No one, not even Billy Crystal, loved City Slickers more than this reviewer. But here Crystal and his co-writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel stretch out the "Been There, Done That" thang mighty thin before they really start delivering what's wanted: a few riotous gags from our urban hero, back out West fulfilling the thirst for comic adventure.
Crystal's Mitch - reunited not only with Daniel Stern's emotional Phil, Jack Palance as dead trail boss Curly's twin brother Duke and Norman the Calf (now a steer), plus new recruit Jon Lovitz as Mitch's crazy, shiftless brother Glen - has his life on track but still hankers after excitement. After a lacklustre and protracted prologue in the city, Mitch and the boys sneak off from a Las Vegas business convention and, armed with Curly's treasure map, go in search of millions in long-hidden gold.
This time out it nearly turns into Deliverance when Idiot locals shadow them, and Palance makes a dramatic entry as Duke to save them from certain death and join in the disaster-strewn quest. There are more jolly nods to Westerns and fish-out-of-water wheezes, including a horse stampede, a runaway wagon, and the ever popular clifftop dangle.
The original film was about mid-life crisis and finding yourself. This is about greed and a search for riches that teaches the protagonists about real values, and as it goes along it picks up speed until it's galloping through enough cheerful antics to make the last half hour a very fun memory indeed.