Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)

This article is about the film. For the novel by Tom Robbins, see Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues


Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Gus Van Sant

Produced by
Gus Van Sant

Written by
Tom Robbins
Gus Van Sant

Narrated by
Tom Robbins

Starring
Uma Thurman
Lorraine Bracco
Angie Dickinson
Noriyuki “Pat” Morita
Keanu Reeves
with John Hurt
and
Rain Phoenix

Music by
k.d. lang
Ben Mink

Cinematography
John J. Campbell

Editing by
Gus Van Sant

Distributed by
Fine Line Features
New Line Cinema (DVD)

Release date(s)
May 20, 1994

Running time
95 min.

Country

Language
English
German

Budget
$8 million

Gross revenue
$1.71 million

Allmovie profile

IMDb profile

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 comedy-drama-romance film based on the 1976 Tom Robbins novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant and starred Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, and Grace Zabriskie. Tom Robbins himself was the narrator. The soundtrack was sung entirely by k.d. lang.

Dedicated to the late River Phoenix, who gives an uncredited performance, the movie was a critical and commercial failure. After this film had its world premiere in September 1993 at the Toronto Film Festival, the movie was set to open, but due to the incredibly negative response, the film was delayed for more editing. The US wide release was May 20, 1994.

Contents

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Plot

The story of Sissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman), a woman born with a mutation (she would not call it a defect) giving her enormously large thumbs. The film is a transgressive romp, covering topics from homosexuality and free love to drug use and political rebellion to animal rights and body odor and religions. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a hitchhiker. Her travels take her to New York, where she becomes a model for a transvestite feminine hygiene products mogul who introduces her to the man whom she will marry, a staid Mohawk named Julian Gitche (Keanu Reeves). In her later travels she encounters, among many others, a sexually open cowgirl named Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix) and an itinerant escapee from the Japanese internment camps happily mislabeled “The Chink” (Pat Morita). Robbins finally inserts himself into the novel as a character as well.

Cast

  • Tom Robbins as Narrator (voice)
  • Uma Thurman as Sissy Hankshaw
  • Lorraine Bracco as Delores Del Ruby
  • Pat Morita as The Chink
  • Angie Dickinson as Miss Adrian
  • Keanu Reeves as Julian Gitche
  • John Hurt as The Countess
  • Rain Phoenix as Bonanza Jellybean
  • Ed Begley Jr. as Rupert
  • Carol Kane as Carla
  • Sean Young as Marie Barth
  • Crispin Glover as Howard Barth
  • Roseanne Arnold as Madame Zoe
  • Buck Henry as Dr. Dreyfus
  • Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Hankshaw
  • Ken Kesey as Mr. Hankshaw
  • Heather Graham as Cowgirl Heather
  • Udo Kier as Commercial Director
  • Lin Shaye as Rubber Rose Maid
  • William Burroughs as Himself
  • Edward James Olmos (uncredited) as Musician at Barbecue
  • River Phoenix (uncredited) as Pilgrim

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. (January 2008)
Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles.

  • At the beginning, lot of stars rise in the sky. One, aside and slower than the others, writes the words “For River”.
  • The film is referenced in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 Movie Pulp Fiction in which Uma Thurman also appeared.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on November 2, 1993 by Rhino Records.

Track listing

  1. Just Keep Me Moving
  2. Much Finer Place
  3. Or Was I
  4. Hush Sweet Lover
  5. Myth
  6. Apogee
  7. Virtual Vortex
  8. Lifted by Love
  9. Overture
  10. Kundalini Yoga Waltz
  11. In Perfect Dreams
  12. Curious Soul Astray
  13. Ride of Bonanza Jellybean
  14. Don’t Be a Lemming Polka
  15. Sweet Little Cherokee - k.d. lang
  16. Cowgirl Pride

Filming locations

  • Portland, Oregon
  • Sisters, Oregon
  • Bend, Oregon

See also

  • Cowgirl

References

  1. ^ Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) - Box office / business
  2. ^ Amazon.com: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack: Music: k.d. lang,Lorraine Bracco,Pat Morita,Angie Dickinson,Keanu Reeves,John Hurt,Rain Phoenix,Ed Begley Jr.,Carol Kane,Sean Young,Crispin Glover,Roseanne,Buck Henry,Grace Zabriskie,Treva Jeffryes,Ken Kesey,Ken Babbs,Allen Arnold,Victoria Williams (VII),Heather Graham

External links

v • d • e

Films by Gus Van Sant

Mala Noche (1985) • Drugstore Cowboy (1989) • My Own Private Idaho (1991) • Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994) • To Die For (1995) • Good Will Hunting (1997) • Psycho (1998) • Finding Forrester (2000) • Gerry (2003) • Elephant (2003) • Last Days (2005) • Paranoid Park (2008) • Milk (2008)
Shorts: The Discipline Of D.E.Ken Death Gets Out Of JailMy New FriendFive Ways To Kill YourselfThanksgiving PrayerFour Boys In A VolvoBallad Of The SkeletonsParis, je t’aime (segment “Le Marais”) • Chacun Son Cinéma

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even_Cowgirls_Get_the_Blues_%28film%29
Categories: 1993 films | American films | English-language films | German-language films | Films directed by Gus Van Sant | Films based on romance books | Lesbian-related films | LGBT-related films | 1990s romantic comedy films | Romantic drama filmsHidden category: Articles with trivia sections from January 2008

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