Urban Cowboy
Tags: violence

Plot synopsis:
Bud Davis (John Travolta) moves to Houston for a job in the city's oil refinery industry. He hopes to save enough money to move back to his hometown of Spur, Texas and buy some land. Bud stays with his Uncle Bob (Barry Corbin) and his family, with whom Bud is close. Bob takes Bud to the local honky tonk, Gilley's (at the time, an actual bar in Pasadena, co-owned by singer Mickey Gilley and his record producer Sherwood Cryer). Bud quickly embraces the local nightlife there.
At the club, Bud meets Sissy (Debra Winger), who asks if he is a real cowboy. They fall in love, and soon after Bud asks Sissy to marry him. Their wedding reception is held at Gilley's, and they immediately move into a brand new mobile home. Although they are in love and passionate, Bud and Sissy have many quarrels. Sissy is a feisty, independent woman while Bud believes in traditional gender roles. However, their lives settle into a routine of work by day and Gilley's at night, where Bud takes a liking to riding the mechanical bull. When Sissy also wants to ride, he forbids her.
Wes Hightower (Scott Glenn), on parole from Huntsville Penitentiary, lands a job at Gilley's running the mechanical bull due to his rodeo skills. He flirts with Sissy, who is flattered, but a drunken Bud is enraged, and he and Wes end up in a fist fight. Sissy, against Bud's wishes, spends time at Gilley's during the day learning how to ride the mechanical bull. One night, Jessie, Sissy's friend, and Wes convince Sissy to ride the bull. She does it to impress Bud, but he becomes angry and resentful that Sissy defied him, and challenges her. When Bud falls off during his second ride in that challenge, Wes swings the bull around fast, breaking Bud's arm. At home, Sissy accuses Bud of being jealous because she rides the bull better than he can. Bud slaps her and throws her out of the trailer.
Shortly after, Sissy and Bud see each other at Gilley's, but Sissy, still angry, refuses to talk to Bud. To make Sissy jealous, Bud introduces himself to a beautiful girl named Pam (Madolyn Smith) and dances with her, while Sissy dances with Wes. Bud and Pam leave together but Sissy, upset, declines Wes' sexual advances. Later, Sissy moves in with Wes, who lives in a run-down trailer behind Gilley's.
Bud wants to enter the mechanical bull riding rodeo at Gilley's and starts training with his uncle Bob, a former rodeo champion. Bob advises Bud to swallow his pride and make up with Sissy. Meanwhile, Sissy returns to their mobile home to pick up her things, but she also cleans house and leaves Bud a note saying she hopes they can get back together. Pam arrives, and after Sissy leaves, Pam throws the note away. Meanwhile, Sissy catches Wes with Marshalene, who works at Gilley's. Wes is abusive when Sissy reacts angrily.
Uncle Bob is killed in an explosion at the refinery. At his funeral, Sissy tells Bud that Wes was fired from Gilley's and is unable to find another job. They are going to Mexico after Wes wins the $5000 prize at the bull riding rodeo. It is Bud who wins the contest, however, and Pam, realizing that he still loves Sissy, encourages him to reconcile with her.
Sissy refuses to go to Mexico with Wes, but relents after he hits her. He orders her to wait for him in her car behind Gilley's. Unknown to Sissy, Wes is inside stealing the entry money. Bud finds Sissy in the parking lot and tells her he still loves her. She reciprocates and they embrace. Seeing Sissy's bruised face, Bud goes after Wes and a fight ensues at the bar entrance. The fight causes Wes to drop his gun, and the stolen money falls from his jacket. Bud overpowers Wes and after punching him several times, pins him down on the floor. Gilley's staff, having discovered the robbery, apprehend Wes. Bud and Sissy, reconciled, go home together.

Review: Okay, so I have come a long way from Houston by now, but whenever I see this movie, I am taken back to a little cowgirl's dream to one day ride the bull at Gilley's.
Sissy gets ideas of having fun on it too but is quickly reminded that she is married and need to start "acting like it." The emotion between the two characters is raw and expressive and the plot continues from there especially when they (NOTE THIS IS GIVING SOME OF THE STORYLINE AWAY) split and Sissy falls for an ex con with a penchant for abuse and cruelty.
In 1980 that was beginning to boom and Texas was definitely a growing place in the USA.Travolta does a good job in making we the audience care about his character who when you come right down to it is a sexist pig.
He's a real snake in Urban Cowboy, he gets Travolta's goat with a mere look and he moves in on Winger.
