• Role of John Travolta urban cowboy showed his willingness to challenge his established image and take on more mature roles.
  • The film realistically depicts the life of a small town, emphasizing the charm and simplicity of a closed world.
  • Although the romantic storyline is rooted in traditional Western values, urban cowboy showed a relatively progressive dynamic between the two romantic partners.

Although now he mainly starred in low-budget crime films, action films and future cult classics (for example, in the movie “Investigation”). Fanatic and a misguided mafia biopic Gotti), it’s easy to forget John Travolta was once the most popular young romantic heartthrob of his generation. Travolta immediately established himself as a charismatic, humorous and dramatic actor through his roles in Carrie, “Saturday Night Fever” And Lubricant, which showed that he could apply his unique personality to almost any genre scenario. However, long before directors such as John Woo And Quentin Tarantino put him back on the map of the world, Travolta has shown he has what it takes to be the leading man in James Bridges’romantic drama urban cowboy. Not only was it the most mature role Travolta had ever played before, but the film proved that he was willing to question the personality he had so carefully crafted in his past roles. Travolta really challenged himself by playing a vulnerable, quasi-Western romantic hero.

What is “Urban Cowboy” about?

Image via Paramount Pictures

urban cowboy is a unique contemporary romantic drama that illuminates a particular way of life without judgment. Bridges’ film is set in the small, isolated town of Pasadena, Texas in the early 1980s (or in modern times, as it was for audiences at the time of the film’s first release). The film is about a cocky but troubled young man, Bud Davis (John Travolta), who is looking for a job with his uncle, Bob Davis (Barry Corbin) oil refinery. While Bud’s ambition is to move out and own his own property, these are clearly the misguided dreams of an openly optimistic young man; his colleagues scoff at his notion of progress, even though they have all lived in the same place all their lives. This puts Bud as a new citizen (and Travolta as an actor) in an interesting position; Bud wants to be accepted by this community, but he doesn’t want to be part of this community forever.

There is something charming about the simplicity of life in a closed world where mechanical bull riding is a real source of entertainment and the events of night drinking seem to dictate the social structure of the community. It’s impressive how fully Bud is aware of the local customs of the small town, many of which seem to revolve around ridiculous tests of masculinity and strength that take place after the end of the day’s work. It may seem strange, but the riding contests that the workers put on are a true sign of courage, perseverance, and pure bravery; they represent the core values ​​they value in their isolated sector of the world. While it’s obvious that most other ranchers do this to detox after a long day at work, Bud adds newfound energy during his first few tries. He is young and ambitious and feels that good results will earn him respect among the older members of the community.

Of course, this could never be so; Bud is young and optimistic and the world is cruel. Men like his new embittered rival Wes HightowerScott Glenn) resents Bud simply for bringing new ideas to the fore, as Wes has no reason to respect a young, albeit athletic man who is so good at silly competitions. Bud learns that Wes is not persistent, but cynical. He resents Bud for wanting to make a change, though he is obviously content to continue wallowing in his sadness. This is reflected in the dynamic chemistry between them. Travolta has a zeal for him, but also an untidy feeling of anger; he is also extremely protective of the fragile ego. As for Wes, he feels that confronting Bud will only provide him with a sense of threat and allow him to continue performing in the stands in Pasadena for the rest of his life.

What makes John Travolta’s performance in “Urban Cowboy” stand out?

urban cowboy
Paramount Pictures

In addition to a realistic depiction of small town life, urban cowboy gave John Travolta the chance to appear in a completely different romance story. urban cowboy it was unlike anything he had done before; As a character, Bud didn’t have the extraordinary charisma of Tony Manero from Saturday night fever Comic Time Danny Zuko from lubricant, or even Billy Nolan’s dumbfounded horror from Carrie. Bud had confidence but was also quite sensitive and seeing Travolta in a role where he had to admit he didn’t know what he was doing was an interesting change of pace that indicated he was ready to take on more mature roles. . It is not surprising that after urban cowboyTravolta began working on more adult-oriented projects such as Brian de Palmaneo-noir masterpiece Blow out and Bridges’ next romantic drama Ideal.

As for the most romantic storyline in urban cowboySurprisingly, it’s far more progressive than one would expect from a film so deeply rooted in traditionalist Western values. Bud finds out about this after his first meetings with a local girl, Sissy (Debra Winger) that her tough exterior is not just a shield she uses to ward off nasty men trying to attack her; she is just as self-confident and confident in every interaction. Bud has to compromise with himself and be willing to go the extra mile to earn Sissy’s respect; while not as progressive as it could be, seeing two romantic partners on relatively equal footing was quite startling given the time urban cowboyrelease.

John Travolta is one of the industry’s greatest actors, and while it’s been a long time since he’s been given the chance to prove his talents, every once in a while he shows signs of why he’s become such an icon in the first place. urban cowboy it’s not necessarily a masterpiece Pulp Fiction or Blow out there is, but as a transitional moment in Travolta’s career, it may be the most important. It also serves as further proof that when Travolta committed himself to a role, there simply isn’t anyone who looks cooler in a cowboy hat.