Saturday, March 29, 2008

Prairie Fever

Speaking of lighter fare, tonight we watched the second made-for-TV Western on the Ion network’s new Saturday Night Western Showcase, or whatever they call it. (Ion’s new motto: “Keeping America’s fake beard manufacturers in business!”) PRAIRIE FEVER stars Kevin Sorbo and Dominique Swain, and while the production values aren’t just top-notch, it’s not a bad little film, with a more interesting script than I expected.

Sorbo plays an ex-lawman who gave up the badge and became a drunk after a tragedy during a shootout with a bank robber. Needing money, he agrees to take three former mail-order brides to the railroad so they can go back east. It seems that all three women have come down with “prairie fever” – or gone plumb loco, as characters in my books tend to say. One of the women constantly quotes scripture, another is mortally terrified of the sun, and the third plays a piano that isn’t there, when she’s not trying to strangle every man who comes within reach, that is.

Naturally the journey by covered wagon doesn’t go well. Things are complicated by outlaws with a grudge against Sorbo’s character, the husband of one of the crazy mail-order brides, a beautiful but somewhat crooked female gambler, and her murderous husband, played by Lance Henrikson, who gets stuck with one of the goofiest-looking hats in the history of Western movies. Various shootouts ensue along the way, as the characters all struggle with their own inner demons and try to achieve some sort of redemption.

Unlike the previous entry in this series of movies, ACES ‘N’ EIGHTS, which didn’t have anything original in its screenplay, PRAIRIE FEVER has lots of oddball touches, right down to its offbeat ending. The acting is okay at best and the whole thing looks cheaply made, but the storyline is intriguing enough to make it worth watching. As before, you can rent the DVD (the unrated version) at Blockbuster next week, or you can wait for the inevitable and probably multiple repeats of the TV version.

9 comments:

Randy Johnson said...

I recorded this one on my DVR, but haven't watched it yet. Sounds promising though.

Anonymous said...

I watched and enjoyed it very much--I have to agree that Lance hat was not very good!
I thought Sorbo did a good job!

James Reasoner said...

I'll admit that Kevin Sorbo's presence in a movie doesn't do much to inspire confidence in me, but he's pretty good in PRAIRIE FEVER. I liked Dominique Swain quite a bit, don't recall ever seeing her in anything else, but she did a good job with the action scenes. And we all laughed every time we saw that ridiculous hat.

Unknown said...

Sounds like the kind of story I like to see in a Black Horse Western! One of the drawbacks of living in New Zealand is that I miss out on fun like this. My hope is that it will eventually turn up in this region on DVD. . . But whether it does will depend on numerous factors I've never completely figured out.

Randy Johnson said...

I just watched the movie and it wasn't bad. Sorbo was okay, despite the nicely coiffed hair. And yes, that was the gooiest hat I think I've ever seen in a western. It put me in mind of some that the sidekicks wore in those 30s/40s movies and the 50s TV series.

Anonymous said...

Since I am a die hard Sorbo fan, I thought this was a great cowboy movie. Kevin is always the Hero in my book. I really enjoyed and have to agree that other guys hat was the worst hat I had ever seen!

Anonymous said...

And WHY doesn't Kevin Sorbo's presence in a movie inspire confidence in you? As a writer, you should be aware of the axiom about 'Don't judge a book by its cover etc etc. Genre prejudices have nothing to do with an actor's abilities, or a film's quality. For instance, I don't like westerns, ever. But because I followed Kevin Sorbo across genres into Prairie Fever, which I found has a fascinating feminist story, I might even some day read your books. To be fair, he's done better; the editing, dialogue, and production values are pathetic, but the basic story is interesting, and so are the performances by everyone.

James Reasoner said...

Okay, maybe I was a little rough on Kevin Sorbo, but I did say he was good in this movie and I've also enjoyed his work in other movies and TV episodes. I've also seen him in things where I didn't care for his performances and my first thought was that he wasn't really suited for a Western. He did okay, maybe better than okay, and I was wrong not only about him but about the film as well, which I think was easily the best of the movies Ion showed on their short-lived Western Saturday night series. I don't really see that as judging a book by its cover, though. I was judging it by what I had seen of Sorbo's work in the past, which seems perfectly legitimate to me. And obviously, I didn't let it keep me from watching the movie.

Anonymous said...

This movie was just like a book I read! It was a great book & after seeing the movie I want to re-read it, but can't remember the name of the book or the author! Does anyone know?