Midnight Cowboy (1969)

 Cowboy wannabe Joe Buck (Jon Voight) comes to New York to be a hustler only to become a victim of the city’s unsympathetic, dog-eat-dog sensibilities. These qualities are mirrored and refracted by streetwise transient Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), whose relationship with Buck grows as Buck’s very troubled backstory unfolds.

This is the first and only X-rated film to win Best Picture, and while it’s pretty tame and easily in R-rated territory by today’s standards, this film remains a very tough pill to swallow. The plot summary reads like a relatively standard “two people from different sides of life find common ground and become friends against all odds” but there is far more depth and less conventionality to be found. Even if there wasn’t, this film is less a showcase of plot than of acting, and Voight and Hoffman deliver some of the best you will ever see. There’s no guarantee of a happy ending or that the characters will be made better by their situation, and the outcomes for Buck and Rizzo are not equal or fair. The first time I saw this movie, I was only 14 or 15 and far too young to appreciate it or detect the nuances. While it occasionally falls victim to the ‘60’s (like the overlong Warhol party scene), Midnight Cowboy is even today a brave, unique and unforgettable film that brought themes of homosexuality to the Academy Awards decades before Brokeback Mountain. Everyone deserves to see this film, and although it can be a road with rough terrain, the journey is worth it.

This was my first time seeing this movie and I didn't really know what to expect.  The first hour is a silly, optimistic comedy about this bright-eyed country boy going to score some rich cougars in the big city.  Sounds great, right?  Well I think he goes to New York with about $60.00.  Clearly that doesn't last very long.  There is even a scene where Buck actually gives the woman he slept with $20.00 for a cab... Not super lucrative.  The second half of the movie really changes things up and it gets pretty real when they have to squat in a condemned building just trying to get by.  However, it still maintains some humor throughout.  I agree with Tim, pretty tame for an R rated movie but groundbreaking at the time.  Highly recommended! 

In one particular scene, Ratso and Joe get into an argument over cowboys. Ratso states that "Cowboys are fags!" Joe's response is "John Wayne is a cowboy! Are you calling John Wayne a fag?" Coincidentally, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for their roles as Ratso and Joe, respectively. They lost out - to John Wayne for his role in True Grit. 

Ratso Rizzo: I'm walking here! I'm walking here!