Wooly Boys (2001)

Fresh and Exciting

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I had never heard of this film, but bought it sight-unseen because of the fine cast, while cruising Amazon. It was summarized as similar in theme to Secondhand Lions, which I found disappointing. I found the first half of this film to be rather boring, as the director couldn't decide whether he was making a madcap corny family comedy, or a film about a youth who gets an education from his grandfather about how to live close to the land. When the film emphasized the relationships between Peter Fonda and his grandson, the excellent Joseph Mazzello, and also Kris Kristofferson, it was interesting, humorous, natural, and involving. When it focused on the law, it was silly, broad, and distracting, except for Keith Carradine, who maintained a modicum of believability. The final 30 minutes rescued the film for me, as it mostly veered away from the unnecessary Keystone Kops stuff, and became truly affecting emotionally. Had the movie emphasized the central story throughout, without the silliness, I would have given it a 9 or 10, and it probably would be better known. Still, it is worth a look, and overall, I preferred it to Secondhand Lions.

Mediocre movie in the vein of "An Unfinished Life" that has its moments, but falls apart because it doesn't know whether to be a drama or a slapstick comedy. Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson give amazing performances, and share some very funny and bittersweet scenes, but they're constantly being interrupted by pointless comic relief. A movie about an old man waiting to die should not have bungling cops, Dukes of Hazzard villains, and annoying teenagers. The latter is especially grating. I realize the entire plot centers around the kid, but after ten minutes of his shrill, nasal whining I wanted him to get trampled to death by the sheep.It has beautiful footage of the North Dakota landscape (after a confusing side trip to Minneapolis), and like I said before, Fonda and Kristofferson are wonderful, but the rest is a wash. If they'd scrapped the comedy, this would have been a great movie.

The movie was not as good as I hoped. It wasn't bad but it was lacking. The story felt rushed, some of the humor was too obvious (there were scenes that were funny though), and there should have been clearer character development. I think it's a good film for children and older folks. I had hoped there would have been more film of the badlands and it failed to truly show the beauty of the prairie. For an independent low-budget release it was pretty good. At least it didn't make North Dakotans look like backwater hicks ( ala the horrible "Fargo" movie which was not filmed in nor did it take place in the city it was named after!)

I enjoyed this film. It showed how a young city boy grew up and faced life, from being a spoilt brat he turned out to be a man of decisions and courage.The two main men in the film played there parts with feeling and i could belive in them.