24.144.253.249: /* Year-end lists */

2025-06-11T20:58:25Z

Year-end lists

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{{Short description|1993 film by Gus Van Sant}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
| image = Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993 film) poster.jpg
| alt = The poster features Uma Thurman squatting along a highway with her thumb out hitch-hiking
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Gus Van Sant]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* Eric McLeod
* Laurie Parker
* Gus Van Sant
}}
| screenplay = Gus Van Sant
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (novel)|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues]]''|[[Tom Robbins]]}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Uma Thurman]]
* [[Lorraine Bracco]]
* [[Angie Dickinson]]
* [[Pat Morita|Noriyuki "Pat" Morita]]
* [[Keanu Reeves]]
* [[John Hurt]]
* [[Rain Phoenix]]}}
| music = {{Plainlist|
* [[k.d. lang]]
* [[Ben Mink]]
}}
| cinematography = {{Plainlist|
* John J. Campbell
* Eric Alan Edwards
}}
| editing = {{Plainlist|
* Curtiss Clayton
* Gus Van Sant
}}
| studio = Fourth Vision
| distributor = [[Fine Line Features]]
| released = {{Film date|1993|09|13|[[1993 Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]|1994|05|20}}
| runtime = 96 minutes<ref>{{cite web|title=''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVF065153|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=July 1, 1994|access-date=February 18, 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $8.5 million<ref name=Levy/>
| gross = $1.7 million<ref name="mojo"/>
}}
'''''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues''''' is a 1993 American [[Romance film|romantic]] [[comedy-drama]] [[Western (genre)|western]] film based on [[Tom Robbins]]' 1976 novel of the [[Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (novel)|same title]]. The film was written and directed by [[Gus Van Sant]] (credited as Gus Van Sant Jr.) and stars an [[ensemble cast]] led by [[Uma Thurman]], [[Lorraine Bracco]], [[Angie Dickinson]], [[Pat Morita|Noriyuki "Pat" Morita]], [[Keanu Reeves]], [[John Hurt]], and [[Rain Phoenix]]. Robbins himself narrates. The soundtrack is sung entirely by [[k.d. lang]]. The film is dedicated to the late [[River Phoenix]].

==Plot==
Sissy Hankshaw is a woman born with a [[mutation]] (she would not call it a [[birth defect|defect]]) giving her enormously large thumbs. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a [[hitchhiker]]. Her travels eventually take her to New York City, where she becomes a model for a homosexual feminine hygiene products mogul, known as "The Countess". A few years later, he introduces her to his "beauty ranch", the Rubber Rose Ranch. The main plot revolves around the cowgirls who work at the ranch after they violently take over and drug the endangered whooping cranes that nest along the lake on their land, making the once migratory birds stay. The cowgirls end up in a showdown with government agencies because the cranes will not leave the ranch and the cowgirls refuse to allow the men on the ranch to take the cranes. Sissy and the ranch leader, Bonanza Jellybean, have a brief love affair. After a fatal shootout between the cowgirls and the various agencies, the cranes leave, and Sissy takes over running the ranch.<ref>{{cite episode|url=https://archive.org/details/BrowsHeldHighEvenCowgirlsGetTheBluesHD |series=Brows Held High |title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues HD |people=Kyle Kallgren (director) |season=2 |number=14 |date=July 14, 2012 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name="Rabin" />

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Tom Robbins]] (voice) as Narrator
* [[Uma Thurman]] as Sissy Hankshaw
** Treva Jeffryes as young Sissy
* [[Lorraine Bracco]] as Delores Del Ruby
* [[Angie Dickinson]] as Miss Adrian
* [[Pat Morita|Noriyuki "Pat" Morita]] as The Chink
* [[Keanu Reeves]] as Julian Gitche
* [[John Hurt]] as The Countess
* [[Rain Phoenix]] as Bonanza Jellybean
* [[Roseanne Barr|Roseanne Arnold]] as Madame Zoe
* [[Ed Begley Jr.]] as Rupert
* [[Crispin Glover]] as Howard Barth
* [[Buck Henry]] as Dr. Dreyfus
* [[Carol Kane]] as Carla
* [[Sean Young]] as Marie Barth
* [[Victoria Williams]] as Cowgirl Debbie
* [[Grace Zabriskie]] as Mrs. Hankshaw
* [[Ken Kesey]] as Mr. Hankshaw
* [[Heather Graham]] as Cowgirl Heather
* [[Udo Kier]] as Commercial Director
* [[Lin Shaye]] as Rubber Rose Maid
* [[William S. Burroughs|William Burroughs]] as Himself
* [[Edward James Olmos]] as Musician at Barbecue
}}

