Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 musical/western/comedy. The story follows Pardner, a man searching for a living, played by Clint Eastwood. Pardner soon becomes indebted to an alcoholic panhandler named Ben Rumson, when Ben saves Pardner's life after a severe carriage accident. The mining camp that Ben and Pardner are working in is inhabited by four hundred men, and not a single woman. This leads to a Mormon man with two wives coming to town and all hell breaking loose, as one of the wives is auctioned off to the miners. Now that one of the miners has a wife, antics ensue as all the problems one could imagine arising from this situation occur: jealousy, fighting, and distrust.
Paint Your Wagon is an enjoyable movie and manages to entertain throughout the lengthy run time. Many of the songs displayed throughout the film are highly memorable and all of the cast did a fantastic job in their roles. Many of the jokes are still hilarious, even forty years later. There are also some funny twists throughout the story. These plot choices are interesting, but they're fun and they work.
Some of the best parts of the film are also the same things that bring the film down at times. While the comedy is great, some of the slapstick humor is dated and pratfalls are simply no longer entertaining. This film also displays the obnoxious form of intoxication. You know what I'm talking about, crossed eyes and tongue hanging out. This is common in older films, but it always stands out as irritating. It's as if the actors were taught how to act drunk by Bugs Bunny. Another point that is great about the film is the music, but there are some songs that don't quite fit. For example, the men of the camp speak of the loneliness and the rain that seems to put a depressing pall on everyone. Out of nowhere, one of the characters adds that the wind is bad too, despite the fact that there is no wind. This leads to a song about the wind, and even during the song there is no wind. This is an example of a song that needed to go somewhere and was clumsily added to the story.
Despite these complaints, Paint Your Wagon is still very entertaining. Even those who are not fond of musicals will find plenty to enjoy in this film, not to mention this is a great movie for Eastwood fans.
Paint Your Wagon is an enjoyable movie and manages to entertain throughout the lengthy run time. Many of the songs displayed throughout the film are highly memorable and all of the cast did a fantastic job in their roles. Many of the jokes are still hilarious, even forty years later. There are also some funny twists throughout the story. These plot choices are interesting, but they're fun and they work.
Some of the best parts of the film are also the same things that bring the film down at times. While the comedy is great, some of the slapstick humor is dated and pratfalls are simply no longer entertaining. This film also displays the obnoxious form of intoxication. You know what I'm talking about, crossed eyes and tongue hanging out. This is common in older films, but it always stands out as irritating. It's as if the actors were taught how to act drunk by Bugs Bunny. Another point that is great about the film is the music, but there are some songs that don't quite fit. For example, the men of the camp speak of the loneliness and the rain that seems to put a depressing pall on everyone. Out of nowhere, one of the characters adds that the wind is bad too, despite the fact that there is no wind. This leads to a song about the wind, and even during the song there is no wind. This is an example of a song that needed to go somewhere and was clumsily added to the story.
Despite these complaints, Paint Your Wagon is still very entertaining. Even those who are not fond of musicals will find plenty to enjoy in this film, not to mention this is a great movie for Eastwood fans.