"Midnight Cowboy" is not the sort of film I'd usually watch. I generally avoid films like this and is the first X-rated film I have seen. However, because it won the Oscar for Best Picture and is considered a classic, I decided to give it a try. For others out there who are also hesitant to watch, understand that the film today would receive an R rating, as there really isn't much nudity in the film at all. However, since the film is about a male prostitute, it still isn't what you'd call 'family friendly'!
The film begins with Joe Buck (Jon Voight) leaving his home in Texas. He's headed to New York to make his fortune as a male prostitute. Considering he isn't gay and isn't willing to sleep with guys, that makes his prospects REAL slim. On top of that, he's as dumb as a tomato and walks about town in cowboy gear--hardly the look that will drive women wild (he actually looks a bit like the cowboy from The Village People minus the mustache). Not surprisingly, he goes broke very quickly--partly because no women want to pay him and partly because people keep cheating him because he's so naive. He eventually meets up with a low-life named 'Ratso' Rizzo and the two of them BARELY scrape by--stealing, scamming and living in a condemned building. The film explores themes of fears of homosexuality and rape. It's all very sad and pathetic and isn't at all the sort of film to lift your spirits--particularly the awfully dark ending.
So did I enjoy watching the film? No. It's not the sort of film anyone could actually enjoy. It's more a film that is a joint character study--an unpleasant but oddly fascinating one. It's well made but not a film I could heartily recommend--you have to be the sort of person that would enjoy or at least appreciate the film.
By the way, you might already have noticed that the Muppet character, Rizzo (the rat), is a play on Hoffman's character from this film. Thank goodness they are alike in name only!
The film begins with Joe Buck (Jon Voight) leaving his home in Texas. He's headed to New York to make his fortune as a male prostitute. Considering he isn't gay and isn't willing to sleep with guys, that makes his prospects REAL slim. On top of that, he's as dumb as a tomato and walks about town in cowboy gear--hardly the look that will drive women wild (he actually looks a bit like the cowboy from The Village People minus the mustache). Not surprisingly, he goes broke very quickly--partly because no women want to pay him and partly because people keep cheating him because he's so naive. He eventually meets up with a low-life named 'Ratso' Rizzo and the two of them BARELY scrape by--stealing, scamming and living in a condemned building. The film explores themes of fears of homosexuality and rape. It's all very sad and pathetic and isn't at all the sort of film to lift your spirits--particularly the awfully dark ending.
So did I enjoy watching the film? No. It's not the sort of film anyone could actually enjoy. It's more a film that is a joint character study--an unpleasant but oddly fascinating one. It's well made but not a film I could heartily recommend--you have to be the sort of person that would enjoy or at least appreciate the film.
By the way, you might already have noticed that the Muppet character, Rizzo (the rat), is a play on Hoffman's character from this film. Thank goodness they are alike in name only!