==Production==
''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' was shot throughout [[Oregon]]: [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Terrebonne, Oregon|Terrebonne]], [[Sisters, Oregon|Sisters]], and [[Bend, Oregon|Bend]].

Though some viewers claim that River Phoenix is visible in a brief cameo near the end of the film, director Gus Van Sant, costar Udo Kier, and Phoenix's own assistant at the time, Sue Solgot, all assert that Phoenix was not in the film. Van Sant states, "River wasn't even in the desert when we shot. That is Jim Baldwin in the beekeeper's hat."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Barry C. |author-link= |date=2004 |title=In Search of River Phoenix: The Truth Behind The Myth |location= |publisher=Wordsworth Publishing |page= |isbn=978-0967249193}}</ref>

The film was set to be released in the fall of 1993, but was delayed for post-production edits after Van Sant was dissatisfied with the cut screened at the [[1993 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="fix" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilday |first=Gregg |date=May 20, 1994 |title=''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'': From book to film |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/05/20/even-cowgirls-get-blues-book-film/ |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Eller |first=Claudia |date=1993-10-14 |title=Cutting Room Corral : Movies: The release of 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues' has been pushed back to allow director Gus Van Sant to re-edit it. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-14-ca-45777-story.html |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Among the changes Van Sant made were cuts to the New York-set scenes and scenes showing Sissy's relationship with Julian Gitche (the character played by Keanu Reeves), in favor of featuring more ranch scenes and focusing more attention on the relationship between Sissy and Bonanza Jellybean.<ref name="fix">{{cite news |last1=Grimes |first1=William |title=FILM; How to Fix a Film at the Very Last Minute (or Even Later) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/15/movies/film-how-to-fix-a-film-at-the-very-last-minute-or-even-later.html |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 1994}}</ref> A subplot about the Clock People, who are keepers of the keys to cosmic consciousness and whose presence in the story is signified by the image of the clock on the film's poster, was excised from the final film.<ref name="fix" />

==Reception==
The film was a critical and commercial failure. The picture opened in [[wide release]] on May 20, 1994, and grossed a mere $1,708,873<ref name="mojo">{{mojo title|evencowgirlsgettheblues|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues}}</ref> against an estimated $8.5 million budget.<ref name=Levy>{{Cite web |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues: One of Van Sant's Weakest Films |url=https://emanuellevy.com/review/featured-review/van-sant-revisited-even-cowgirls-get-the-blues-weakest-film/ |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=EmanuelLevy.com |date=2014-05-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], it has an {{RT data|score}} approval rating based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average score of {{RT data|average}}. On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 28% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web |title= Even Cowgirls Get the Blues |url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/even-cowgirls-get-the-blues |website= [[Metacritic]] }}</ref>

Film historian and critic [[Leonard Maltin]] said: "The novel was hopelessly dated, and there is not enough [[peyote]] in the entire American Southwest to render this movie comprehensible ''or'' endurable...K.D. Lang's [sic] score is the picture's sole worthy component."<ref>{{Cite book |first=Leonard |last=Maltin |title=Leonard Maltin's 2010 Movie Guide |publisher=Plume |year=2009 |isbn=978-0452295575 |page=423 }}</ref>

[[Nathan Rabin]] of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' called the film "forgettable", "tedious", "god-awful", and nearly unwatchable.<ref name="Rabin">{{cite web |date=2009 |first=Nathan |last=Rabin |author-link=Nathan Rabin |title=Dominant-paradigm-subverting Hippified Case File #137: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues |url=https://www.avclub.com/dominant-paradigm-subverting-hippified-case-file-137-1798216509 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] }}</ref>

