Ameriatch
One of the best films i have seen
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Phillipa
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
RondoHatton
Uma Thurman is not a very good actress. She's tall, & reasonably attractive, & sometimes blonde, but she was the poster-girl for the Uber-hip set in the late 80's/early 90's so for that set, she was a perfect choice as Cissy Hankshaw. Having read & loved this book, I knew she was not a good choice, and she was subsequently was named Worst Actress of 1993 for her terrible attempt to portray Cissy. Likewise, Rain aka Rainbow aka Rain Phoenix was also miscast, as well as not being talented enough to pull off what could have been a great role, that of Boss Cowgirl Bonanza Jellybean. Rain Phoenix didn't look as if she was reading off a TelePrompter, she looked like she was A)Wondering what a TelePrompter was & B)Wondering what to to with a TelePrompter once she figured out what it was. I've seen better acting in 1950's Mexican porn. Did I detect her lips moving before she attempted to deliver her lines? The reason she was not named Worst Actress of 1993 was that to win that award, she had to be an actress, which she clearly is not. Sean Young looked so sexy I almost forgot about her psychotic meltdown over James Woods, but she showed less acting ability than in her role in "Blade Runner". Angie Dickinson, that 60's-70's retread hearthrob of teenage males was nearly as bad as Phoenix & Thurman, but she had an excuse, she hadn't worked for many years, & seemed critically hungover. That's the bad news. The good news is, the rest of the cast was a hoot! Batting leadoff, the always weird & wonderful Carol Kane & Buck Henry(why don't those two have children?? What a great idea), John Hurt in drag, Crispin Glover, Pat Morita(as Noryuki)as The Chink("Ha Ha Ho Ho and Hee Hee!!"), Keanu Reeves was entirely adequate as Julian Gitchee, but any one of a number of Native American, Canadian, or Ecuadoran actors would have been a better choice, such as the lovely & talented Gary Farmer. Two other bones to pick: 1) Tom Robbins' favorite Native American tribe, is not pronounced See-Wash, but Sigh-wash and B) Why was the locale moved from the Dakotas to Deschutes County, Oregon, and then accused of being California(rather than just Californicated)? Stupid idea. I really loved Crispin Glover & John Hurt, but their performances are not enough to tempt me to watch this terrible movie again. The personnel not named Phoenix, Young, Dickinson, or Thurman are the reason this piece of crap gets as many as two stars. Like many reviewers, anger is my strongest emotion at this attempt to adapt a really good book.
bobvend
I was torn between watching this "film" or tuning into the Paint Drying Channel. Deciding to watch this train wreck was the obvious wrong choice! Chock full of high-wattage stars that apparently made this on their lunch break, it was shot in Oregon but unfortunately it survived. The characters are so absurdly drawn and the acting is so wretched it is not even enjoyable on a So-Bad-It's-Good level. This is the perfect time-waster to watch if you have no standards and don't like movies which contain such annoying things as coherent narratives or even a point! How this turkey managed NOT to go direct-to-video is one of the amazing mysteries of the universe.
Breno Bacci
I could not agree less with the rating that was given to this movie, and I believe this is a sample of how short minded most of spectators are all over the world. Really... Are you forgetting that Cinema used to be a kind of art before some tycoons tried to make it only entertainment? This movie is not entertainment, at least not that easy entertainment you get on movies like Titanic or Gladiator. It has style, it is different, it is shocking... That's why most of you have hated it so much: because it does not try to be pleasing to you. It's just a story, a very weird one I admit, but after all, only a weird story. It is not a great story, not even a great cinema work, but I believe it is worth a 7-stars rating only for the courage of both author and director to shot a story that is not made to please the audience, thus selling billions of copies and making the big studios even richer. This movie is, for me, European-artistic-like movie made in the US, and everyone involved in the making of it deserves respect. Be it for the courage, or be it for the unique sense of humor.
Tim
I missed this movie in the cinema but had some idea in the back of my head that it was worth a look, so when I saw it on the shelves in DVD I thought "time to watch it". Big mistake!A long list of stars cannot save this turkey, surely one of the worst movies ever. An incomprehensible plot is poorly delivered and poorly presented. Perhaps it would have made more sense if I'd read Robbins' novel but unless the film is completely different to the novel, and with Robbins assisting in the screenplay I doubt it, the novel would have to be an excruciating read as well.I hope the actors were well paid as they looked embarrassed to be in this waste of celluloid and more lately DVD blanks, take for example Pat Morita. Even Thurman has the grace to look uncomfortable at times.Save yourself around 98 minutes of your life for something more worthwhile, like trimming your toenails or sorting out your sock drawer. Even when you see it in the "under $5" throw-away bin at your local store, resist the urge!