Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very well executed

The Worst Film Ever

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There's a reason that the producers didn't cast James Drury and Doug McClure as Virginian and Trampas, respectively. Unlike some of the other characters used, The Virginian and Trampas were originally from a novel, while most of the others came from TV series. All uses of the character "The Virginian" had to be approved by the Owen Wister estate. I would imagine the estate was already irritated by the way the TV series made Virginian and Trampas friends rather than the enemies they were in the original novel. That said, in an early episode of "The Virginian", it was hinted by a passing character that he had been known by "Jim" at one time; so there was at least a little continuity between the show and the Gambler movie. We won't even get into the idea of Mark McCain playing the Lone Ranger in a movie made 30 years before the character was created.

This was an OK movie. It was really neat seeing all the classic TV western stars like the McCains, the guys from the Virginian, Cheyenne, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Bart Maverick. Some of them aged better than others. Kenny and Reba did a great job. They really are two of the better country singers to make that crossover into acting. I do have some complaints though. The biggest one was their treatment of Bart Maverick. You can tell by the scripting that the writers must have been mad that they didn't get James Garner as Bret Maverick. They had one line where after losing a hand, Bart says Bret would have drawn that card, and another where he says that he isn't even the best poker player in his own family. With this movie turning out to be Jack Kelly's last appearance before he died, I think he deserved better than once again having to play second fiddle to James Garner who wasn't even in the movie! Then there was the use of cars and a motorcycle. This is western. My last complaint has to do with Ethan knowing how to fight, he gets into the boxing match and can't fight worth a darn, and then later he is suddenly a good fighter again when they mix up with the bad guys on the streets.

Kenny Rogers has done it again. I found this to be an enjoyable film that pays homage to just about every western in the history of American television. Be sure to pay close attention to Paul Brinegar as "Cookie" when he does his monologue. You may remember him from "Rawhide" when he played Wishbone. It's a hoot and a holler. I had to go back and play that part again because it was so funny. I'm glad he lived long enough to appear in this film. That monologue had me rolling on the floor with laughter. Sit back and enjoy seeing some of your favorite western TV stars as they appear here in their respective roles. Reba is delightful here as the leading lady.

The only reason I can watched this movie was because Reba McEntire was in it. The movie itself isn't very exciting. It seems that they may have been pushing "The Gambler" success with this one. I don't think this is a great movie, but it does have a couple of humorous moments.