And the best thing about Urban Cowboy is the wonderful score of country/western songs that were featured in the film.
I'm not sure if some of the songs were not written specifically for Urban Cowboy, but it's the only reason I can think of why the Motion Picture Academy ignored the musical aspects of this film.
It's just good old fashioned music you can dance or make love to.This film displays the downfalls of couples who get married too quickly in a very realistic manner.
You also get John Travolta and Debra Winger in a wonderful story about bull riding, beer, and finding true love in Texas.
I tend to endure Travolta, and that horrid "twang" he tries to do, but it's okay, the rest of the flick makes up for that!-Minor Spoilers-We start the movie w/Bud coming to town.
Why, at the end of the movie when Bud and Sissy drive away from Gilley's, is there, parked amongst the F-150's, GMC's, Chevy Big 10's, and other pick-up trucks, a Volvo P1800 wagon?
This is a great movie that I don't think gets enough credit as Saturday Night Fever or Grease in John Travolta's career.
It has a decent plot, exceptional acting by John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, and supporting cast, and toe tapping pop country music throughout.
And the movie is downright fun with the Charlie Daniels Band, Travolta's Texas 2 step dancing scenes, and mechanical bull riding contests.
I was already in love with John Travolta, but the first time the camera pans up his body after he's all clean-shaven looking beautiful for his first trip to Gilley's, I was in awe.
Debra Winger, as always, delivers a perfect performance as the young, naive wife of Bud, but with the necessary attitude to be married to a stubborn and hard-working cowboy.
"Looking for love" defines the film, but Urban Cowboy was chock full of classics that DIDN'T make it to the soundtrack.
An unmarried, twenty-something hick (played by John Travolta) leaves the farm and goes to Houston, where he learns about life and love in a Texas honky-tonk.
Quick and simple, I love this movie.As some others have mentioned, I also, am not from the south, don't really care for country music and have never worn a cowboy hat.
My personal fav is the one where Sissy says "You're not my daddy, you can't tell me what to do."  My father spent a lot of time in Gilley's in the early 80's and he has said the bar was portrayed accurately.It's a classic, if it was a bad movie it wouldn't have been so popular..
The cowboy Bud Davis (John Travolta) moves from his homeland of Spur to Houston to work with his Uncle Bob (Narry Corbon) in a refinery.
Bud meets Sissy (Debra Winger) at the club and soon they fall in love with each other and get married.
Sissy is an independent working girl and Bud is a male chauvinist that believes in the traditional role of the wife, cooking, ironing and making love.
I can remember when mechanical bulls and the whole cowboy genre were popular at the same time this movie came out.
John Travolta applies a credible, bitter intensity to his role as Bud, unworldly kid who moves to Houston to live with relatives and work at a nearby plant, eventually discovering Gilley's Bar, country music, and a high-spirited local gal (Debra Winger) whom he marries.
So much of this sophomoric drama seems familiar, and indeed the structure of the film (with Travolta coming of age--after doing some dancing at Gilley's, of course) comes off like "Saturday Night Fever" in western-dress.
And I ain't got nothing against greaser ex-con cowboys semi-being one myself, but I've always envied what I feel to be the greatest power line of all time...."Pack-at S*#t!" Sort of like Clint's "make my day." And watching him slap Sissy around is the closest thing I'll see to my Julia Roberts fantasy so.....
This movie has it all, action, fighting, dancing, bull riding, music, pretty girls.
Bud Davis (John Travolta) is a simple small town kid who moves to Houston and lives with his Uncle Bob (Barry Corbin)'s family.
This movie for some reason strikes a cord in me even though the scenes with Scott Glenn still make me winch; I watch it over and over again and love the music!.
I always passed up at Best Buy the John Travolta collection, it had Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Urban Cowboy.
Urban Cowboy is kind of a fun movie, but what I wouldn't call a great film.It's about a cowboy named Bud, well, turned into a cowboy.
They meet two other people, Wes, a cocky cowboy intending to take Bud's bull riding champion title away from him, and Pam, a city girl who is interested in getting herself a cowboy.
Over all, Urban Cowboy is a memorable film for John Travolta and I can see why he was such a heart throb in his day.
don't mind the soundtrack, which is played out by now.Still, Debra Winger is always interesting and while this was an earlier role for her, she is quite good as Cissy, girl from the wrong side of the tracks, lived in trailer with Bud, (Travolta), only to be replaced for a time by city slicker Madolyn Smith as a rival.I agree with an earlier review regarding Scott Glenn, he is used for plot only, thrown in to the mix to create suspense; the story is predictable and contrived.Also, even though I am from the east, many of us did NOT like "Saturday Night Fever", while it had its moments, the perpetual stereotypes are beyond criticism at this point.Worth seeing for Debra Winger; she is still so likable, and never had that Hollywood persona we are subjected to by too many actresses today.
