Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)

1993 film by Gus Van SantTemplate:SHORTDESC:1993 film by Gus Van Sant

* Eric McLeod
* Laurie Parker
* Gus Van Sant
* Uma Thurman
* Lorraine Bracco
* Angie Dickinson
* Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
* Keanu Reeves
* John Hurt
* Rain Phoenix
* John J. Campbell
* Eric Alan Edwards
* Curtiss Clayton
* Gus Van Sant
* k.d. lang
* Ben Mink
* September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13) (TIFF)
* May 20, 1994 (1994-05-20)

***Even Cowgirls Get the Blues*** is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama 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

The film is a transgressive romp, covering topics from homosexuality and free love to drug use and political rebellion to animal rights, body odor, and religions. 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

## Production

*Even Cowgirls Get the Blues* was shot throughout Oregon: Portland, Terrebonne, Sisters, and Bend.

Though some viewers claim that River Phoenix is visible in a brief cameo near the end of the film, director Gus Van Sant, costar Udo Kier, and Phoenix's own assistant at the time, Sue Solgot, have all asserted that Phoenix was not in the film. Van Sant further states, "River wasn't even in the desert when we shot. That is Jim Baldwin in the beekeeper's hat."

## Reception

The film was a critical and commercial failure. After its world premiere in September 1993 at the 1993 Toronto International Film Festival, the film was set to open, but due to the negative response, it was delayed for more editing. The picture opened in wide release on May 20, 1994, and grossed a mere $1,708,873 against an estimated $8 million budget.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 19% rating based on reviews from 26 critics. On Metacritic the film has a score of 28% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". According to film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, "The novel was hopelessly dated, and there is not enough peyote in the entire American Southwest to render this movie comprehensible *or* endurable...K.D. Lang's [sic] score is the picture's sole worthy component."

### Year-end lists

* First worst – Robert Denerstein, *Rocky Mountain News*
* First worst – Janet Maslin, *The New York Times*
* Second worst – Desson Howe, *The Washington Post*
* Eighth worst – Peter Travers, *Rolling Stone*
* Top 10 worst (not ranked) – Dan Webster, *The Spokesman-Review*
* Top 12 worst (not ranked) – David Elliott, *The San Diego Union-Tribune*
* Dishonorable mention – William Arnold, *Seattle Post-Intelligencer*

### Accolades

* Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress - Uma Thurman (*nominated* - lost to Sharon Stone for *Intersection* and *The Specialist*)
* Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress - Sean Young (*nominated* - lost to Rosie O'Donnell for *Car 54, Where Are You?*, *Exit to Eden*, and *The Flintstones*)

## Home media

The film was released on Region 1 DVD on November 2, 2004, containing its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and on NTSC LaserDisc by Image Entertainment on November 4, 2004, also in its original aspect ratio.
It received a second DVD release in the United States from UCA on April 6, 2010, now in a new cropped 1.78:1 widescreen version.

In 2007, the film received its first DVD release in the UK from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in a 1.33:1 full frame version.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on November 2, 1993 by Sire Records. k.d. lang performed the music. The album was composed by lang and Ben Mink. The soundtrack went top 10 in Australia and top five in New Zealand (numbers 10 and four, respectively), and also peaked at number 82 on the *Billboard* 200 in the United States.

1. "Just Keep Me Moving" (3:56)
2. "Much Finer Place" (0:51)
3. "Or Was I" (3:07)
4. "Hush Sweet Lover" (4:05)
5. "Myth" (4:08)
6. "Apogee" (0:37)
7. "Virtual Vortex" (0:44)
8. "Lifted by Love" (3:02)
9. "Overture" (2:03)
10. "Kundalini Yoga Waltz" (1:07)
11. "In Perfect Dreams" (3:07)
12. "Curious Soul Astray" (3:40)
13. "Ride of Bonanza Jellybean" (1:47)
14. "Don't Be a Lemming Polka" (2:17)
15. "Sweet Little Cherokee" (2:48)
16. "Cowgirl Pride" (1:47)

### Chart performance

 Canadian *RPM* Top Albums
 U.S. *Billboard* 200

### Certifications

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## See also

* List of American films of 1994
* Cowgirl
* Tom Robbins

## References

1. ↑ *EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES* (15). *Rank Film Distributors*. British Board of Film Classification (July 1, 1994).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Mojo title
3. ↑ Brows Held High Even Cowgirls Get the Blues HD-Internet Archive
4. ↑ Dominant-paradigm-subverting Hippified Case File #137: *Even Cowgirls Get the Blues*-AV Club
5. ↑ Lawrence, Barry C. (2004). *In Search of River Phoenix: The Truth Behind The Myth*. Wordsworth Publishing.
6. ↑ Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994).
7. ↑ Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
8. ↑ Leonard Maltin's 2010 Movie Guide (pg.423)
9. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Denerstein, Robert (January 1, 1995). "Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black". *Rocky Mountain News* (Final ed.). p. 61A.
10. ↑ Maslin, Janet (December 27, 1994). CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; The Good, Bad and In-Between In a Year of Surprises on Film. *The New York Times*.
11. ↑ Template:Citation
12. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 29, 1994). The Best and Worst Movies of 1994. *Rolling Stone*.
13. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Webster, Dan (January 1, 1995). "In Year of Disappointments, Some Movies Still Delivered". *The Spokesman-Review* (Spokane ed.). p. 2.
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Elliott, David (December 25, 1994). "On the big screen, color it a satisfying time". *The San Diego Union-Tribune* (1, 2 ed.). p. E=8.
15. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Arnold, William (December 30, 1994). "'94 Movies: Best and Worst". *Seattle Post-Intelligencer* (Final ed.). p. 20.
16. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - k.d. lang.
17. ↑ Template:Cite journal
18. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Willman, Chris (November 7, 1993). "\*\*1/2; k.d. lang, "Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'"; Sire/Warner Bros". *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Soundtrack CD Album. CD Universe.
20. ↑ Christgau, Robert. CG: k.d. lang. RobertChristgau.com.
21. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
22. ↑ Amazon.com: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack: Music: k.d. lang
23. ↑ Template:Cite magazine

## External links

* *Even Cowgirls Get the Blues* at IMDb
* Template:Mojo title
* Template:Rotten-tomatoes
* Template:Metacritic film
* "How to Fix a Film at the Very Last Minute (or Even Later)"

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