Junior Bonner was released following a "typical" Sam Peckinpah film. Violence, terror, sexual intrigue and gritty realism dominated the style of Straw Dogs, but this film could not be more different. Starring Steve McQueen as an aging rodeo cowboy determined to continue the life he leads, the story takes place in Prescott, Arizona where it is the annual Fourth of July Rodeo Competition and JR is attempting to ride a bull he had previously fallen off. While in town, he runs into his family including his estranged parents, his successful real estate brother and a beautiful young woman he makes eye contact with at a bar. The real heart of the story, though, is the history of this somewhat dysfunctional family and their attempt to reconcile the past with the inevitable change of the future. Compared to his other works, this is a very lighthearted piece for Peckinpah, but he is still capable of eliciting wonderfully nuanced performances out of his actors as well as capture a nostalgic air about this subset of American culture that continues to try and stave off growing progress and technological advancements. If nothing else, Peckinpah continued to defy expectations of himself as a director by showing his full range of capabilities. No guns, no excessive blood or violence, no rape or psychosexual themes. Simply a story about a family dealing with realistic issues. It may not be one of his strongest achievements, but it is definitely Peckinpah.

More than a means of entertainment, this film stays with you forever. It provokes you without moralizing, it's an unique and rich cinematic experience, it overwhelms you with its profound language and culture – if there's is something good in the world then it's worth fighting for - a film which reminds you to be part of this quest; you really can't explain, but you feel it and its good enough; something to be proud, because of the integrity, the commitment and sincerity that most mainstream movies don't have. Sam Peckinpah makes it a very good movie, Steve McQueen, Robert Preston and many others make it worth watching it. Unique. Thanks Sam!

Woe! This is a Steve McQueen film made by Sam Peckinpah. The latter always thrived on violence to get his points across in motion pictures. For Peckinpah, this film makes "Mary Poppins" extremely exciting.No wonder Robert Preston and Ida Lupino, the parents of McQueen in the film, are separated. Both are terribly miscast in their respective roles. By 1972, Lupino, with her red hair, had terrible bags under her eyes. Her time as the great actress she was had long come and gone.Where is the real story development in this yarn? The potential is there as brother Joe Don Baker wishes to sell off the land to developers in order to make trailers. Sounds great for modern day real estate. This issue is never fully realized. Preston has the foolish notion of going to Australia to do some mining there. The fact that his son Junior buys him a plane ticket there has meaning, but really no value.The rodeo riding scenes were authentic, but the film lacks punch-even with the bar room brawl. Was Peckinpah trying to say farewell to western films by doing this film? Had they become passé?