The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988)

That was an excellent one.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This starts off pretty funny, but simply becomes too... Lynchian. By the time the girls arrive, it had lost me. The subsequent party scene is oblique, and the only highlight is Harry Dean Stanton's considerable singing talent (who knew? -- not me). I wish Lynch had stuck with straight comedy through and through, yet his more devoted fans might appreciate his surrealism a bit more than I'm able to. I guess I'm too dense. This is the only one of his efforts on The Short Films of David Lynch DVD that I was able to derive any sort of enjoyment from. On a side note, I noticed the boom mic dip briefly into the frame once, which was disappointing.

David Lynch made this as part of a French TV series where various foreign directors directed segments about how they see the French. It is about a group of stupid cowboys who encounter a wandering Frenchman. Cue a culture clash and a host of clichés associated with Americans and French. Starring Lynch regulars Harry Dean Stanton and Jack Nance, The Cowboy and the Frenchman incorporates much of the silly humour typical of Lynch. The trouble is that it isn't very funny. Mainly it's just a bit annoying. It doesn't have any of the sinister and moody feeling more associated with the director. And that's most unfortunate. What it does have is a lot of tiresome comedy. Not recommended.

Lynch fascinates me and I love discovering new works by him. Twin Peaks, IMHO, is one of the greatest series of all time and it's a shame and tragedy that it only lasted two seasons. Likewise, Eraserhead is a beautiful, creative work of art. I have the utmost respect for Lynch and his work, but I have to admit, I just didn't get this film. Other reviews claim this movie is hilarious and that Lynch proved he can master humor. I'm sorry, but I chuckled once during this film and was bored for the rest. I actually wonder if the positive reviews with such high ratings are simply by die-hard fans who will claim everything Lynch has ever done is genius. Like I said, I'm a tremendous fan, but this film, IMO, was highly mediocre.If you're a fan of Lynch and want to soak up everything he has ever done, by all means, watch this one. But if you're looking for hilarious comedy, most along, there is nothing to see here.

More like three, you have to count the Indian.Okay.This film is hilarious. David Lynch, always having the serious work he does with the dirty, bizarre worlds and the disturbing, psychological characters, mixes it up a bit with The Cowboy and the Frenchman, a tale (that doesn't really make sense, as per his usual work) about a bunch of cowboys who find a Frenchman and befriend him. The culture clash is more than one can handle, what with the mix of music, stereotype ("Damn, what's that? Damn, what's that? Damn, what's that? Damn, what's that? Damn, what's that?"), and caricature.In fact, the entire strength of this short rests on the moment the two underlings open up the Frenchman's case and start pulling out his "affairs", all of them stereotypical things Americans think the French are obsessed with but which are really just things they happen to have a lot of in their culture (the French equivalent would be opening up an American's suitcase and finding a pile of hamburgers and televisions).Not to say the cowboys don't get their collection of satire, what with shooting random animals, being absolutely stupid, and never understanding anything.It's piercingly funny, even if it is about five minutes too long and isn't really that much of a work of art as much as just a silly exposition.--PolarisDiB