Cowboys: Outrage! (1991)

Good concept, poorly executed.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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.

Cowboys: Outrage! (1991)*** (out of 4) Another fun film in director Phil Mulloy's "Cowboys" series. This one here comes with a message as a cowboy sees a couple others having sex and he's so disgusted that soon he cuts his "thing" off. Soon, after witnessing the sex, various other cowboys become disgusted and self mutilate themselves as well. This short might not play too well to today's crowds but it was actually made during a period when many media and religious figures were attacking anything with sexuality. The movies, TV shows and countless other art forms were under attack by people who thought sex was just the worst thing ever and I think with this in mind the short comes with a terrific and funny message. The animation, as with others in the series, is crude but it's visual style actually works for what it is. I'm sure those who support the views that are laughed at here will be offended but that's a good thing.

Tonight, I watched many of the Cowboys shorts by Phil Mulloy. They are all very similar in that they feature black painted animation and it's very, very, very simple and not particularly attractive and lacks fluidity. Perhaps it was meant to look this way deliberately, but technically speaking this wasn't exactly a pretty film.This film begins with a couple having sex outdoors. A prude comes upon them and is outraged at the sex act, so they go on an insane campaign to outlaw nudity and sex. Considering that, at the same time, rampant violence is okay in this society, it's a nice bit of social satire....at least at first. Then, instead of just campaigning against sex, the characters all start cutting off their penises and sewing up their vaginas. I am sure some find all this funny or artistic, but to me it seems to have destroyed the excellent point it was making. Call me a prude, but seeing penis after penis getting severed seemed to cheapen the film.