The Electric Horseman Reviews

Mildly funny comedy-western that owes a lot to LONELY ARE THE BRAVE in its concept of an anachronistic cowboy. Redford is a has-been rodeo star reduced to plugging breakfast cereals; his next big appearance is in a tacky Vegas stage revue, wearing a neon suit and riding a $12 million horse. The last straw comes when he discovers his horse is being tranquilized, and he takes off into the wild in protest. Fonda plays a media-hype reporter who covers the story and ends up--predictably and sentimentally--falling for the displaced hero. The third teaming of Redford and Fonda (after THE CHASE and BAREFOOT IN THE PARK), HORSEMAN falls far short of what it might have been, starting out smart but getting sloppier and more sentimental as it goes along.