MAVERICK
US, 1994, 127 minutes, Colour.
Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, Alfred Molina, James Coburn, Dub Taylor, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul L. Smith, Dan Hedaya, Dennis Fimple, Denver Pyle, Max Perlich, Art La Fleur, Corey Feldman, William Smith, Doug Mc Clure, Henry Darrow, Burt Remson, Robert Fuller, William Marshall, Margot Kidder, Reba Mc Entyre, Danny Glover.
Directed by Richard Donner.
Maverick originally was a western series on American television, 1957 to 1960, starring the young James Garner. It became a spoof western, the hero being bumbling at times, his name getting mixed up, accident-prone, yet very humorous in its perspective on various conventions of the western. James Garner was to continue in this vein in the late 60s in the films Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter.
Garner appears as an older marshal in this film – and turns out to be the father of the current Bret Maverick, played by Mel Gibson in his comic vein – a lot of it seemingly improvised, the way that Mel Gibson does television interviews. On the whole, it works quite well in creating a character and providing humour.
Gibson plays a riverboat gambler up against James Coburn as well as Alfred Molina as a dastardly villain. Graham Greene appears as an Indian who pretends to perform tribal customs for tourists. The surprising heroine is Jodie Foster, a light role compared with most of her serious roles.
There is an amusing cameo by Danny Glover, straying in from Lethal Weapon.
The film was written by William Goldman, the celebrated author and writer of many screenplays including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Direction is by Richard Donner, director of many groundbreaking popular films including Superman the Movie, Lethal Weapon series, The Conspiracy Theory.
1.An enjoyable western comedy? For fans of the television series? For those not familiar with the series?
2.The western settings, the country towns, the deserts, the rivers, the riverboat, Indians in the mountains? The musical score?
3.The title, the meaning of maverick, as applied to Bret Maverick – and to his father?
4.The structure of the film: the Spaniard and his attempting to kill Bret? The hanging, the snake? The flashbacks, Maverick’s voice-over? Coming back to the hanging, his escape, the build-up to the poker game? The drama of the game – the robbery, the chase, the final revelations?
5.The comedy, Mel Gibson’s style, verbal, pratfalls, practical jokes, teasing? Yet his protestations about being gutless and his being quick on the draw, the staging of the fight to impress the Spaniard? The mixture of deadpan humour, straight-faced humour, laughs? Jodie Foster and James Garner entering into the spirit? Graham Greene and the comedy about the Indians, their performance, using Indian language but actually conversing about current matters?
6.Maverick, his arrival in town, wanting to get the money, going to collect his money from Matthew Wicker, the banker, pretending to rob the bank, the actual bank robbery – and Danny Glover turning up? His trying to get the money from Joseph and the Indians? The jokes about whether they had the money or not? The game at the table, Angel and his being disagreeable, the other gamblers, Maverick not winning for half an hour, then winning, the gunfighter threatening him, Angel calling him a coward, the fight? Everybody backing down? His winning? The encounters with Annabelle, her stealing his wallet, demanding it back?
7.Zane Cooper turning up, laconic, humorous, gallant? The relationship with Annabelle? Taking the stagecoach? The journey, the old driver dying, Maverick rescuing the coach at the cliff edge, hanging over the cliff, Cooper rescuing him? The pioneers, their worries about everything being stolen, Maverick and the robbers, the Indians turning up – and the playacting with Joseph? His going off as hero?
8.Angel pursuing him, his being strung up, falling down, the horse, the rattlesnake?
9.The poker game, everybody arriving, Cooper and the rules, no guns, locking up the money? The various players? The cameos by the guest stars? The commodore and his announcing the competition?
10.The collage of the competition, people being eliminated, cheating, thrown overboard, weeping and being disappointed? Annabelle and her losing, looking on? Cooper and his supervision?
11.The final bluff, the commodore, Angel, the cheating with the cards, Maverick taking a risk? The bluff, straight-faced, no looking at his card? Angel and his tension, the guns, the shooting? Maverick winning?
12.Cooper, showing the money, robbing the group? Going overboard? Maverick stopping the commodore shooting him? The commodore and Cooper meeting up, pulling the guns, Maverick turning up? The truth about father and son? The banter between the two? Going to the baths, Annabelle turning up, taking the money – but only half?
13.Popular entertainment, popular ingredients – and the spoof of the west?
