Urban Cowboy

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Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy theatrical poster
Directed by	James Bridges
Produced by	Irving Azoff Robert Evans
Written by	James Bridges Aaron Latham
Starring	John Travolta Debra Winger Scott Glenn Barry Corbin Madolyn Smith Coynard Coyle
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 6, 1980
Running time	132 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

This article is about the 1980 film. For the Broadway musical of the same name, see Urban Cowboy.

Urban Cowboy is a 1980 American drama film about the love-hate relationship between cowboy Bud Davis (John Travolta) and cowgirl Sissy (Debra Winger).

1 Storyline
2 Influences
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Storyline

The movie starts out with Bud Davis moving to Pasadena, Texas from Spur, Texas. He soon finds work at an oil refinery with his uncle Bob. Bud quickly discovers and embraces the city's nightlife, which is centered around a bar called Gilley's (a real country bar owned by country singer Mickey Gilley).

Bud meets Sissy in Gilley's, and after a quick courtship, the two get married. It isn't long after the wedding that they visit the bar, and they learn that a mechanical bull has been installed recently. Bud finds himself excelling at the mechanical rodeo, but feels both protective and perhaps a bit threatened by Sissy's desire to learn to ride. Bud forbids Sissy from riding it, causing a rift in their still new relationship.

While Bud is working at the refinery, Sissy decides she is going to learn how to ride the mechanical bull to impress her over-protective husband. She goes back to bar and rides the bull during the day, keeping her lessons a secret from Bud.

Debra Winger and John Travolta with Gilley's real-life head bartender William (Pat) Perkins Wright III

Once Sissy has perfected her bull riding technique with the help of an ex-convict (Wes Hightower, portrayed by Scott Glenn) that has begun working at the bar, she decides to reveal her new talent to her husband. Sissy rides and the crowd marvels at how well she does. Jealous of the attention, Bud decides he is going to show her up despite the back injury he had sustained at work that day. Operating the mechanical bull is the ex-convict Wes, who has developed an attraction to Sissy during their daily lessons. Wes sees Bud's attempt to ride as an opportunity to move in on Sissy because of the obvious fight that is escalating between her and Bud at the bar. Bud is thrown from the bull, breaking his arm and further injuring his back. The two separate at the bar.

Sissy then tries to go to bed with Wes, but stops before doing anything. Bud, though, really goes to bed with a girl he met at Gilley's, Pam (Madolyn Smith). The next day, Sissy returns to the trailer and finds it empty. She leaves a note for Bud to meet her at Gilley's, but Pam later hides it.

Bud, not knowing of Sissy's note, starts to train for an upcoming bullriding contest and blows Sissy off when he sees her. Sissy, angry at Bud, starts an affair with Wes, who is also planning to take part in the bullriding contest.

Finally, the day of the contest arrives, with Bud and Wes pitted against several other contestants for the $5,000 grand prize. Both Bud and Wes make it to the final round with three other contestants, with Bud eventually emerging victorious by one point. After accepting his award, Bud's girlfriend Pam urges him to reconcile with Sissy, since she believes he trained and won for Sissy and not for her. Bud and Sissy reconcile.

[edit] Influences

The movie's screenplay was adapted by Aaron Latham and James Bridges from an article in a men's magazine on Western nightlife written by Latham. The movie was directed by Bridges. The movie spawned a hit soundtrack album featuring such songs as Johnny Lee's "Lookin' for Love", Mickey Gilley's "Stand by Me" "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" sung by the Charlie Daniels Band, the mega Anne Murray hit "Could I Have This Dance"(#3 A/C) and the top 5 hit "Love The World Away" by country superstar Kenny Rogers. The film is said to have started the 80's boom in country music appeal. The film grossed almost $54 million in the United States alone, more than Saturday Night Fever (plus a further $24,000,000 in video rentals) and is considered to be John Travolta's last major hit before a series of flops in the upcoming decade.

[edit] Trivia

Patrick Swayze, whose family owned a dance studio in Houston, Texas, taught Travolta how to do the two-step for the movie, while his wife (Lisa Niemi) and mother (Patsy Swayze) choreographed the dance sequences.

A vintage belt buckle from Gilley's.

The scene where Wes chews up and swallows the worm after drinking the bottle of tequila was not scripted, but a joke done for the dailies.
Travolta had a mechanical bull installed in his home two months before production began and became so good that he was allowed to dismiss the stunt double and do the takes himself.
At the time the film was shot, Gilley's, used as the film's main nightclub location, was the largest nightclub in the world in terms of available space for the patrons, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The film was marketed with the tagline "Hard hat days and honky-tonk nights."
Michelle Pfeiffer auditioned for the role of Sissy.
The soundtrack album has sold more than 4 million copies around the world to date.
The 1967 Ford Mustang that Sissy drove in this movie now resides in Evans City, PA (near Pittsburgh). It is owned by two brothers and is often seen in local car shows.