EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES (1993) ¢ 1/2
D: Gus Van Sant
Uma Thurman, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix,
Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson,
Keanu Reeves, Ed Begley Jr., Carol Kane,
Sean Young, Crispin Glover, Buck Henry,
Heather Graham, Udo Kier, Eliza Butterfly
Gus Van Sant tries to make something out of Tom Robbins' bestselling cult novel about a posse of lesbian ranch hands (a literal "pussy posse") and a woman with oversized thumbs. Robbins' books generally are loose on plot and long on whimsy and wordplay, which works fine on the page sometimes, but can be hard to translate to the screen. The movie's broadly played and heavy-handed, and while some of the language is fun, the rhetorical posturing wears thin real quick, whether it's John Hurt as a flaming queen who's made a fortune in the feminine hygiene business, or Rain Phoenix as the gun-totin' leader of an all-dyke cowgirl gang. Robbins narrates. Ken Kesey and William S. Burroughs make cameo appearances. The music's by k.d. lang.
Tom Robbins
(1932-2o25)
