Wagons East (1994) User Reviews

Not as bad as its reputation

[s_pike · 6/10 · 7 May 2011]

This is a light weight movie but really quite entertaining and better than many recent offering at the theater. It could have been better in many ways. A few cast changes and a little more over the top release of the talent and you have a Rustler's Rhapsody level comedy.

The play off of corporate corruption is quite relevant to current issues and provides a nice opportunity to display the use of the military in the service of corruption.

The film is good for popcorn.

Why they restrained such talent as Candy and Lewis is confusing. Why get them if you're not going to let them play. Too much focus on the script and not enough play of the characters.

The west is too wild for this bunch

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 1 June 2018]

It seems perfectly obvious that any number of folks who took Horace Greeley's advice about going west had second thoughts. A lot just weren't cut out for the frontier and I don't doubt many returned east.

It is to those wise souls who knew when to quit that Wagons East is dedicated to. In one of our small western bergs a group makes a collective decision to form a Wagon Train and they hire the inebriated John Candy as their wagonmaster to travel east. Candy himself at first can't quite acclimate to this new thinking but eventually does.

But the notion of heading back east violates the thinking of the establishment and those making a living on the pioneer spirit. At the same time the Indians see this as a good thing. Makes for some strange alliances.

This was John Candy's last film and lucky we got it completed as he died during the making. I'm sure he had hopes of this turning into another Blazing Saddles. That would have taken Mel Brooks's zaniness.

My favorite in the film is the gay bookseller John C. McGinley who went west for the men, but found them a bit rough for his taste. His scene with the naive and hunky Lochlyn Munro is priceless.

Not a comedy masterpiece, Wagons East is still good fun and viewing.

A below average film distinuished only by the fact John Candy died making it.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 4/10 · 12 August 2020]

Released around the same time as The Cowboy Way, Lightning Jack, and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, Wagons East! was another attempt to recapture City Slickers success to diminishing returns. The film follows a group of misfits including tightly wound bank manager Ben(Star Trek Voyagaer's Robert Picardo), effeminate and very heavily implied to be homosexual bookshop owner Julian(played thanklessly by John C. McGinley), and former doctor turned flailing cattle rancher Phil(played by Richard Lewis at his most Richard Lewis) who are all sick of life in the west and hire alcoholic wagonmaster James Harlowe(John Candy in his final role) to bring them back to St. Louis. The movie's setup is nowhere near strong enough to sustain this 107 minute movie as most of it can be boiled down to "the West sucks" which serves as the crux for the humor in the films strongest point in the first 10 minutes, afterwards however the movie doesn't really do much with its core premise other than periodically reminding us of it as the catalyst for the film. Sprinkled throughout the journey are Wile. E. Coyote esque gags involving a hired gun named John Slade(complete with backfiring traps), Indians with names like Big Snake that makes women faint, and lowest common denominator gags galore including a piss drinking scene. There's nothing wrong with these gags IF they're done well, but the movie's pacing is so slow and poorly paced that there's no surprise factor to the gags and everyone feels overly telegraphed and lacking in punch. The fact that they had to restructure the movie around Candy's death must've been no small task for the crew to deliver a finished project and it definitely explains why Candy disappears for long sections of the movie with focus shifting to Lewis and Picardo with some rather telling ADR conversations between them over wagon B-roll footage used to link scenes together. I can say that Wagons East is in fact a movie, but it's not a good one.

Dedicated to John Candy

[MovieAddict2016 · 30 July 2001]

the movie says on the box, and at the beggining of the credits, "Dedicated to the memory of John Candy". I must say John Candy was probably my favorite comedian, and still is. This movie was a little under rated, but it was still one of his lesser films. Sadly he passed away during filming, you see he was in it until the end of the film, his character was not just dropped, I think they probably were going to do some more editing to the film to make it better, but he passed away so they had to produce what they had, a somewhat unfinished film. Towards the end of his career his comedies really started going downhill. Although I liked Canadian Bacon, Harry Crumb, Wagons East, and films like these were just a bit, well stupid. Like I said Wagons East wasn't all that bad, but it's nothing compared to his best-planes trains and automobiles, or Uncle Buck(I've commented on both of those as well). I just wish when planes and trains 20th anniversary finally comes up, they'll re-release it on DVD with forgotten scenes, and a special dedication video to John Candy, same with Uncle Buck. John Candy was a great and it's too bad this was dedicated to his memory, because I think if he's watching down on us, he's as sad as I am. Anyway, the plot of the movie is After a town by the name of Prosperity, decides the west isn't what it's cracked up to be, they decide to move back east. They find a Wagon master named Harlow(Candy) to lead them back. They must survive Indians, starvation/no water,hired guns, and more,as the comedy builds up to an okay climax. 2 and a half stars out of 5, it's a good movie to rent out, but while you're at it, rent out some of Candy's best films too. I also dedicate this comment,to the memory of John Candy