Richard F. Weingroff of the [[Federal Highway Administration]] commented: "Forget it - skip this lousy movie and read the novel by Tom Robbins."<ref name=".gov/public-roads/summer-1996/road-movies">{{cite web |last1=Weingroff |first1=Richard F. |title=Road Movies |url=https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/summer-1996/road-movies |website=Public Roads Magazine |publisher=FHWA |access-date=2022-12-11 |date=Summer 1996 |quote=Issue No: Vol. 60 No. 1}}</ref>

=== Year-end lists ===
* First worst – Robert Denerstein, ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Denerstein|first=Robert|date=January 1, 1995|title=Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black|newspaper=Rocky Mountain News|page=61A|edition=Final}}</ref>
* First worst – [[Janet Maslin]], ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=December 27, 1994|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/27/movies/critic-s-notebook-the-good-bad-and-in-between-in-a-year-of-surprises-on-film.html|title=Critic's Notebook; The Good, Bad and In-Between In a Year of Surprises on Film|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref>
* Second worst – [[Desson Howe]], ''[[The Washington Post]]''<ref>{{citation|last=Howe|first=Desson|date=December 30, 1994|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/12/30/the-envelope-please-reel-winners-and-losers-of-1994/3cf88a79-b416-4c9a-8ff1-8e9c9a91df37/|title=The Envelope Please: Reel Winners and Losers of 1994|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref>
* Eighth worst – [[Peter Travers]], ''[[Rolling Stone]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|date=December 29, 1994|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/the-best-and-worst-movies-of-1994-180969/|title=The Best and Worst Movies of 1994|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 20, 2020}}</ref>
* Top 10 worst (not ranked) – Dan Webster, ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Webster|first=Dan|date=January 1, 1995|title=In Year of Disappointments, Some Movies Still Delivered|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|edition=Spokane|page=2}}</ref>
* Top 12 worst (not ranked) – David Elliott, ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Elliott|first=David|date=December 25, 1994|title=On the big screen, color it a satisfying time|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|edition=1, 2|page=E=8}}</ref>
* Dishonorable mention – William Arnold, ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=William|date=December 30, 1994|title='94 Movies: Best and Worst|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|page=20|edition=Final}}</ref>
* Worst (not ranked) – Bob Ross, ''[[The Tampa Tribune]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Bob|date=December 30, 1994|title=Versed in the worst|newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/126948976|edition=Final}}</ref>
* #1 Worst - [[Michael Medved]], ''[[Sneak Previews]]''<ref name="SP">{{cite episode|host1=Lyons, Jeffrey (host)|host2=Medved, Michael (host)|title=Best & Worst of 1994|series=[[Sneak Previews]]|air-date=January 6, 1995|season=20|network=[[WTTW]]|access-date=February 20, 2024|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO4SqV43_O4}}</ref>
* #3 Worst - [[Jeffrey Lyons]], ''Sneak Previews''<ref name="SP"/>

===Accolades===
* [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress]] - [[Uma Thurman]] (''nominated'' - lost to [[Sharon Stone]] for ''[[Intersection (1994 film)|Intersection]]'' and ''[[The Specialist]]'')
* [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress]] - [[Sean Young]] (''nominated'' - lost to [[Rosie O'Donnell]] for ''[[Car 54, Where Are You? (film)|Car 54, Where Are You?]]'', ''[[Exit to Eden (film)|Exit to Eden]]'', and ''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]'')

==Home media==

The film was released on [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]] [[DVD]] on November 2, 2004,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues |url=https://www.amazon.com/Even-Cowgirls-Get-Blues-Thurman/dp/B0002XNT0S |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=Amazon|date=November 2, 2004 }}</ref> containing its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and on [[NTSC]] [[LaserDisc]] by [[Image Entertainment]] in late 1994, also in its original aspect ratio.
It received a second DVD release in the United States from UCA on April 6, 2010, in a new cropped 1.78:1 widescreen version.

In 2007, the film received its first DVD release in the UK from [[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment]] in a 1.33:1 full frame version.

