It's the third go-round for Redford and Fonda, and they are as hot as ever, with this romantic comedy adventure a sure crowd-pleaser. I'm sure even cops applauded the scene where a police car ended up on top of another one upside down chasing Robert Redford on a horse that he wanted to protect from abuse. Once a great rodeo star, Redford has been demoted to serial spokesperson for wealthy John Saxon, and when he discovers a bat surprise horse hay works with is not being treated well outside of him, he absconds with it and ends up on the run. Jane Fonda is a reporter determined to get the scoop, having questioned him earlier aggressively, and she has to gain his trust which she does by aiding him in escaping. It's a very intelligent escape too with them in his horse trailer, and has riding out on the very quick stallion (Rising Star) which of course the cops can't catch up to.

Their adventures predictably lead to romance, and what better place to find love again in The Great Outdoors? Even though she's obviously a city slicker,she is rather formidable in any situation and handles herself very well. In fact, she was arguing with him after he has slapped her following her, then remembers what he did and slaps him back in a very funny scene. Valerie Perrine is his ex, and Nicholas Coster is Saxon's right hand man, with a young looking Wilfors Brimley popping up along the way too.

I recall seeing this way first came out and truly enjoying it, but I had forgot about the Willie Nelson song "Mama, don't let your sons grow up to be Cowboys", which has apparently been excised from various prints although I was fortunate to find that on mine. The direction by Sydney Pollack is solid (of course; I don't recall seeing him directing anything that wasn't good),and Fonda and Redford are hot. They both seem rather ambitious and determined and self-involved at first, but as you get to know them, they open up to each other and you begin to see their true selves.

Redford in particular is guided by the Instinct of nature, not his success, which is what guided him to do what he did regarding the horse in the first place. This is a feel-good film in the nature of Capra and Ford and other homespun directors who cared about character and moving stories, are the audience can't help for Redford to fulfill his goal of releasing Rising Star. Together, Redford and Fonda are like Cooper or Stewart and Jean Arthur or Stanwyck.

Cheers to big hearted movies like this and the love of one of the greatest animals to bless our earth.

So many movies got by me in the Seventies and Eighties that it's an occasional treat to catch one now that delivers in an entertaining fashion. I've never been a fan of Jane Fonda because of her politics, but there's not a scene here in which she doesn't look great, and not a scene where Robert Redford doesn't look like,... the Sundance Kid. He brings the same facial mannerisms and reactions to bear here as in his more acclaimed role, which by the way happens to be one of my all time favorite films. I guess teaming him up with a horse is just the right trick.

The story has some of the elements that show up in my favorite movies as well, that of an underdog taking on a mission that's somehow larger than himself. By riding Silver Star off of a Las Vegas night club stage and into the Western wilderness, Sonny Steele is at the same time attempting to find personal redemption from a life overcome by glitz and crass commercialism. In the process, Fonda's character falls victim to a journalist's primary obstacle, that of becoming part of the story she's covering as a reporter.

I recall seeing trailers for the film back when it first came out; who can forget the image of the Electric Horseman as Redford mounts up on Silver Star and takes on the appearance of a Christmas tree on the Las Vegas strip. The story behind the picture still has relevance today, even more so than back in the Seventies, as each successive year's technology and focus on celebrity removes us further and further away from the things that matter most. Oddly, watching the picture today, it felt more like a made for TV movie than a major theatrical release. Another example of how each new blockbuster film today has to try and outdo the one before with even more elaborate glamor and special effects.

Anyone who is a lover of animals ought to see The Electric Horseman. Robert Redford and Jane Fonda who did so well in Barefoot In The Park are reunited in a film with a real rural setting, shot in Redford's beloved Utah.

I suspect Jane Fonda who had since she made that horrible career mistake of that trip to Hanoi during the Vietnam War was looking for a wholesome All American type story that would gain her some audience in the red states. This film is as red state as you can get and still has values both of its leads believe in in their real lives.

Robert Redford was at one time a champion rodeo performer who got too old for that sport and cashed in on his celebrity. He gradually morphed into a professional celebrity and he and his posse started just enjoying the good life at corporate expense a bit too much.

That changes when Redford is teamed with a former triple crown winning race horse and he notices the animal being mistreated in certain subtle ways that only a horse lover would. He takes a good look at himself and the cowboy in him kicks in. He rides the horse right out of a Las Vegas gambling palace and into the desert. Object his old stamping grounds in Utah. Redford is now the object of a man and horse hunt.

Jane Fonda as a news reporter has little to do until now. She proves to be most resourceful far better than her male colleagues at locating Redford and spends the rest of the film with him and the horse. The film was starting to remind me of the old Bing Crosby/Frances Farmer classic Rhythm On The Range with Crosby. Farmer and a stud bull named Cuddles. I was half expecting to hear Redford break out in song.

Songs there are in The Electric Horseman, sung by Willie Nelson playing one of Redford's posse. They add a lot to the film. So does the location cinematography in Utah.

Also in the supporting cast is villain John Saxon the company man who is Redford's main adversary and Valerie Perrine as his ex-wife. Both score well.

But this is Bob and Jane's film and it's some of their best work.