Bud (Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger) meet at Gilley's and fall in love.
When released in 1980, "Urban Cowboy" was the third in a triumvirate of sorts: iconic films starring John Travolta within a four year period, each of which made a huge cultural impact due to its success.
"Urban Cowboy" (1980), adapted from an article in Esquire magazine, gave a boost to country music and brought cowboy chic to millions.Each of these films emphasized a distinctive dance style and helped popularize the idea that it's sexy for men to dance."Urban Cowboy" stars Travolta as Bud-a young man willing to work hard to finance his weekend entertainments and, eventually, his unknown future.
Bud struggles with what it means to be a real man.Sissy (Debra Winger) is a young woman who also comes from the world of trailer homes and beer-fueled weekends.
She struggles to find a place for her authentic self within a Texas culture where women are expected to be subservient and demure.The film has a very authentic feel and, in fact, is shot in some locations that actually are central to the urban cowboy trend, where men who no longer rope cattle still want to identify with the rough-and-tumble masculinity of the Marlboro man.
But the plot that has been done a million times before is deemed watchable thanks to some solid acting performances particularly those of John Travolta and Debra Winger.
The movie does show what it is like to live in the Texas heartland in the midst of a country music revolution.
James Bridges direct and wrote the film about a man named Bud Davis (John Travolta) who moves from the countryside to the city to be closer with his family.
I think Scott Glenn is often under-appreciated as an actor and his performance is a good one.Urban Cowboy is a fine movie if not forgettable.
RELEASED IN 1980 and directed by James Bridges, "Urban Cowboy" is a drama starring John Travolta as mid-Texas young man who moves to Houston to work at the oil refineries.
In his spare time he goes to the local Country bar where he meets babes (Debra Winger & Madolyn Smith) and rides the mechanical bull.
It lacks originality, it may think it's being original, but in reality it's Saturday Night Fever all over again, only nowhere near as good, and Travolta is a Cowboy this time.
Travolta and Debra Winger manage to come out of this looking pretty good, with their undeniably excellent romantic chemistry, it was the heart of the movie in my opinion.
But I do remember the sensation it caused from Gilley's and the mechanical bull to Johnny Lee's hit song "Lookin' for Love" which still brings back memories of childhood whenever I hear it.However, a few years ago I saw this movie for the first time as an adult and all I can say is, I was blown away.
I must say as a girl with a cowboy of my own,I love this flick.It left me lovin them boots and wranglers even more.I told my friend about it and she loved it just as much,we were 'bout 13 at the time.I think it's the greatest love story ever told!I own it and never get tired of Bud & Sissy..
What is there to say about a film that features John Travolta in a cowboy hat and loads of awful honky tonk music?
Riding the waves of 1977's smash hit, "Saturday Night Fever," which of course starred John Travolta in that niiiice white suit, "Urban Cowboy" is about as close to a remake as one can get.
This could be considered an unofficial sequel to the film if there weren't one already (the forgettable sequel to "Saturday Night Fever," "Staying Alive," directed by Sylvester Stallone, was even worse than "Urban Cowboy," which is some sort of miracle).Basically, the plot is this: Bud David (Travolta) moves out to the big city in order to visit his uncle.
Once there, he goes to a country bar named Gilley's, where he meets and falls in love with Sissy (Debra Winger), who suddenly marries him and then gets in a fight with him after he sees her with a con man named Wes, who plans to rob Gilley's.
Meanwhile, in the "main plot" of the film, Bud applies for a mechanical bull contest and tries to patch up his relationship with Sissy.
Released just a couple years after the success of Saturday Night Fever it's a dancing in a bar movie and starring Travolta it's seems too formulatic.
The Travolta character of Bud coming from a small town to the big city could have believably been proficient on a mechanical bull but how does he become the best dancer on the huge Gilley's dance floor?
Established actor Scott Glenn is Bud's evil rival Wes and Debra Winger as Sissy is the love interest of both Bud and Wes. Winger had been in three bad teen movies and was probably best known in a recurring role on TV's Wonder woman before Urban Cowboy so it's kind of amazing that it would turn out to be her acting that would carry this film.