Sorry comedy

[jhaggardjr · 2/10 · 1 November 2000]

"Wagons East" was a big disappointment for me. But the saddest thing about this movie is that it turned out to be John Candy's last film role (he died just before shooting was completed on this). There are only a few laughs throughout this western spoof, and for a comedy that doesn't cut it. If you want to see a uproarious spoof of western movies, the answer is obvious. See Mel Brooks' classic "Blazing Saddles". Or if you want to see Candy in much better material, see "Summer Rental", "Spaceballs", or "Uncle Buck" (just to name a few). These three movies (as well as others) shows us what a great comic actor he was. Unfortuneately, "Wagons East" does not. What a shame!

* (out of four)

Three stars just for Candy.

[TOMASBBloodhound · 3/10 · 26 June 2011]

John Candy is on record as saying he feared something bad was going to happen if he went to Mexico to make this film. Well, two bad things happened. John Candy died, and this film was made. How's that for bad karma? Wagons East is a stupendously bad film on just about every level. A scarce chuckle or two in almost two hours is about all you can expect. Only a few scenes with Candy are rewarding, mostly because they will remind you of how funny he had been in the past. With this film, we see perhaps an interesting idea for an SNL sketch stretched into an insufferably long film. We see some decent character actors wasted, while the wrong ones get most of the screen time. And worse than anything, we see a John Candy that is painful to watch. He was heavier than ever, and just looks like he'd rather be any place else. How in the world did they find a horse strong enough to carry him?

The story deals with a handful of people ready to give up on life in the old west and start a wagon train heading back to St. Louis where they can give city life another try. There are a couple of cute early gags involving the oft-robbed town banker and a gay bookstore proprietor selling a cowboy a copy of Pride and Prejudice so he can use it for toilet paper. These are interesting observations, but again they cannot be the basis for a feature length film. Once the train gets rolling east, what little laugh well we had dries up rather quickly. How long did they milk the Donner Party angle? This might have been good as a throw-away gag later in the film, but the fact that Candy's character was their wagon master too is brought up again and again and again. Any of the half-dozen subplots involving people on this journey could have been cut and actually would have improved the picture. We just don't care about these people. What has Richard Lewis ever done to be the star of a theoretically mainstream comedy? The guy isn't funny. At all. Never was. Too bad the last film Candy ever did turned out this bad. Its doubtful that Canadian Bacon would be much better, so I just won't even watch that one. 3 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Sad, So Sad.

[phillafella · 1/10 · 23 May 2003]

John Candy was very much a hit-or-miss comic actor. His death was a tragedy and we all miss him a lot, but WAGONS EAST, in which he plays a bumbling wagonmaster who agrees to take a group of pioneers out of the wild west, is even sadder. I don't understand why it was even released. The story is pointless and weak, and the jokes aren't there. It saddens me even further that Candy's last film would be his all-time worst movie. So let's forget all about this one and remember him in his better films such as SUMMER RENTAL, PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES and UNCLE BUCK.

0 out of 5

Candy's last movied was pretty good - despite critics

[HenryDee8 · 7/10 · 13 July 2005]

My wife and I actually quite enjoyed this movie. It was by no means John Candy's best but it was certainly better than we expected. Perhaps that's why I disagree with what most critics say.

Perhaps I love it for sentimental reasons knowing that Candy died just before the movie was completed. Nonetheless we had a good laugh and I do recommend this as a good pop corn movie.

The main premise of the movie is that there are a group of individuals in a small western town that have had it with "The Code" of the west. They hire a drunken guide (Candy) to take them back east and thus starts the comedy of errors as they go against the grain.

Admittedly the acting is only fair at best, but then again most of these characters are comedians do a pretty good job of playing off each other.

Head 'em up and try to move 'em back where they came from.

[michaelRokeefe · 3/10 · 29 November 2000]

This movie is silly and very short of being a funny movie. Unhappy 'easterners' are not pleased with being out west; so they hire a drunk wagon master(John Candy)to lead them back east. Sight gags were just not funny enough to carry this one. And Richard Lewis gets on your nerves very quickly; but then I honestly don't like him at anything he does. Ed Lauter is hilarious as the bumbling villain.

