The Frisco Kid (1979)

Sadly Over-hyped

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Its movies like The Frisco Kid which are right up my alley - a totally bizarre, odd ball comedy. A movie which feels like a classic Hollywood western but about a man who is in a totally alien world. The odd pairing of actors Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford works like a charm. Just like how you wouldn't expect these actors to team up, you wouldn't expect a rabbi and a Wild West cowboy to be a duo. There's such pleasure watching the two interact and develop their odd, endearing bromance; Tommy (Ford) has no reason to stay with Avram (Wilder) other than he's formed a liking to him. Harrison Ford goes from space cowboy in Star Wars to actual cowboy in The Frisco Kid, showing he really had a knack for playing ruffians. However his character is not just a Han Solo redux. Unlike Solo he's not just out for himself but wants to give a helping hand to underdogs.The Frisco Kid showcases the absurdity of faith, but also celebrates it at the same time. Rabbi Avram Belinski follows his faith to a tee (despite being ranked almost last among his peers strangely enough). He would put his life and the lives of others on the line for the Torrah or in order to obey the Sabbath. Yet Tommy defends and even lauds Avram's actions as a man dedicated to his faith, even if he put his life in danger for religious reasons.Likewise the Native Americans they encounter along their travels have a failure to understand the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In one dialogue exchange, the Indian chief is perplexed that this God can make rain yet he doesn't because as Avram puts it, "that's not his department". Yet the chief asks if he wanted to he could, and Avram replies yes. Yet Avram contradicts this statement later in their discussion when he proclaims God can do anything; the chief responds with "then why can't he make rain?" and Avram loudly states "because he doesn't make rain!". However on top of this Avram tells the chief that there is only one God and that he's your God too. Take that as a bit of falsifying another's faith.However The Frisco Kid is a movie which showcases peace and unity between cultures. Along his travels Avram encounters whites, blacks, Native Americans, Christian monks and the Amish. When he first encounters the Amish he mistakes them for rabbis due to their similar attire, perhaps symbolising that we're not all so different. Here Gene Wilder shows he is an actor who is not afraid to celebrate their religion and culture on screen; even if he is playing a neurotic Jew but not in an annoying way. The Frisco Kid is a movie which could possibly appeal to the both the religious minded and the atheist alike.

Rabbi Avram Belinski (Gene Wilder) is sent from Poland to lead a congregation in San Francisco. When he arrives in Philadelphia, the naive Avram falls in with three con men who robs him and throws him off the wagon in Pennsylvania. He is hopelessly dependent on the kindness of strangers including a kind hearted robber Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford) on his long road west.I never even heard of this movie. I am glad that I caught it on TV. Wilder and Ford make an odd couple. That's the point here. Wilder brings a bit of his humor while Ford is Han Solo without Chewbacca. This a funny buddy comedy.The running time of almost 2 hours is too long. It would be better to start the journey with Ford. That way they could build up the chemistry earlier. And they need more jokes. Gene Wilder's mannerism is great, but the movie should be more jam packed with jokes. It's hilarious when Harrison Ford starts yelling at Gene Wilder for not riding on Saturday. They make for a fun duo.

This is really one sweet-natured fish-out-of-water tale, with a wonderful, winning performance by Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi who's forced to go it alone from Pennsylvania to San Francisco in 1850. It was a real pleasure to experience the old west through the eyes of this very unlikely hero!Harrison Ford too is fantastic as a young bank-robber who becomes his protector and who's tough exterior masks a heart of gold, which becomes more apparent as he learns the real meaning of friendship through his adventures with the rabbi.The movie's treatment of religion was very refreshing too. Wilder's various interactions with people of different faiths is at times hilarious, insightful, and very touching, never scornful. The warmth and respect they each show one another isn't often shown in films.One thing that had me scratching my head was the rabbi's repeated use of the word "God". As an orthodox Jew, isn't the character prohibited from speaking or writing the deity's name?

I recently saw this film on video and remembered seeing some parts of the film many years ago. What I loved best was Gene's continued portrayal of the Compassionate Rabbi whatever challenges came to him throughout the movie. Not only the humor but the quest to go on through all odds. This movie represented in all of us the shear determination to not give up through one's belief all that it takes to persevere without trying to look good to others. This is an extraordinary film and it also sends a message that you can take an outlaw and see the transformation of his friend from the Rabbi's devout character. What a masterpiece!