Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama western film based on Tom Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant (credited as Gus Van Sant Jr.) and starred an ensemble cast led by Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Angie Dickinson, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, and Rain Phoenix. Robbins himself was the narrator. The soundtrack was sung entirely by k.d. lang. The film was dedicated to the late River Phoenix.
==Plot==
Sissy Hankshaw is a woman born with a mutation (she would not call it a defect) giving her enormously large thumbs. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a hitchhiker. Her travels eventually take her to New York City, where she becomes a model for a homosexual feminine hygiene products mogul, known as "The Countess". A few years later, he introduces her to his "beauty ranch", the Rubber Rose Ranch. The main plot revolves around the cowgirls who work at the ranch after they violently take over and drug the endangered whooping cranes that nest along the lake on their land, making the once migratory birds stay. The cowgirls end up in a showdown with government agencies because the cranes will not leave the ranch and the cowgirls refuse to allow the men on the ranch to take the cranes. Sissy and the ranch leader, Bonanza Jellybean, have a brief love affair. After a fatal shootout between the cowgirls and the various agencies, the cranes leave, and Sissy takes over running the ranch.
==Cast==
* Tom Robbins (voice) as Narrator
* Uma Thurman as Sissy Hankshaw
** Treva Jeffryes as young Sissy
* Lorraine Bracco as Delores Del Ruby
* Angie Dickinson as Miss Adrian
* Noriyuki "Pat" Morita as The Chink
* Keanu Reeves as Julian Gitche
* John Hurt as The Countess
* Rain Phoenix as Bonanza Jellybean
* Roseanne Arnold as Madame Zoe
* Ed Begley Jr. as Rupert
* Crispin Glover as Howard Barth
* Buck Henry as Dr. Dreyfus
* Carol Kane as Carla
* Sean Young as Marie Barth
* Victoria Williams as Cowgirl Debbie
* 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 as Musician at Barbecue
==References==
Category:1990s English-language films
Category:1990s German-language films
Category:1993 LGBT-related films
Category:1993 films
Category:1993 independent films
Category:1990s romantic comedy-drama films
Category:American LGBT-related films
Category:American romantic comedy-drama films
Category:1990s Western (genre) comedy films
Category:American Western (genre) comedy films
Category:Films directed by Gus Van Sant
Category:Films with screenplays by Gus Van Sant
Category:1990s feminist films
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:Films based on romance novels
Category:Films shot in Bend, Oregon
Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon
Category:Films about hitchhiking
Category:Lesbian-related films
Category:American road comedy-drama films
Category:1990s road comedy-drama films
Category:1990s American films