The movie was dedicated to Candy. He died from a massive heart attack ten days before the movie was completed. A stand in and digital enhancement enabled Candy's character to be seen in the final scenes. Candy was a very good comedian and gave us some real good knee slapping, belly laughs in his career. This movie was just not the caliber of his best.

Also in the film, you will recognize: William Sanderson, Gailard Sartain, Ethan Phillips, Ellen Greene and Rodney A. Grant.

Great fun, tinged with great sadness for John Candy's last hurrah

[inkblot11 · 7/10 · 11 November 2006]

A lady enters a bar somewhere in the wild west. She looks very refined and is, in fact, seeking the man who bought her as a mail-order bride. When she learns a group of men pooled their monies together, she sits down at the bar and orders whiskey. Chalk up one more disillusioned traveler to the land beyond the Mississippi. Phil (Richard Lewis) and others are also fed up with the harsh living conditions. Why don't they all get a wagon train to go back to civilization? They find a wagon train leader (John Candy) who says he's the man to take them across the mountains, prairies and whatever other terrain is necessary to see the good life again. But, he is harboring a big secret. Also, once news goes to St. Louis that people are heading in the wrong direction, an army officer vows to keep these people from telling others how bad it really is. The Indians, however, may be happy indeed that settlers are leaving their territories! From bathroom stops in the bushes to campfire revelations between the manly men, this journey has it all. Can it succeed? This movie is fun, fun, fun, as the Beach Boys say. There is so much to spoof about the rough and tumble western frontier that the humor is never forced and gives way to many a giggle. The scenery is quite beautiful and the film sports an authentic look. Most of the actors are fine but Candy, who died during the filming and whose part was digitally completed, never seems like himself. His usual go-for-broke spirit is just not present. That said, the film still works beautifully and is a great view for any Saturday night of fun. If you love Candy, however, be prepared to cry a few tears for his loss from the world which dearly loved him.

Disappointing...

[eskimosound · 4/10 · 17 December 2020]

Not only is it John Candy last movie (He passed away whilst filming) it's also one of his worst. Through no fault of his own, it just doesn't work, which is ridiculous seeing as there's a load of comedians in it. Maybe it's because I'm not American but I found absolutely no worth in the movie whatsoever. Nothing. So God bless John Candy. Shame on the rest of you for such a dud movie.

Very Funny

[eckhouse24 · 8/10 · 25 January 2001]

This film is better then one thinks. Some of it is slapstick, some dry humor, and some just plain old physical comedy. Charles Rocket is hilarious in his brief moments on the screen, and Richard Lewis has never been funnier. John Candy will be missed, and it is sad that this was his last film, but at least he gave us one great laugh. All in all, I think this is an 8, reason being is that I don't see this being a great film, but it is sure entertaining.

I (Native American) had lots of laughs watching it.

[PinataMama · 7/10 · 4 August 2001]

Wagons East was a fun movie. I love the premise of settlers going "back east", principally, because I'm Native American. It was almost like watching a Mel Brooks' movie, not one stereotype was left untouched. John McGinley, who played Julian, is one of my favorite actors. He has an amazing range. However, it's too bad that this was John Candy's last film. You can that he didn't enjoy the shoot and that he wasn't feeling well. I recommend it.

Wagons East

[henry8-3 · 4/10 · 29 December 2020]

Fed up with the tough life in the West, a group of settlers, decide to resettle in the East, with the help of wagon master Candy.

Whilst this is not without its charms and a few genuinely funny scenes, there are way to many misses than hits within this lazily scripted comedy. Candy, in his last film, has little to do and considering it's a comedy, most of the time seems devoted to very little happening. Real shame, there is real talent here which is wasted.

A Very Nice Editing Job

[garrysheils · 26 December 2001]

It's not a brilliant film, certainly not John Candy's best work, but I would like to commend the editors. John Candy died during production of this movie, and just under half the scenes were recorded using another actor in John Candy's place. Candy's face was then added using computers. And it's an almost perfect job.

A Poor Dedication.

[csnmocchi · 2/10 · 14 February 2021]

I was expecting this to be a great western spoof. There were some signs early on but seeing the doctor from Voyager and some other significant faces I decided to go on with watching it. The amount of crude humor and violence played off as being funny was appalling, not to mention Candy playing the role of a dark depressing wagon master. If you want a better western spoof, watch The Villain instead.

