WYATT EARP
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1994 Michael John Legeros
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan Written by Dan Gordon & Kasdan Cast Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Jeff Fahey, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Pullman, Isabella Rosselini, Tom Sizemore, JoBeth Williams MPAA Rating "PG-13" Running Time 189 minutes
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"I have some men I have to see."
- Costner, on the repayment of revenge.
WYATT EARP has a lot to tell and little to say. This story of the legendary lawman runs three hours and nine minutes and that's too long for this epic-wannabe that plays more like a TV mini-series than a movie.
The story opens on the Earp family farm, with young Wyatt ready to run away from home. He wants to fight in the Civil War, but his dad (Hackman) has different ideas and wants his son to study law. Time passes and Wyatt heads west, returns home to marry, and, after a spell, begins his career in law enforcement. By the time he (Costner) and his brothers (Madsen, David Andrews, and Linden Ashby) arrive in Tombstone, Wyatt has tried his hand at everything from hunting buffalo to dealing cards.
WYATT EARP is very appealing in places-- such as cast, costumes, and cinematography-- but an overstated story and overpowered score deaden most of the emotional impact. Who can be moved by scene after scene after scene of swelling strings and suffocating speeches? Somber is fine-- just ask Clint Eastwood-- but this film that boasts not one, not two, but three, count 'em three, hammy death scenes!
Still, a little bit of EARP goes a long way and the life and times of the legendary lawman are from uninteresting stuff. His, uh, unusual relations with women, for example, are an intriguing contrast to his character's credo of "nothing counts as much as blood." Equally amusing is a buffalo-hunting (and skinning!) sequence that is decidedly non-PC.
Director Lawrence Kasdan takes a refreshingly realistic approach to the gunplay. The infamous gunfight at the OK Corral is both brutal and brief, devoid of almost any theatrics. Don't look for much glorified violence here.
Despite some large exclamation points in the story, the characters *do* come to life. The diverse cast includes everyone from Betty Buckley (!) to Mackenzie Astin (!!).
Kevin Costner is very good in the title role. Dances With Whitney nevers get as steely as the role requires, though, but his transformation from lighthearted law student to stoic sheriff is fun to watch. He was tougher in A PERFECT WORLD.
His foil is Dennis Quaid, who pulled a DeNiro by losing 40+ pounds to play the tubercular terror Doc Holliday. Gaunt *and* gamely, he's a scene stealer who's seen too little. Other familiar faces include Tom Sizemore (looking like Bruce McGill), Bill Pullman (looking like Jeff Daniels), and Lea Thompson (looking like someone other than Lea Thompson). Both Gene Hackman and Isabella Rosselini appear and disappear like magic, while late entries Catherine O'Hara and JoBeth Williams are surprisingly solid.
Though the story and score should've tried "less is more," all other credits are technical tops. Production designer Ida Random, art director Gary Wissner, and costume designer Colleen Atwood are some of the VIPS who helped spend what must've been an enormous budget. Clearly no expense was spared.
BOTTOM LINE: For a three-hours-plus-change, critics-don't-like-it
Western, WYATT EARP is surprisingly enjoyable. But don't
expect an epic. An overstated story and an overpowered
score are two reasons why WYATT feels more like a TV
mini-series than a movie. Still, it's ten times better
than TOMBSTONE.
Grade: B
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