Barstool Cowboy Reviews

‘Barstool Cowboy’ is a great example of an indie movie in it’s purest form… a movie that tells an interesting story and doesn’t get bogged down in trying to look glitzy and glamorous. I love it when true indie filmmakers, especially those from the Midwest, set out against all odds and make a movie. ‘Barstool Cowboy’ was written, directed and produced by Mark Thimijan and was shot in Nebraska.

‘Barstool Cowboy’ stars Tim Woodward as Mick, an unemployed country boy who vows to spend three months perched on his barstool. Mick’s had enough of women and their breaking his heart. As Mick sits in the small town bar, drinking and philosophizing about love, women and life, his fellow pub patrons keep him company as he dwells in his failed relationships.

Rachel Lien plays Arcy, a teenage girl turns up one day drawing in her sketchbook outside the bar. Mick and the guys in the bar are befuddled by the girl who strikes them as strange. In a moment of weakness, Mick betrays his vow and goes outside to see what this girl’s all about. What he finds is an interesting young woman that touches his curiosity and renews his attitude towards life.

Mick and Arcy quickly become unlikely friends, keeping each other company and inspiring each other to become better people. Mick goes back to finding work and Arcy finds herself more inspired as an artist. This strictly platonic friendship is more intellectual chemistry than anything sexual, but the film does sometimes feel influenced by the classic tale of ‘Lolita’. Mick finds himself down right giidy about his new-found soul mate and goes to great lengths to impress her. Will Mick have finally found someone he can be happy with, or is he merely fooling himself about the opposite sex?

‘Barstool Cowboy’ offers light humor and intelligent storytelling and enough technical savvy behind the camera to keep us in the story. Personally, I found the ending had a darker tone to it than I had expected, adding texture in place of a candy-coated Hollywood ending. ‘Barstool Cowboy’ is available on DVD from the Official Website.

[rating:3.5/5]

Dumped by his girlfriend, Mick (Tim Woodward) – an unemployed cowboy - resolves to remain on a barstool for the next three months while he tries to find some answers to his life at the bottom of a beer bottle. Then he meets Arcy (Rachel Lien), an aspiring artist. A friendship quickly develops between the two and, as it does so, they begin to transform each other’s lives. Mick, especially, finds himself becoming happier, healthier and much more motivated.

When I read back over that one paragraph summary, it doesn’t sound like a lot. And, to be honest, there isn’t a great deal of plot in this film – it takes place over a couple of days and Mick and Arcy limit their activities to drinking, dancing, talking and walking.

Where the film does score very strongly, however, is in its two main characters, both of whom are well rounded and genuinely sympathetic. It helps, of course, that both Tim Woodward and Rachel Lien put in such strong performances that really do bring their characters to life. So much so that you quickly develop a very real sense of who Mick is and how he gets so burned so easily. And, as the characters come to life on the screen, you do find yourself wanting to know whether, and how, things will work out between the two of them.

The other real high point of this film is the soundtrack from Natalie Illeana which is beautifully integrated into the film is such a way as to very effectively convey both the tone of the film and the mood of the characters.

Although Barstool Cowboy is a very straightforward story, it’s also one that is very well told. The two lead characters are both well rounded and genuinely sympathetic characters are beautifully brought to life by a cast and crew with a very evident talent for visual storytelling. Your reaction to the film’s central message will probably depend largely on the extent to which you identify with Mick but, whatever your reaction, this is a film well worth seeing.