| | |  Entertainment | November 2008 
Review: Beer For My Horses
 Rick Ellis - AllYourTV
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I think it's fair to say that CMT has a bit of a split personality. In the years since Viacom purchased the channel, it has moved slowly towards a programming philosophy that can best be described as a countryfied cross between VH1 and MTV. It's increasingly heavy with the primetime reality shows that have been successful for its sister cable channels. And some of those shows tend to be more stereotypical reflections of country music fans than an accurate reflection of its fanbase.
Which makes for a difficult challenge for me. For every great show like "Crossroads" or "Trick My Truck," there is a relentlessly dumb show such as "My Big Redneck Wedding." But when CMT gets it right, it really hits it out of the ballpark. One example of such a winner is the new CMT/Toby Keith produced original film "Beer For My Horses.".
This is second film Keith has produced for CMT, and like last year's "Broken Bridges," "Beer For My Horses" is a solidly entertaining film that portrays country folks in a way that never crosses the line between humor and mean-spirited snarkiness.
"Beer" is very, very loosely on the hit song of the same name, and it costars comedian Rodney Carrington (ABC's "Rodney") and a bevy of other names familiar to country audiences.
The plot of the movie is straight-forward and that's probably a result of the fact that the screenplay was written by Keith and Carrington. The script serves the two well, and it fits their public personas like a pair of old comfortable shoes.
Keith (Rack) and Carrington (Lonnie) play two small-town deputies who embark on a road trip to Mexico to save Rack's kidnapped daughter from a Mexican drug lord. There's the requisite corrupt local district attorney (Curtis Armstrong), hard-nosed sheriff out to stop the rescue attempt (Tom Skerritt) and evil developer whose in bed with the drug lord (Barry Corbin). Keith and Carrington have a great chemistry and while I don't know that Keith would be able to handle a role that required serious acting chops, he's perfect for this role. He's likeable and believable as a deputy and if he's best at playing a version of himself, lots of famous actors have done the same thing with great success.
As for Carrington, he embraces his goofball sidekick role with an abandon you don't often see in a film. Lonnie is a slightly more ambitious Barney Fife, and while he has more ambitions, I'm not sure he has any additional brainpower over his Mayberry equivalent. Lonnie is always good for at least a couple of solid laughs in every scene, and in a lot of ways, he steals the film. My particular favorite is a scene involving a rest stop restroom, a bunch of suspicious looking thugs and the Isley Brothers tune "Stay."
But the casting across the board is stellar, with even the smaller cameos making an impact on the screen. Mac Davis plays a preacher, Mel Tillis shows up a stuttering plumber, Gina Gershon is Rack's soon-to-be exiting girlfriend, Willie Nelson plays the head of a very odd traveling carnival and even Dan Rathers pops up briefly as himself.
Special notice has to be given to the two people who are probably best described as costars of the film. Claire Forlani is impossible to take your eyes off as Annie, Rack's one true love. And Ted Nugent does a great job as "Skunk," a deputy who has a badge tatooed on his chest and is fond of bringing down criminals with his bow and arrow. Even better, Skunk doesn't talk much, which is a great treat for people who like the Nuge, but just don't want to hear his voice.
"Beer For My Horses" was a blast to watch. It's a combination of "Rush Hour" and a classic Burt Reynolds film. The laughs are frequent and never seem forced. You've got to love any film that gets laughs out of a big lazy dog, a field full of pigs and a truck stop hooker (although sadly, not all in the same scene).
The film comes out on DVD on November 11th, and if you don't catch it on CMT before then, it's well worth the purchase price. When you hear the expression "they don't make films like that anymore," it's usually because the movies being referenced kind of sucked. But they should make more films like "Beer For My Horses," and I'm hoping to see a sequel to the film real soon.
"Beer For My Horses" premiered on CMT on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008. |
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