City Slickers

Should you be roped in to buying yet another edition of this richly satisfying comic Western, the fifth most popular movie of 1991, and a benchmark in Billy Crystal's career? Yup. Although Crystal, as Mitch, gets the cow's share of the laughs, let's not forget the rest of the great ensemble cast that really helps to ground this story of midlife crisis and male bonding as urban types embark on a cattle drive: Jack Palance in his Oscar-winning role as tough as leather trail boss Curly, who teaches Mitch about the secret of life; Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby as Mitch's lifelong best friends, sad sack Phil and Peter Pan-ish Ed; and Josh Mostel and David Paymer as ice cream mavens Barry and Ira. Perhaps a little too Iron John touchy-feely for some, City Slickers still delivers robust laughs as well as honestly earned emotional moments, such as when the three buds share memories of their best day. This 'collector's edition' features a very entertaining audio commentary with Crystal, Stern, and director Ron Underwood. Listening to the track, viewers will learn, among other tidbits, that Frank Sinatra was mad at Crystal for using Jimmy Durante's rendition of 'Young at Heart,' and also why Yankees fan Crystal was decked out in Mets regalia in the film. Other DVD extras include deleted scenes, and featurettes on the making of the film, writing the script, and breakout star Norman the cow. Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson) [Blu-ray Review—Oct. 30, 2018—Shout! Factory, 114 min., PG-13, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1991’s City Slickers features an excellent transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include audio commentary by director Ron Underwood and stars Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern, the production featurettes 'Back in the Saddle: City Slickers Revisited' (29 min.), 'Bringing in the Script: Writing' (29 min.), 'The Real City Slickers' (9 min.), 'A Star is Born: An Ode to Norman' (6 min.), and deleted scenes (3 min.). Bottom line: thanks to a 4K scan, the film has never looked better.]