Texasville

Compared to its marvellous precursor, Peter Bogdanovich’s sequel to The Last Picture Show (1971) represents a weird leap from the sublime to the ridiculous. In itself, as kind of quasi-Altmanesque comedy it's not too bad, albeit overlong, as a small group of Texas rednecks spend over two hours bed-hopping and discussing  their errant relationships like they were discussing the performance of the local football season.

Once again based on a Larry McMurtry novel but this time scripted by Bogdanovich alone I have no idea if the original text was so over-heated and caricatural but it's hard to believe so. Reuniting the original characters from the first film and adding a few more, notably Annie Potts as Duane’s wife, it re-opens the saga some thirty years later. Their salad days gone, Duane (Jeff Bridges) has made a fortune in oil but is on the brink of losing it all as the Saudis move in to control the market.  His one true love, Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), has been married, failed as an actress and lost a son and is living as a recluse. Duane’s wife Karla (Potts) drinks vodka all day, his kids are in constant trouble, of one kind or another and Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) is "tired in his mind". Sonny’s one-time lover (Cloris Leachman) works in Duane’s office while Duane roams around schtupping his friend's wives 

Bogdanovich seems to be under impression that all this is a lot more interesting than it actually is and frankly, if you had a shotgun, you’d let loose around the three-quarter mark when the comedy runs out and sentimentality takes over.

 

Want something different?