AMERICAN OUTLAWS ----------------
When Jesse (Colin Farrell, "Tigerland") and Frank James (Gabriel Macht, "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole") and Cole (Scott Caan, "Ready to Rumble") and Bob Younger (Will McCormack, "Boiler Room") return home as renegade soldiers from the wrong side of the Civil War, they immediately must face losing their farms to railroad expansion. Hot-tempered Cole kills two men defending his family and is sentenced to be hung, but Jesse James saves Cole while humiliating railroad baron Thaddeus Raines (Harris Yulin, "Rush Hour II") and his hired detective agency head Alan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton, "License to Kill"). They retaliate by burning down peoples' homes, killing Jesse and Frank's Ma (Kathy Bates, "Misery") in the process. Jesse and his friends decide they need to go to war against the railroad and the James Gang is born in "American Outlaws."
"American Outlaws'" tagline of 'Bad is good again' couldn't be more apt - this is one flick that's so atrociously ridiculous it's entertaining, the classic bad good movie. Thankfully it has the sense not to take itself too seriously, although there are groaners a'plenty when it does.
Screenwriters Roderick Taylor (TV's "Wild Horses") and John Rogers (standup comic!) throw history out the window, give Jesse a comely, modern love interest in Zee (Ali Larter, "Legally Blonde") and turn their young guns into Robin Hoods. While some of the sparring is amusing, other dialogue is unintentionally gutbusting ('Don't turn around. If you don't see it, it's not real.')
Director Les Mayfield ("Blue Streak") maintains a fast pace and makes his cast look (mostly) good while showing no aptitude for creating a realistic Western (one central stunt is right out of "The Wild, Wild West"). Gabriel Macht has good screen presence as mediator Frank James, Scott Caan does the chipped shoulder well and Will McCormack provides some top notch comic relief.
Colin Farrell, so highly praised for his work in the little seen "Tigerland," is the pretty, daring-do loverboy here, and proves himself capable of both a teen heartthrob turn and 'Matrix' era stunt work. Gregory Smith ("The Patriot") also acquits himself well as the younger Younger brother, who insists on riding with the gang. Kathy Bates plays Ma for yucks and gets them, even in her death scene (grossly mishandled by Mayfield). Timothy Dalton
does a horrendous Sean Connery impersonation and Terry O'Quinn ("The Stepfather") mostly looks constipated. Ronny Cox acts cutely clueless as Zee's dad.
"American Outlaws?" More like Ludicrous Larcenists...
C+
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