City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold

City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Paul Weiland
Produced by	Billy Crystal
Written by	Lowell Ganz Babaloo Mandel(characters and screenplay) Billy Crystal
Starring	Billy Crystal Daniel Stern Jon Lovitz Jack Palance Patricia Wettig
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Cinematography	Adrian Biddle
Editing by	William M. Anderson Armen Minasian
Studio	Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Warner Bros. (DVD)
Release date(s)	June 10, 1994 (1994-06-10)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$36 million
Box office	$43,622,150

City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold is a 1994 comedy film directed by Paul Weiland. It is the sequel to City Slickers (1991) and stars Billy Crystal, Jack Palance, Jon Lovitz and Daniel Stern.

Although a financial success, the film did not quite reach the popularity of the first, receiving a generally mixed response (a 20% Top Critic rating and a 46% RT Community rating on Rotten Tomatoes). It was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Sequel.^[1]

Plot

It is the 40th birthday of Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), and he is welcoming it. The extraordinary cattle-drive vacation he took has had a lasting effect which allows him a much more satisfying life. For instance, his career as a radio executive is going well, to the point that he has now been promoted to Station Manager, and he regularly jogs with Norman, the calf he helped deliver who has grown into an adult bull.

As a present, Mitch's wife (Patricia Wettig) is going to have the kids sleep at their aunt's house so that she and Mitch can have sex alone. But prior to making love, Mitch finds an old map in the hat of his now-deceased friend, Curly (Jack Palance), and sees that it is a treasure map with a small corner missing.

Research in the New York Public Library discloses a 1908 gold theft from the Western Pacific Railroad led by Lincoln Washburn, Curly's father (portrayed by an old newspaper photograph of Palance). Mitch, for his part, has been seeing Curly's face everywhere he goes, and is beginning to have doubts about Curly's death.

Mitch, along with his best friend Phil (Daniel Stern) and his younger, The Godfather-obsessed brother Glen (Jon Lovitz), travel to Las Vegas and then set out on a journey to find the gold in the deserts and canyons of the Southwest. Accidents ensue, such as Glen setting fire to the map with a magnifying glass, and Phil sitting on a cactus with his bare bottom, mistakenly believing that he has been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Along the way, Mitch, Phil and Glen encounter robbers who turn out to be the men (Bud and Matt) who sold them horses and food for the trip. They have come looking for the treasure map. Phil had stupidly bragged to them about Curly, Lincoln, the map and the stolen gold. Just before the city slickers can be killed, a Curly lookalike intervenes and fights the robbers off.

Convinced that his nightmares of accidentally burying Curly alive were true, Mitch is ready for a grave of his own when "Curly" miraculously cuts him free. He then reveals himself to be Duke (Palance), the twin brother of Curly, similar in both demeanor in personality, except that Duke spent his life in the Merchant Marine and has very little knowledge of being a cowboy.

Duke explains that the chef from the cattle drive, Cookie, told him that Mitch had Curly's clothes, and presumably the hat as well, explaining why he has been stalking Mitch back east. Duke wants the gold for himself, but Mitch persuades him that Curly would not be happy with this, and Duke relents. The trio-turned-foursome then carry on with the quest. However, a reckless act by Mitch causes a stampede, and everything is gone, including the map. Fortunately, Glen's amazing memory permits him to remember the rest of the way. And just as Mitch and Phil are about to turn back for home, they find the lost cave where the gold is supposed to be.

As soon as they find it, the four are ambushed by two claim jumpers, apparently Bud and Matt, and they begin to fight. Glen is shot in the stomach. Phil angrily berates the shooter while Mitch mourns his brother. Duke unloads the gun, only to see that the bullets are really blanks with red paint pellets. Everyone is mystified. At that moment, Clay Stone (Noble Willingham), the man who organised the previous year's cattle drive, shows up. Stone reveals that he knew of Duke and had been attempting to contact him for a long time. The two "claim jumpers" are Stone's sons and not Bud and Matt (although their voices were similar). The treasure map is actually part of a new adventure tour for Stone's ranch. The buried treasure turns out to be gold-painted lead.

Clay Stone and sons orchestrated the "robbery" to scare the city slickers. They shot one with red paint pellets to make it look real, but had never intended it to break out into a fight. Laughing his head off, Stone leaves the cave, leaving Mitch, Phil, Glen and Duke feeling lost. After a last dinner with Stone and a few old friends (such as Ira and Barry Shalowitz from the original cattle drive), Mitch, Phil and Glen return to Las Vegas. Duke, still staunchly believing the gold to be out there somewhere, stays behind.

Duke makes a surprise visit to Mitch's hotel room, telling him that he has adopted Curly's philosophy and found out what his "one thing" is: honesty. Duke reveals that he was planning to cheat Mitch and friends out of the gold, although he later couldn't find it in his heart to do so. Duke then reveals that he had the missing corner of the map in his hat all along, just as Curly had in his. Mitch doesn't believe it until Duke slams a gold brick on the table. A skeptical Mitch tries to scratch the off the gold paint, but it won't come off, revealing that they are going to be rich after all.

Cast

• Billy Crystal as Mitch Robbins
• Daniel Stern as Phil Berquist
• Jon Lovitz as Glen Robbins
• Jack Palance as Duke Washburn/Curly Washburn/Lincoln Washburn
• Patricia Wettig as Barbara Robbins
• Pruitt Taylor Vince as Bud
• Bill McKinney as Matt
• Lindsay Crystal, daughter of Billy, as Holly Robbins
• Beth Grant as Lois
• Noble Willingham as Clay Stone
• David Paymer as Ira Shalowitz
• Josh Mostel as Barry Shalowitz
• Jayne Meadows as the voice of Mitch's mother
• Jennifer Crystal Foley, daughter of Billy, as jogger
• Bob Balaban as Dr. Jeffrey Sanborn (uncredited)
• Frank Welker as Norman (voice)

Bruno Kirby did not reprise his role as Ed Furillo from the first film, so the character of Glen was used to replace him.

References

1. ^ Wilson, John. 1994 Archive. The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Website. 23 Aug. 2000.<http://www.razzies.com/asp/content/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=34>

External links

• City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold at the Internet Movie Database
• City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold at Box Office Mojo