I look at URBAN COWBOY now, and I am appalled at the pathetic lead characters, Travolta's shallow, pompous, wife-beating Bud and Winger's shallow, slutty Cissy.
Bud comes in "off the ranch" to work in the oil fields near "the big city" (Houston) with his Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob takes him to the Houston suburb of Pasadena, Texas, at time the home of the famous western club Gilley's.
The star attraction at Gilley's, besides the country music and dancing, is a rough-riding mechanical bull.
soon enough they are sat down on the sofa and refuse to get up for any reason throughout the entire 2 hours and 13 minutes of it - just like myself.I am not a cowboy hat wearing, snoose spitting, mechanical bull riding hick and don't have to be any of those things to love and appreciate this movie.
John Travolta and Debra Winger make a perfect pair in this nice country drama, about how a young man named Bud (Travolta) who decides to work in a western-style bar in Houston where he meets a young dame named Sissy (Winger), who finds erotic attraction while riding on the mechanical bucking bronco in the bar.
Urban Cowboy is a pretty bad movie with the exception of decent acting by the cast.
Urban Cowboy is a pretty bad movie with the exception of decent acting by the cast.
Atleast this movie, show a better way to avoid that in you happen to be a men like the character played by Travolta.And Pam..
I've seen parts of it here and there, and Debra Winger and that other brunette are hot, but this just wasn't my type of movie other then the setting was in Houston the city I mainly grew up in.I always avoided this movie, even as a little kid b/c I knew the national perception of Houston was that we were a honky tonk town and that EVERYONE was some damn mechanical bull riding wannabee cowboy.
Urban Cowboy is a pretty good "western" movie that certainly highlights what it's like to live out in the West and to be a cowboy with a knack on how to get the girls.
The movie boasts an awesome soundtrack with lively country music and the one thing I liked is how we get "live" performances from the greats like Charlie Daniels Band and such.James Bridge's film is about a guy named Bud who movies from a Texas small town to Pasadena, Texas in order to get a better paying job.
John Travolta does another good job is a music-based film.
Scott Glenn is also pretty good as Wes and shows why you don't want to mess with him.Overall, Urban Cowboy is a decent country film and it gives a look on what society was back around this time in the Texas heartland.
John Travolta and Debra Winger turn out two very believable performances as Bud and Sissy Davis.
I love it and have watched it countless times--and usually find out something new about it with each viewing.I think one of the things I like about it is that Urban Cowboy is about working class people, not rich people who live in either L.A. or New York.
Well, it is true except for Pam.Travolta plays Bud, a small town Texas boy who moves to Houston to work in the oil fields.
This is a really good movie--the mechanical bull riding contest and two-step dancing may be silly, but you have to enjoy this for what it is.Bud meets Sissy (played by Debra Winger with slutty brilliance)--and soon after, they are married and living in their dream trailer.
Wes tries to rob Gilleys, but wouldn't you know that urban cowboy, Bud, saves the day and wins back the woman he loves.Of course, you may ask yourself why Bud and Sissy would go to Gilleys about every night and "live like pigs." Maybe that contributed to their bad marriage.
Urban Cowboy is about Bud Davis ala John Travolta and Sissy aka Debra Winger.
But let's go back and look at this for a second: SPOILER - My interpretation of the movie now, not when I was eight is this about Bud & Sissy's relationship takes a turn for the worst because she makes a fool of him at Gilley's riding the bull.
I love this movie.And believe it or not, I got myself a REAL cowboy!
Here Travolta and his gang spend their days working hard with hardhats at oil refineries, before spending their well-earned nights dancing at local clubs or riding mechanical bulls.
Travolta's love interest in the film is Sissy, played by Debra Winger, who "wants to be independent", much to the chagrin of Travolta who "doesn't think gals should behave that way".
Much of the film consists of men spouting macho wisdom ("a man don't back down when things get tough"), proving their masculinity by riding mechanical bulls, dancing like cowboys or beating up women.
As a native Texan, I really love this film because at least it tries to paint a picture of the urban lifestyle of Texans who long for the more independent pioneer days, but in order to make a living must reside in an urban jungle of glass and concrete.John Travolta plays Bud, a young man who comes from the countryside of Texas and moves in with his aunt and uncle in Houston, looking for work in the oil industry so he can buy some land back home and settle down.
Well, Gilley's burned down long ago, but this almost 38 year old film was an entertaining if not accurate picture of big city Texas life at that time.
"Bud" (John Travolta) is a young man who leaves his home in West Texas to try to find a job at an oil refinery in Houston.