Rustlers' Rhapsody

This is such a funny little film, not because of the humor necessarily, but because of its ambition. In a way, it feels similar to Three Amigos which was released just a year following this film's 1985 roll-out. Both seemed to have very high hopes of being a Western spoof in the vein of Blazing Saddles, but both came off as far too sleepy a film to reach those comedic heights they aimed for.

On paper, I can see why the studio saw great potential here. Director Hugh Wilson was responsible for the previous year's gigantic hit Police Academy, and they were likely hoping he could carry that over into a hilarious take of Western films and Hollywood's presentation of that bygone era. Even a few actors from that comedy smash hit carried over as well, most notably G.W. Bailey who portrayed the infamous Captain Harris, nemesis to Steve Guttenberg's Carey Mahoney.

As the sole writer on Rustlers' Rhapsody, it seems having Academy creators and co-writers Pat Proft and Neal Israel (who later helmed one of my favorite comedies from the 80s, Moving Violations - check out my commentary here) would have benefited the film a substantial amount. For what IS on screen though, it's not bad. It's a very sleepy little film, which makes the short running time of 88 minutes quite welcome. It reminds me a bit of the style of Carl Reiner's 90s erotic thriller parody Fatal Instinct, in tone, pacing and level of humor. So if you've seen that, you know what to expect here. Rustlers' Rhapsody could have used at least one more draft, with a second set of eyes, to get it to the level of quality it desired, but for what's here, if you're looking for some quiet chuckles on a weekend afternoon, this will do the trick.