McDonough earns the big bucks in ‘The Last Rodeo’
There are several bulls amongst the bull on display in “The Last Rodeo.” But you could do a lot worse than Neal McDonough’s multi-hyphenate project in which he plays a washed-up, broken-down, 50-something rodeo star impelled to slap on the chaps one last time.
It’s got heart and conviction delivered on the part of the Massachusetts native, who co-wrote and produced for Angel Studios, the faith-based company that prides itself on presenting inspirational stories that opt for subtlety over fire and brimstone.
Other than a handful of odes to the Big Guy, McDonough and director Jon Avnet (“Fried Green Tomatoes”) play it straight with what could be described as “Rocky” in spurs. Accordingly, the odds are stacked to the max against McDonough’s Joe Wainwright, a three-time bull-riding champ forced to hang up his rigging some 15 years ago when a broken neck spelled near doom.
These days, he mostly roams his Texas ranch on horseback, spouting bromides about the unique honor of living in Cattle Country. He also takes pride in his 12-year-old grandson, Cody (Graham Harvey), an aspiring athlete who splits his time between the baseball diamond and the rodeo arena. He wants to be just like his “Pops” and ride the bulls. But his overprotective mama, Sally (Sarah Jones), would rather he stick to America’s pastime.
She believes baseball is much safer – until Cody takes a ricocheting foul ball off his noggin. No concussion, the doc says, but you’d best get him to Dallas for an MRI, pronto. From here, you can pretty much guess the rest. Only imagine it being 10 times more sappy than Babe Ruth promising a deathly ill boy in “Pride of the Yankees” that he’ll knock a homer for him in the 1926 World Series. And then coming through that afternoon by swatting not one, but three round-trippers.
Babe, though, was in his prime. Joe is old and creaky, struggling to pull on his socks and boots. But, God bless him, he’s still got a physique to rival his much younger competitors, thanks to the buff McDonough, who possesses the looks and steely blue eyes to convince you he can tackle anything, from kicking ass in a barroom brawl to conquering the nastiest bull this side of the Red River.
He swore off rodeoing when Sally abandoned high school to nurse him back to health, after all the king’s horses and all the king’s men tried to put this Humpty Dumpty together again. Presumably, with rods and screws. But times have changed. He and Sally clash, they’re in financial straits and their health insurance – to put it mildly – sucks.
A savvy, rational former sports star would likely stage a fundraiser, like a roast, or launch a GoFundMe page. Not Joe. He figures the only way to amass the $300,000 in hospital bills is to – as luck and timing would have it – accept a recent invitation from the Professional Bull Riding Association (PBR) to compete in its annual Legends Rodeo up north in Tulsa. But he’s missed the entry deadline.
No problem. Like everything in “The Last Rodeo,” it’s as simple as Joe calling in favors, be it from his former sidekick, Charlie Williams (Mykelti Williamson), or PBR boss, Jimmy Mack (Christopher McDonald), who waves all the rules – despite Joe being at high risk of injury.
Then there are the young bucks. They grew up idolizing Joe Wainwright, but now target him for mockery and ridicule. But Joe just laughs off their insults. Chief among the Greek chorus is Daylon Ray Swearingen, the real-life rodeo star playing the event’s cocky defending champion, Billy Hamilton. All I can say about his acting acumen is, don’t quit your day job.
Ditto for McDonough, whose writing skills are suspect, at best. Sure, he had some help from his partner, Derek Presley, along with Avnet. But none of them seems to have a knack for creating gripping drama. Their work is safe, bland and predictable. And don’t get me started on their overreliance on expository dialogue.
I understand they’re working with a limited budget and didn’t have the luxury of filming flashbacks, but it’s maddening to hear the characters repeatedly say, “Remember the time …” And proceed to go into detail about said “time” even though the person they are addressing most assuredly does remember.
Equally frustrating is their failure to explain the rules of bull riding to the uninitiated. I eventually figured out that to score points, you must stay atop the bull for 8 seconds. But how do the judges determine the points awarded and how many judges are there? And where, pray tell, is Cody’s dad? Apparently, the writers thought it more important to forego such details and focus on a melodramatic narrative to equal D.W. Griffith.
The overriding theme would appear to be that if you’ve lost all hope, it’s either Yahweh or the highway. But before you say “buck that,” know that when it’s McDonough doing the preaching, you heed the call. Not only does he strike a commanding presence, but he’s also mighty appealing. You grow to like Joe Wainwright and comprehend his losses, including that of his beloved wife, Rose, played by McDonough’s spouse, Ruvé. And, yes, those photos of Joe and Rose’s wedding are right out of the actors’ own album.
Still, by the end, this overly long, overtly sincere exercise in unadulterated schmaltz would try the patience of Job, whom you half expect to make a cameo. Alas, he doesn’t. But fatigue takes hold. And it’s around that time you’ll have to reassess staying astride this bull or hopping off to avoid getting bored.
Movie review
The Last Rodeo
Rated: PG for thematic elements, language and violence
Cast: Neal McDonough, Sarah Jones, Mykelti Williamson, Christopher McDonald, Ruvé McDonough and Graham Harvey
Director: Jon Avnet
Writers: Neal McDonough, Derek Presley and Jon Avnet
Runtime: 118 minutes
Where: In theaters May 23
Grade: C+
