Beer for My Horses (2008)

Simply A Masterpiece

A lot of fun.

A different way of telling a story

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I have no earthly idea what "Beer for My Horses" is supposed to be or whom it's supposed to appeal to, but it does have one of the most unusual casts I've seen in ages. Rock and country music stars Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Mel Tillis, Ted Nugent, Mac Davis and David Allen Coe join up with actual, honest-to-God actors like Tom Skerrit and Claire Forlani in a film derived from Keith's hit country song of the same name.In fact, Keith co-wrote, directed and plays the lead in this tale of an Oklahoma sheriff whose girlfriend is kidnapped after he and his men arrest the brother of a nefarious Mexican drug lord for stealing fertilizer, apparently a key ingredient in meth production (who knew?). Soon, the law enforcer and his posse are headed south-of-the-border to rescue the girl.Keith has thrown just about everything he can think of into the mix: small-town buffoonery, race-tinged melodrama, low-keyed romance, a troupe of circus performers, a flatulent bulldog, and more scowling Mexicans than you can shake a sombrero at. Somehow it's all supposed to go together, but even the most accomplished filmmaker would have trouble making it all work. Still, it's so homespun, scruffy and amiable that criticizing it too harshly would be like kicking the family mutt.

Living Nashville, my roommate and I expected there'd be a little bit of a crowd at the matinée during this film's opening week. If nothing else, the industry would support it, right? Well, we were the only two there, aside from some random guy in the front row that probably wandered into the wrong theater.In a nutshell, the script is nothing but good ol' boy humor, which is tolerable, up to a point. The pace of the movie is inconsistent-- sometimes too quick and at other times painfully slow; the storyline itself reminds me of a high school student screenplay. Toby, a down-to-earth, charming southern fella, is a cop of a small, southern town. His partner is a redneck Barney Fife with a dog that farts when trouble draws near. Sounds like a winner, right? The "real" story unfolds when Toby's girl gets kidnapped by Mexican druglords. On the way to the border, Toby's car breaks down, and he must stop and seek mechanical help from a bohemian traveling circus. After another painful 45 minutes, they make it to Mexico to face the druglords, and you can probably guess the outcome.The reason for this film's limited release may have been because Toby's previous film, Broken Bridges, barely grossed $250,000. Toby really should just stick to music videos.

I like Beer for My Horses. The writing is very formula-driven. Rodney Carrington plays like he is Barney Fife in Mayberry; there are other Andy Griffith Show touches. Toby Keith smiles a lot; he doesn't convey much acting, but his droll demeanor provides a nice straight guy to the sight gags and Country star cameos.The setting is a small town, the topics are small town, and you find more likable people strolling through the story than you could imagine.But the story is nice. Warm, even. I didn't watch a story, so much as watch Rodney Carrington and Toby Keith making a story. Kind of like an extended comedy routine, rather than a movie comedy. But the experience is enjoyable.And I *want* to learn about Snake's sling.

I was looking very forward to see this movie. We go to every Toby concert whenever he is in Atlanta. We were really anticipating this movie. Why was the movie only in limited release? Toby has a huge fan-base in Georgia. My daughter and I are heartbroken that it was not released here. I am sure who makes there decisions. There are many movies that are released nationally that do not deserve to be released at all. Our situation is different....it seems that on the mid-west got the chance to see this. Can anyone let us know how to get the movie released in Atlanta....is it too late. I really don't want to wait for DVD release. Heartbroken in Georgia.