The Frisco Kid
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Movie Reviews of The Frisco Kid
Movie Review: A buddy film with a twist
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite occasional slapstick and the kind of randy humor that's to be expected from a movie made in the '70's, this comedy-Western-drama (it changes focus as it nears its end) is one of my favorites (possibly because of a scruffy--if not nerf-herding--Harrison Ford, two years off his defining role as Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)). In the year 1850, a recently minted Polish rabbi, Avram Belinsky (Gene Wilder), dreams of going to America and encountering the Indians and Wild West types he's read about. When his chief rabbi receives a request from a group of San Francisco Jews to send them a rabbi and a Torah, he gets his chance. Of course, being a greenhorn, he's no sooner off the boat in Philadelphia than he falls afoul of the Diggs brothers (George Ralph DiCenzo, William Smith) and their accomplice Mr. Jones (Ramon Bieri), who rob him of his last penny and set him afoot in Lancaster County. Eventually, thanks to a compassionate Amish community, he makes it as far as the Midwest, where he falls in with train-and-bank robber Tommy Lillard (Ford). Tommy doesn't know a rabbi from a tomb-rubbing, but he certainly knows a tenderfoot when he sees one, and before long he's taken on the task of seeing Avram to the coast alive. Bitter winter weather, Indians, and eventually confrontations with Jones and the Diggses test both men's resolve and serve as the glue that bonds them as best friends. In the end Tommy must help Avram restore his lost belief in himself, and Avram must face Matt Diggs alone.
The movie provides Ford with one of his most delightful roles (Tommy and Avram inspired a long cycle of fan fiction, most of it unfortunately OP), and despite his often very rough personality and language he makes a sympathetic character of the part. (The novelization, Frisco Kid, will provide some background and help smooth out at least one rather glaring omission of exposition.) Though the historical accuracy is sometimes questionable and the title slightly puzzling (at no time is either character called "the Frisco Kid"), the central motifs of buddyship and determination make this a good movie for families with older kids.
Movie Review: Excellent comedic western and tribute to America
Summary: 4 Stars
I have watched and re-watched this movie for years with family and friends. This is one of the rare movies that I can watch over and over and still enjoy.
A big attraction has got to be the two stars Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder. Ford plays a good-hearted rascal as well as anyone ever has. Wilder was the master of the excessive, and to me irritating, comedic character often found in Mel Brooks movies. But in this movie the director has Wilder play a more subdued and true everyman who is confronted by challenges yet still retains his humanity and optimistic world view.
The plot centers around Wilder a Jewish rabbi in training in Poland. The Jewish synagogue in 1849 era San Francisco sends for a rabbi for their growing congregation. Wilder is a gentle doofus, a favorite of the children, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer and he is sent off to America sadly unprepared and unknowledgeable. He is robbed and beaten and then makes his way from New York to San Francisco through the charity of various groups and through the help of a bank-robbing cowboy with a heart of gold who then guides him to San Francisco.
Along the way, Wilder and then the two actors have encounters with Amish, Indians, cut-throats, and a monastic order. Some of these scenes are hilarious.
One of the themes that other reviewers leave out is how Wilder's character comes to appreciate America with its wide open spaces and open-hearted people that help Wilder out over and over. Wilder frequently praises the people and the land as they help him on his journey and there is a patriotic goodness in this aspect of the film that is sadly lacking in many modern westerns that have substituted dirt and nastiness for the true characteristics of the western settler.
The only drawback of this film that should be a family oriented movie is the language. There is frequent profanity spread throughout the move so I wouldn't allow anyone younger than a teen to see the movie unless you can find it edited. No nudity and no sex though there are frequent references to brothels etc.
Overall, one of my favorite movies and one I have waited for years to come out on DVD since my VHS wore out. 4 stars.
Movie Review: unlikely buddy flick
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this in a Gene Wilder-movie-buying frenzy. I'm not really sure what triggered it--perhaps watching Blazing Saddles with the kids.
Gene Wilder is Avram, a Polish rabbi. He barely made it through rabbi school--ending up a close 87th out of 88 students in his class. But he's perfect to fill the request for a rabbi in "the village of San Francisco."
Avram is a fish out of water in America, and almost immediately ends up robbed of his money and possessions. Enter Harrison Ford as Tommy Lillard, a bank robber.
The unlikely duo travels cross-country, facing one peril after another, and becoming inseparable friends.
Initially, I was a bit wary. It seemed that Avram was going to be portrayed as a comedic victim, and, in much the same way that I didn't like watching the boxing scenes in Rocky, I didn't want to see him being swindled and taken advantage of at every turn, or having to be rescued, either by Tommy or Divine Providence.
Avram is naive and gullible, but he's also kind and generous and unshakable in his faith. And despite his poor showing in rabbinical school, he's not stupid. And what's really lovely is that he's a character you can really respect. Not because he's otherworldly, or espouses moral values, but because he's genuine, in the way very few people are.
I was struck by how different The Frisco Kid was from current movies with similar themes. It's much slower-paced, for one thing, and the humor isn't quite as over-the-top. The biggest difference, though, was the characters. Maybe I've just been watching the wrong movies, but these characters seemed more three-dimensional and their development more subtle than their contemporary counterparts. I think it's that we're not hit over the head with the changes. I detected a distinct lack of anvils. We know Tommy and Avram have changed through their association with each other, but neither changes his basic self.
I'm glad I bought this one--I'm sure I'll watch it again.
Movie Review: A pleasant diversion - a buddy road fish out of water film
Summary: 4 Stars
This fish-out-of-water / buddy film is a comedy adventure story that has some roots in the early history of Jewish life in San Francisco in the 1850s. Nothing in the film is historical, but the facts are that the first Rabbi was brought there in that decade when the town was very young and developing rapidly.
Gene Wilder plays Avram Belinkski who is going the city on the Bay to become their Rabbi and to get a wife (part of his contract). Along the way he meets up with Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford in an early role). Tommy is a scoundrel and that contrast with the Rabbi is part of the fun of the film. When Tommy robs a bank leaving Avram holding the horses (and without, of course, telling Avram), they have to outrun a posse for days. One of those days is the Sabbath and Avram won't ride his horse on the Sabbath to Tommy's consternation.
They also get captured by some Indians - very civilized Indians - and while things start badly, they end well. And, of course, they meet up with a tribe of very uncivilized white guys and it is the encounters with them that cause Avram his greatest crisis.
It is a pleasant movie with some funny moments, some touching moments, and is a pleasant diversion. Since it is from 1979, it is also a nice look back into the early careers of its stars.
Movie Review: Joyous and Engaging Buddy Comedy and Western Spoof
Summary: 4 Stars
What an ingenius idea -- pair a deft and hilariously understated Gene Wilder as a Polish Rabbi, red-hot Harrison Ford as a gunslinger and bandit, and have them go across the country in this very clever buddy comedy that spoofs the western genre at least as effectively as Blazing Saddles.
The chemistry between Wilder and Ford is what really makes the film, in addition to genre-bending set pieces such as the classic Italian Indian Chief right out of F-Troop, a crazed robber seeking to avenge his brother's death, and other inventive tweaks of the genre.
This may be Wilder's best work -- his portrayal of a Rabbi is deeply respectful, knowing and nuanced, yet very funny at the same time. The congregation waiting for him in San Francisco, and of course Sarah Mindle, are great as well. Populated with keen character actors at the top of their game, and steady if unsplashy direction from Robert Aldrich, I would put this near the top of films of this kind.