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name = Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
| type = soundtrack
| artist = [[k.d. lang]]
| cover =
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1993|11|02}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [[Country music|Country]]
| length =
| label = [[Sire Records|Sire]]
| producer =
| prev_title = [[Ingénue (album)|Ingénue]]
| prev_year = 1992
| next_title = [[All You Can Eat (k.d. lang album)|All You Can Eat]]
| next_year = 1995
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/even-cowgirls-get-the-blues-mw0000105823|title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - k.d. lang|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref>
| rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]]
| rev2score = {{Rating-Christgau|neither}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=k.d.+lang|title=CG: k.d. lang|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|publisher=RobertChristgau.com|access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3score = B<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20462287,00.html|title=k.d. Scores (''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' Review)|last=Nash|first=Alanna|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=November 5, 1993|page=67|access-date=April 18, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151123005618/http://www.ew.com/article/1993/10/29/kd-scores-langs-latest-shows-constant-craving-new|archive-date=2015-11-23}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-07-ca-54072-story.html|title=**1/2; k.d. lang, "Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'"; Sire/Warner Bros.|last=Willman|first=Chris|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 7, 1993|access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Music Week]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Jones|title=Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=November 6, 1993|page=15|accessdate=February 3, 2023|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-11-06.pdf}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6score = (8/10)<ref name=cduniverse>{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1101266&style=music|title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Soundtrack CD Album|publisher=[[CD Universe]]|access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|3|4}}<ref>Wood, Sam (November 9, 1993). "From John McLaughlin, A Guitarist's Tribute to Pianist Bill Evans". ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]''.</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=cduniverse/>
| rev9 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kdlang/albums/album/261650/review/5946016/even_cowgirls_get_the_blues|title=k.d. lang: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues : Music Reviews|last=Evans|first=Paul|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=March 10, 1994|access-date=April 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706050708/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kdlang/albums/album/261650/review/5946016/even_cowgirls_get_the_blues|archive-date=July 6, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
The soundtrack was released on November 2, 1993 by [[Sire Records]]. k.d. lang performed the music. The album was composed by lang and [[Ben Mink]].<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002MN9/internetmoviedat/ Amazon.com: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack: Music: k.d. lang]</ref> The soundtrack went top 10 in Australia and top five in New Zealand (numbers 10 and four, respectively), and also peaked at number 82 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Week of November 20, 1993 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1993-11-20/ |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=[[Billboard 200]]}}</ref>

# "[[Just Keep Me Moving]]" (3:56)
# "Much Finer Place" (0:51)
# "Or Was I" (3:07)
# "Hush Sweet Lover" (4:05)
# "Myth" (4:08)
# "Apogee" (0:37)
# "Virtual Vortex" (0:44)
# "[[Lifted by Love]]" (3:02)
# "Overture" (2:03)
# "Kundalini Yoga Waltz" (1:07)
# "In Perfect Dreams" (3:07)
# "Curious Soul Astray" (3:40)
# "Ride of Bonanza Jellybean" (1:47)
# "Don't Be a Lemming Polka" (2:17)
# "Sweet Little Cherokee" (2:48)
# "Cowgirl Pride" (1:47)

===Chart performance===
{| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1993)
! Peak<br />position
|-
| Canadian ''RPM'' Country Albums
| align="center"| 6
|-
| Canadian ''RPM'' Top Albums
| align="center"| 47
|-
| U.S. ''Billboard'' 200
| align="center"| 82
|}

===Certifications===
{{certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title= Even Cowgirls Get the Blues|artist=k.d. lang|type=album|relyear=1993|certyear=1995|region=Australia|award=Platinum|access-date= November 28, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1994]]
* [[Cowgirl]]
* [[Tom Robbins]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0106834|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues}}
* {{mojo title|evencowgirlsgettheblues|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|even_cowgirls_get_the_blues|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Even Cowgirls Get the Blues}}

{{Gus Van Sant}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (Film)}}
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s German-language films]]
[[Category:1993 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 independent films]]
[[Category:1993 romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1990s Western (genre) comedy films]]
[[Category:American Western (genre) comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gus Van Sant]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Gus Van Sant]]
[[Category:1990s feminist films]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on romance novels]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bend, Oregon]]
[[Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Films about hitchhiking]]
[[Category:Lesbian-related films]]
[[Category:American road comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1990s road comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:William S. Burroughs]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:English-language Western (genre) comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language road comedy-drama films]]

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film) - Revision history

24.144.253.249: /* Year-end lists */