Comedy is the most difficult genre to write, and parody is even harder. This spoof of the B western tries hard, and rarely lands a laugh, trying too hard in making light fun of those hour long programmers where all the towns were the same, plots weren't much different and all the archetypes fell in a neat little box. Hero in white, corny sidekick, bad guys in black (usually with a mustache), the misunderstood bad girl (usually working in a saloon), and the heroine, who usually didn't have much of a storyline. Every town had a doctor, and usually the bad guys worked for the richest man in town, and the hero's horse was usually smarter than the bad guys and could read mines.
Practically every archetype and stereotype and cliche is present, with Tom Berenger charming but nor very funny, Andy Griffith bombastic and over the top, G. W. Bailey a weak sidekick, Marilu Henner smirking too much as the saloon girl, Sela Ward not very interesting as the heroine who happens to be the main villain's daughter. This starts off in black and white with smug narration, moving to color to update the genre to the current day sensibilities, and from there, it's a desperate 90 minutes that adds half an hour to the tediousness of the weaker entries in the B western genre. The issue isn't just Hugh Wilson's writing and direction, but the incorrect self-assurance that audiences would love it. Somewhat a a poetic justice that nearly 40 years later, it's completely forgotten.
Practically every archetype and stereotype and cliche is present, with Tom Berenger charming but nor very funny, Andy Griffith bombastic and over the top, G. W. Bailey a weak sidekick, Marilu Henner smirking too much as the saloon girl, Sela Ward not very interesting as the heroine who happens to be the main villain's daughter. This starts off in black and white with smug narration, moving to color to update the genre to the current day sensibilities, and from there, it's a desperate 90 minutes that adds half an hour to the tediousness of the weaker entries in the B western genre. The issue isn't just Hugh Wilson's writing and direction, but the incorrect self-assurance that audiences would love it. Somewhat a a poetic justice that nearly 40 years later, it's completely forgotten.