LogFAQs > #956969686

#22. McLintock! 137 points

Stifled 10
Pokewars 11
Karo 19
Inviso 21
CoolCly 22
KBM 24
Johnbobb 30

Very poor plot synopsis:
A slice of life western tale with brawls, spankings, drinking, and heifers.

Why it was included:
McLintock was a turning point in the career of John Wayne. While he was a huge star by this point, he had very little creative control over his films. This time, he was heavily involved in writing the script, hired key personnel (including the director), and even brought his sons into the fold for both production and starring roles. If youve ever wanted to see John Wayne really put himself on screen, here you go, for better or worse. You may be surprised to learn the script reflects his opinions on the mistreatment of Native Americans in western films as well as his views on political corruption and abusive marriages. Loosely using Taming of the Shrew as inspiration and keeping a good sense of humor about it, McLintock definitely addresses those issues on the screen. Its up to the viewer to decide what the film is actually trying to say. Those kinds of discussions always make a movie more interesting, in my opinion. Naturally, I feel such a movie belongs on this list.

What Stifled thinks:
If memory serves, this was the first western I ever watched from beginning to end. As a kid, my grandfather frequently had classic movies on the TV, especially westerns. I didnt often pay attention for the whole movie, but I vividly remember parts of a number of them. McLintock, however, grabbed my kid brains attention because of how fast paced it is. Indeed, the film is pretty relentless going from point A to point B and I loved it. The brawls, the drunken shenanigans, the music, and the interesting, animated characters made this a joy to watch. Even the one-off side characters left an impression. Has anything changed for me since then? Not at all. In fact, now that I can appreciate some of the other things going on with the film that I missed or didnt understand as a kid, I like it even more.

See, what makes this really unique compared to a lot of other westerns is how the Natives were treated. John Waynes character, George Washington McLintock (talk about some lofty goals his parents had) actually shows a great respect for the Comanche Indians he interacts with. They began as enemies, but developed a mutual respect for each other through battle. In their time of need, GW actually steps up and defends them against the crooked governor. This kind of nuance takes what could have been a simple comedy and elevates it. However, I think the nuance takes a nosedive in the other issue John Wayne was addressing in the script; abusive marriages. You could argue he was attempting to make abusive husbands such an over-the-top caricature that one would agree the practice is stupid and needs to be stopped. But umI dont think so. Female empowerment is treated like a nuisance that needs to be dealt with. The multiple spanking scenes are treated as both a solution and a laugh as opposed to something mocked. I dunno manits either a swing and a miss on the execution, or there was no pitch to begin with. But hey, thats something each viewer can decide on their own. As for me, I think its a shame things went that way, but it does not change my opinion of McLintock. Since my childhood, it has been one of my favorite movies.
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Bear Bro
The Empire of Silence