Rent Bad Company on Amazon Video
Written by: David Newman, Robert Benton
Directed by: Robert Benton
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston, John Savage
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
A God-fearing Ohio boy dodging the Civil War draft arrives in St. Joseph, Missouri where he joins up with a hardscrabble group of like runaways heading west.
Verdict
This is part Western, part coming of age story as it examines what it means to be an adult through children playing cowboys. It's fun to dream of being an outlaw, but actually living that life isn't as enticing.
Watch it.
Review
This looks like a Western, but it's a deconstruction. Westerns typically depict laconic sharpshooters that ride into town to save the day, and this isn't that.
A group of young men who were too cowardly to fight in the Civil War, or really too scared to face certain death, decide to head West. They dream of being marauders, but they aren't killers so marauding doesn't last long. They are a band of thieves, but you can't rust a thief. The group grows smaller as boys realize they aren't cut out for this life.
This is a slow burn movie ruminating on the idea of honor among thieves. It's not a movie that will wow you, but it will give you something to think about. The boys want to fulfill their visions of what it is to be a man, but being an outlaw is a fantasy. Reality isn't as endearing
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