As a plug for his then-upcoming movie, City Slickers (1991), star and host of the 63rd Academy Awards, Billy Crystal, rode onto (and later offstage) the Shrine Auditorium stage via horseback. Such a moment has stuck with my maternal grandfather, who continues to retell that moment to me whenever he gets the chance. Subsequently, City Slickers has become not only one of my favorite Billy Crystal movies (next to Monsters, Inc. (2001)) but one of my all-time favorites. My grandfather's singular favorite moment from the movie is when Curly (played by Jack Palance) asks Crystal's character of Mitch Robbins, "Do you know the secret of life?" to which he puts up his index finger and after a quip from Mitch ("Your finger?"), Curly utters the film's most famous phrase: "One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and the rest don't mean shit." When Mitch asks what it is, Curly responds, "That's what you have to find out." Such simplicity, humor, and profoundness within a simple gesture and phrase make this scene especially memorable. Specifically, said scene highlights the film's (whether intentional or not) spiritual/religious undertones, which my grandfather (who is a pastor) picked up on and was most likely reminded of the following passage (Philippians Chapter 3, Verses 13-14) from the New King James Version of the Bible:
(13) Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
However, before I get too carried away with my personal philosophical and religious views, here is my analysis of City Slickers.
City Slickers follows three friends from New York City: Mitch Robbins (Crystal), a thirty-nine-year-old man unhappy at his radio advertising sales job; Phil Berquist (played by Daniel Stern), who is going through a loveless marriage to his wife and miserably manages his father-in-law's supermarket; and Ed Furrilo (played by the late Bruno Kirby), a sporting goods salesman who is unwilling to settle down fully. During Mitch's birthday party, Phil and Ed suggest to Mitch that they go on a two-week cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado. Along the way, Mitch eventually learns to rope and herd cattle, unintentionally causes a stampede due to an electric coffee grinder, and adopts a calf whom he names Norman.
What follows is a charming, witty, and surprisingly thought-provoking journey searching for the secret to one's true happiness, with several loving homages to classic Western movies and television series like Red River (1948) and Bonanza (1959-'73), respectively.
City Slickers has a special place in my heart. Not just for nostalgic reasons but for its universal message of finding one's secret to pursuing happiness in life, as stated earlier. It is also excellent for comfort watching, knowing that Billy Crystal is one of my all-time favorite comedians and entertainers. Here, Crystal delivers a good balance between a depressed man careening toward a mid-life crisis and a witty, charming guy who deeply cares about his friends and family. Stern, as Phil, brings a childlike enthusiasm to his character that is genuinely infectious. Yet Phil simultaneously has a frustration that occasionally explodes, as exemplified by when his wife leaves him at Mitch's birthday party and when Phil confronts and threatens a drunken member of the cattle drive with a pistol. Ed seems to be the most confident and successful of the bunch. However, as he later reveals to his friends, as a teenager, he had to not only protect and look after both his mother and his sister after his father left them after being caught cheating on Ed's mother but also confront his father just before he left them. This tragic backstory makes Ed the bravest and morally tenacious person in the group, thus giving him the most pathos.
The three lead performances from Crystal, Stern, and Kirby are all funny and charming, but Palance's turn as the tough-as-nails Curly gives this film its legendary status. From his wry one-liners (like this one in response to Mitch's nervous quip, "Hi, Curly. Killed anyone today?": "The day ain't over yet") matches Mitch's humorous description of him as "a saddlebag with eyes." However, underneath that gruff exterior lies a wise and experienced man with plenty of insight into the human experience and soul. His sudden death from a heart attack partway through the film takes the crew and audience by surprise, and it leaves the characters without their mentor figure, which results in the lead trio turning on each other temporarily before eventually reconciling, in a way, having to literally and metaphorically figure out life's ups and downs.
On a noteworthy side note, a young Jake Gyllenhaal makes his film debut as Danny Robbins, Mitch's son. He is seen during a memorable sequence set at his school where his father delivers a hilarious speech about growing older and later during his father's birthday party.
Regarding my personal 'One Thing', I cannot choose one specific example, so I have chosen the following four: my family, my personal faith, and my love for both dancing and writing about movies. Regarding my love of film, my family has reinforced everything I love and do, including my passion for cinema, from the moment I became passionate about talking and writing about movies. Thus, I continue to owe so much to them. As for my faith, it is a key motivating factor behind my choice to live the most fulfilling life possible and actively strive for a better world than the one I came into. Finally, my love for dancing stems from my childhood and adolescent years of attending dance lessons and the friends I made, some of whom remain close friends. Writing about films is self-explanatory, but this reflection on City Slickers and its message has reminded me of how special it is to live on Earth, how much I cannot take for granted in this life and to be thankful for every gift and opportunity that comes my way.
In addition to being a lighthearted and thoroughly funny film, City Slickers manages to tug at the heartstrings and serve as a bonding experience between generations, as is the case with my grandfather and I. Amidst life's many heartbreaks and struggles, whenever I feel like giving up or doing the bare minimum, I often remind myself of my 'one thing' and how I must find it and share it with those I love while I still have the chance. What is the secret to life? Well, in the words of Curly, "That's what you have to find out."
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