Cast: Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Timothy Dalton, Gabriel Macht, Will McCormack, Gregory Smith, Kathy Bates, Terry O'Quinn, Harris Yulin
Director: Les Mayfield
Producers: Bill Gerber, James G. Robinson
Screenplay: Roderick Taylor and John Rogers
Cinematography: Russell Boyd
Music: Trevor Rabin
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
Is this what the once-mighty Western has devolved into in the new century? Not that long ago, Westerns and Musicals were two of the most popular motion picture types; now, at the dawn of the 21st century, they are all-but-forgotten, and, on the rare occasion when something like American Outlaws attempts to resurrect the Western, we wish the filmmakers had let the genre lie in peace under Boot Hill. Casual movie-goers will label this as a "bad movie", and will depart multiplexes nodding sagely about why (they think) Westerns are no longer made. Aficionados, who have enjoyed everything from Gary Cooper facing down the bad guys in High Noon and John Wayne taking a last bow in The Shootist to Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch riding through bloodbaths and Butch and Sundance dancing through the raindrops, will deem American Outlaws to be a sacrilege.
This movie, credited to director Les Mayfield (whose unpromising resume includes Flubber and Encino Man), tells a version of the Jesse James story that the history books have inexplicably ignored. You see, Jesse (Colin Farrell) wasn't really a callous, greedy, charismatic bank robber. Rather, he was a modern-day Robin Hood, who gave liberally to the poor and the downtrodden. He wasn't a womanizer; all he needed was his one true love. And, when a member of his gang was gunned down by the big, bad lawmen, sensitive Jesse decided to leave behind his life of crime so he and his missus could live happily ever after. Now, imagine such a bland character being played by handsome-but-shallow actor Colin Farrell, and you have a recipe for boredom.
Bringing far more color to the screen than flavor-of-the-month Farrell is Timothy Dalton, portraying Allan Pinkerton, the not-so-bad-to-the-bone villain who spends most of the film chasing down James while displaying a grudging admiration for him. For some reason, Dalton elected to play this part by doing an imitation of Sean Connery. At times, he's almost fun to watch (one of the film's few "high" points). If he had shown this much energy elsewhere, he might have stuck around for a few more Bond movies. Other actors include Scott Caan, Gabriel Macht, Will McCormack, and Gregory Smith as members of the gang, none of whom are quite as sanctimonious as Saint Jesse. Kathy Bates has a walk-on as Ma James. Terry O'Quinn and Harris Yulin are second-rate bad guys, a.k.a. railroad men. And Ali Larter gets to be Jesse's girl without having to don her whipped cream bikini.
I suppose the way to watch this film, if you feel compelled to watch it by some masochistic tendency you are powerless to control, is to regard it as a comedy, not as a pure Western or an action/adventure picture. There are times when the movie is amusing - although about 90% of the time, the comedy is unintentional. For the most part, the deliberate humor is too dumb to be funny. The dialogue offers one howler after another, such as "If you mess up because you don't want to listen to a woman, then damn you all!" or "We'll teach these thugs what happens when they challenge the righteousness of progress!" Characterization is non-existent, action is banal, and, on one occasion Trevor Rabin's "traditional" score suddenly collapses into a blues/rock number. Maybe the filmmakers were inspired by A Knight's Tale. Somewhere out there, there may be a motion picture to resuscitate the Western; this isn't it.
American Outlaws is guilty of a crime against cinema and those who pay money to see it.
© 2001 James Berardinelli