The Cowboy Way

Directed by Gregg Champion, The Cowboy Way follows rodeo stars Pepper Lewis (Woody Harrelson) and Sonny Gilstrap (Kiefer Sutherland) as they make their way to New York City after an old friend goes missing there. It’s clear immediately that The Cowboy Way benefits substantially from Harrelson and Sutherland’s superlative efforts, as the actors infuse their fairly routine characters with a charisma and geniality that proves impossible to resist – with this vibe undoubtedly heightened by the intense, palpable chemistry between their respective protagonists. There’s little doubt, as well, that the emphasis on the heroes’ fish-out-of-water exploits is as enjoyable and high-spirited as one might’ve hoped, and the movie’s exceedingly pleasant atmosphere effectively smooths over the periodic bumps within Bill Wittliff’s screenplay. (The subplot involving Pepper and Sonny’s encounters with Marg Helgenberger’s modeling agent falls relatively flat, for example.) And although Dylan McDermott turns in a deliciously over-the-top performance as the sleazy villain, The Cowboy Way progresses into a disappointingly generic third act involving Pepper and Sonny’s action-packed confrontation with McDermott’s nefarious John Stark (although, admittedly, his predictable demise is certainly far more brutal and vicious than anticipated) – which ultimately does cement the movie’s place as a mostly fun yet decidedly erratic bit of blockbuster filmmaking.

**1/2 out of ****

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