John Candy's sad end

[lee_eisenberg · 1/10 · 29 March 2009]

"Wagons East" is widely known as John Candy's last movie, as he died on the set. That's just what makes it so sad: not simply that Candy suffered a fatal heart attack, but that it was on the set of such a crummy movie. Seriously, I don't know what they were thinking when they came up with this piece of crap, but the flick has NO redeeming qualities. It's as if they took every unused script for stupid westerns and just mixed them together and filmed it. No wonder John Candy didn't want to make the movie; maybe his contractual participation was what did him in.

Anyway, the point is that Candy did much better than this throughout his career. To be certain, he had already completed Michael Moore's "Canadian Bacon", in which the United States declares war on Canada. Just stick with that one and you can say that Candy ended his career honorably. As for Richard Lewis - who previous had co-starred with Candy in Eugene Levy's absurd but hilarious "Once Upon a Crime" - he made up for this piece of crap by frequently guest appearing on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" in later years.

This Wagon Breaks Down on Candy.

[anaconda-40658 · 3/10 · 10 September 2015]

Wagons East (1994): Dir: Peter Markle / Cast: John Candy, Richard Lewis, Ellen Greene, John C. McGinley, Russell Means: Final film for Canadian comedian John Candy who sadly passed away as the production of this film was grinding to a halt. It is a comedy about misguidance with John Candy as wagon master James Harlow who is chosen to lead a group of settlers east. Some gossip surfaces regarding his leading the Donnar Party, which strikes fear into the civilians but he wishes to correct his mistake. Vulgar humour including a scene where someone drinks a canteen full of urine. Dreary plot deteriorates into a series of predictable mishaps. Director Peter Markle does his best to satire the western genre but Harlow is the only character given any depth. As his final film appearance Candy gives it his best despite the pitiful fist fight finale. The rest of the cast play off stereotypes. Richard Lewis plays a cattle owner and a cardboard second to Candy. Ellen Greene plays a female who hints innuendo with Harlow. With that said she is basically a romantic prop who only adds a predictable subplot that nobody cares about. There is even failed references to Looney Tunes violence but unfortunately we are not lucky enough to have a large rock land on this film. It is unfortunate that Candy's final film was this horrible with ambitions of cheap humour and stupidity. Score: 3 ½ / 10

Nostalgia. I have no other excuse.

[TwistedCyberChik · 7/10 · 9 March 2022]

My father was a huge John Candy fan so we saw this in theatres when I was 7. This is perfectly in line with my dad's sense of humor, so naturally I enjoyed the film too. Rewatching it recently, I had so many "oh! I remember that!" moments that I was smiling most of the film. I don't really get why it's hated so much. Without the nostalgia factor, it might rate between a 5-6 for me? I don't know. It's clearly not taking itself seriously so I think it mostly accomplishes what it set out to do. Also, uh, my family on my maternal grandfather's side really did survive as members of the Donner Party soooo there's that connection.

Surprisingly good story and interesting characters, just lacking in humor.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 26 July 2023]

Some of the gags land hysterically while others land with a thud. Most of em' actually, and for a John Candy film (sadly his last), it's a disappointment, although not the catastrophe I thought it would be. The prospect of a successful new life in the wild west has been disappointing for a group of settlers so they decide to do the reverse: migrate back east. Actually, that makes sense, but when word gets around, the men with the money desperate to make more of it from the fools who decide to go west strive to stop them in order to prevent bad publicity. Candy's the wagon master in charge of getting the group together, assisted by Richard Lewis.

There's Ellen Greene as a prostitute who can't make ends meet, Melinda Culea as a virginal mail order bride, John C. McGinley as a gay book seller far more sophisticated than anyone else in the party, and Ed Lauter as a member of the wagon party who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. McGinley gets an amusing, non-offensive (and genuinely innocent) scene where a young male traveler who asks him to help him wash his back in the local lake misinterprets seeing him "excited", documenting an innocence of the time period that wouldn't be seen the same way just decades later. Certainly no western comedy classic, but for light entertainment, I enjoyed it although I can easily see why others may not.

Fun movie

[bberge007 · 7/10 · 26 October 2018]

This is like Half Baked, funny, but hard to give a high ranking. The story was OK, the jokes were funny, the acting was good. There are some really stupid scenes but if you have the mindset that you are not watching a masterpiece, that didn't bother me at all. There are many funny parts, and it's a silly enough movie that you can forget about reality and enjoy.

