City Slickers (1991)
79%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 7 nominations total
With a supremely talented cast and just enough midlife drama to add weight to its wildly silly overtones, City Slickers uses universal themes to earn big laughs
City Slickers is one of those movies that makes you want to pack up your bags and head out west to become a cowboy. Billy Crystal’s humor is on point, and Jack Palance’s performance is unforgettable. Plus, who doesn’t love a good discussion on how to program a VCR? It’s a hilarious and heartwarming film that pokes fun at midlife crises and the Wild West in the best way possible. Yeehaw!
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1991
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 52m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 7, 1991 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, Jack Palance, directed by Ron Underwood, written by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jeff Menell, Owen Gleiberman, Janet Maslin, Mike Massie, PG-13, Irby Smith, Columbia Pictures, Surround, Dolby SR, 35mm, midlife crisis, cattle drive, Southwest, masculinity, gruff cowboy, danger, bonding, aging, ensemble cast, emotional, witty, dry, urban life, friendship, adventure, hillarious
Worldwide gross: $179,033,791
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $395,197,598
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 390
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 43,096,794
US/Canada gross: $124,033,791
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $273,791,087
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 226
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,032,121
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $28,766,988
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 481
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $27,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $59,599,560
Production budget ranking: 682
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,094,363
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $303,503,675
ROI to date (est.): 331%
ROI ranking: 421
Daniel Stern – Phil Berquist
Bruno Kirby – Ed Furillo
Patricia Wettig – Barbara Robbins
Helen Slater – Bonnie Rayburn
Jack Palance – Curly Washburn
Director(s)
Ron Underwood
Writer(s)
Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
Producer(s)
Irby Smith
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 7 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Winners
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (4)
A diverting if bumpy ride…
August 11, 2020
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
City Slickers is one cattle drive you won’t want to miss.
June 7, 2017
Jeff Menell
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
City Slickers is really about how the West can never be more than a dream to contemporary urban Americans. With high comic style, it shows us what a lovely dream that is.
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Director Ron Underwood (who made his feature debut on Tremors) generally keeps the herd moving at a fine pace.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A comedy that was and is ambitious and counterintuitive.
June 2, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4
Arthur Ryel-Lindsey
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Fortunately, Mr. Crystal is an enjoyable enough comic presence to generate good will and keep the film feeling reasonably smooth.
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Billy Crystal displays his typical brand of humor, fittingly embodying a role written for him, while Palance’s gravelly-voiced persona is unforgettable.
September 11, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
An engaging, expertly played piece, which gently pokes fun at both midlife crises and the Wild West.
August 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
John Ferguson
Radio Times
The first half of this film is very funny, in a Hee Haw vs. thirtysomething way.
August 11, 2020
Ralph Novak
People Magazine
One of those rare cinematic happenings: a movie that deftly combines laughs with sentiment and an occasionally serious thought.
August 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Lou Cedrone
Baltimore Sun
Many of the character exchanges are priceless (including a discussion on how to properly program a VCR), and the performances are uniformly fine.
March 14, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Crystal’s then-hegemonic stardom constantly realigns the film into his, not his character’s, orbit.
November 27, 2018
David Bax
Battleship Pretension…
Plot
Mitch is a middle aged big-city radio ads salesman. He and his friends Ed and Phil are having mid-life crisis. They decide the best birthday gift is to go on a two week holiday in the wild west driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. There they meet cowboy Curly who not only teaches them how to become real cowboys, but also one or two other things about life in the open air of the west.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for City Slickers.
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