Not the worst comedy I've seen, but not a trailblazer, either

[cricketbat · 4/10 · 14 November 2023]

Wagons East isn't the worst comedy I've seen, but it's definitely not a trailblazer. The script feels like it was cobbled together by amateurs, with actors mostly winging it during each scene. The jokes are half-baked and delivered half-heartedly by a seemingly disinterested cast. The basic concept of people going back east because they didn't like the west is amusing, but I don't think this movie knew what to do with it. And it's sad that this is film is part of John Candy's final legacy. I kept waiting for one good laugh as I watched Wagons East, but the best it got out of me was an occasional smirk.

Great Western Parody

[Enchorde · 8/10 · 4 September 2009]

Recap: A few American settlers with bright hopes of a new beginning in the west get deeply disappointed at the lack of civilization and opportunities and decide to head back home. Back east. They hire a all but confident wagon master and start their journey through the perilous country. However, back home some industrialist fear that they could start a new trend and that they would lose out on millions of dollars. The wagon train must be stopped.

Comments: One of the great parodies of Western movies it is deeply underrated and, in my mind, obviously misunderstood. A good mix of puns and jokes from the Western genre are sprinkled with satirical jokes about life in common and some original jokes. I can't say it's pace is high but there is no slow parts and it is never dull. There is always something to laugh about. And that maybe one of its great strengths, that might have been overlooked. There is much subtle humor, small details that are just great. Or is it that it's just the humor that speaks to me.

An impressive cast of comedians, some that have proved their worth both before and after. The obvious lead is John Candy as the defamed wagon master (from the real Donner Party, the character is not though). Stated that he was unwilling to do this movie but had to because of contractual obligations it is still impressive that he can be so good in it. Not his best movie, far from it, but it is till really good. Unfortunately it was also to be his last movie as he died during filming Wagons East, but some skilled editing and rewriting make that fact unnoticeable by watching the movie.

He also has some strong support of actors and comedians. Most prominent, to me, is Richard Lewis who is too underrated but does a great role once again. And then there is John C McGinley. Now doing a great character in Scrubs he already here shows his comedian talent as the overly gay settler. Notable appearances also from Robert Picardo and Ethan Phillips, both of later Star Trek fame, Abraham Benrubi and Ed Lauter.

All in all it is a great comedy. It sure helps to appreciate some wacky humor and parody of the Western genre. I've seen it several times and it never fails to deliver.

8/10

Solid comedy Western; John Candy's final movie

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 21 January 2018]

RELEASED IN 1994 and directed by Peter Markle, "Wagons East" details events when a dozen settlers in the remote Southwest town of Prosperity give up on the West and hire a drunken wagon master (John Candy) to lead them back East. Later, some Sioux tribespeople decide to assist them, hoping it will become a trend. Meanwhile, a dastardly villain (Edward Matthew Lauter) is hired by a railroad mogul to stop the small wagon train à la Wile E. Coyote in The Road Runner.

If you like comedy Westerns like "Texas Across the River" (1966) and "The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox" (1976), you should like this one as well. It mixes laugh-out-loud scenes with quietly amusing ones. I think it's superior to the overrated "Cat Ballou" (1965) and even better than the heralded "Blazing Saddles" (1974). It's not intentionally offensive like the latter, although there's a little black humor. In some ways it's kinda cute and heartwarming (e.g. the relationship between the big guy and the former prostitute). The locations are spectacular.

There are several familiar faces in the cast who were popular around that time, e.g. Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Robert Picardo, Ellen Greene, Melinda Culea, William Sanderson, Rodney A. Grant and Russell Means.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour & 47 minutes and was shot in Condado De Chavez & Sierra de Organos, Mexico. WRITERS: Matthew Carlson (screenplay) & Jerry Abrahamson (story).

GRADE: B

Painfully stupid and unfunny

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 1/10 · 11 September 2021]

I loved John Candy so much from his SCTV days that I can remember exactly where I was when I heard he had died. What a loss.

Nevertheless it too me 27 years to watch Wagon's East. I sorta wished I'd waited another 27.

I dropped in while Richard Lewis was doing some kind of campfire confessional. That wasn't funny.

Then there was the scene where they first meet thr natives. That wasn't funny.

Then the Half Way There dance. Painful. They even try to make a joke of The Donner Party.

I was embar@ssed for everyone involved, esp the late great Johnny LaRue.

Somewhat surprised this was even released.