John Travolta is without doubt one of the pre-eminent craftsmen of the flop, amassing an unbelievable seven movies with 0% Rotten Tomatoes scores in his profession. How does he do it? Solely the grasp is aware of for certain, nevertheless it certainly has one thing to do with ceaselessly going full tilt on patently shaky and misguided premises, such because the time he made a sci-fi box office flop based on a book by the Scientology founder that haunted its writer for years. Then there was 1996’s “Michael,” which noticed Travolta play a literal angel in a film whose tagline was “He is an angel, not a saint…” It is simply superb stuff.
However what followers of Travolta’s many duds might not understand is that the person additionally showcased an actual expertise for making the varieties of films that ought to have been full flops however which someway managed to etch out a major place in mass tradition. Take the 1980 romantic Western “City Cowboy,” for instance, which is mainly the precise level at which nation turned pop.
Directed by James Bridges, the movie is loosely based mostly on a 1978 Esquire article titled “The Ballad of the City Cowboy: America’s Seek for ‘True Grit’,” which chronicled a real-life love affair that flourished in a legendary Texas bar. The film model stars Travolta and Debra Winger because the fictionalized model of the couple, who finally get married solely to interrupt up earlier than a dramatic mechanical bull-riding competitors ties issues up in a neat little bow. Intrigued? Learn on for all the small print on this gem of a Travolta film, which was surprisingly influential in its time however which has been largely forgotten at this time. As such, now’s the time to stream the film on Paramount+, the place it is obtainable at no additional value for subscribers.
City Cowboy stars John Travolta and Debra Winger as Texas lovebirds
“City Cowboy” is definitely one among John Travolta’s better films. He performs Buford “Bud” Davis, an oil employee who strikes to Pasadena, Texas, to work on an oil refinery. The formidable teen is about on saving sufficient cash to purchase land close to his hometown, however would not let his dedication to frugality cease him from having fun with the native nightlife, the head of which is native honkey tonk Gilley’s — a real-life bar that continues to be legendary to this present day, partly as a result of “City Cowboy,” which introduced the beloved native into the mainstream.
It is at this common bar that Bud meets and falls in love with cowgirl Sissy (Debra Winger). This being 1980, Sissy’s quirkiness is exemplified by her perception that — get this — the sexes are equal, a view that the extra conventional Bud merely cannot abide. Regardless of this obvious deal-breaker, the couple finally marries, however the mismatch of perspective results in hassle, and by hassle, I imply Bud is a downright misogynist who finally hits his spouse. Not precisely the charming union you may anticipate from a romantic film about lovebirds who meet at a vibrant honkey tonk, however there you go.
Sadly, Bud and Sissy’s troubles are exacerbated by Bud’s jealousy over rival suitor Wes (Scott Glenn). The pair finally break up, however Bud turns into decided to win Sissy again. How? By heading right down to Gilley’s and successful a mechanical bull-riding competitors, in fact. Sound form of insane? Effectively, it’s, however solely in a captivating ’80s form of approach (minus the entire home violence factor). It additionally has a sure authenticity to it, and Travolta and Winger’s chemistry is plain. However the lasting legacy of City Cowboy is that it kicked off a pop nation pattern that persists to this present day.
City Cowboy may be principally forgotten, however its influence stays
“City Cowboy” is not remembered as one among the best 80s romantic comedies, nevertheless it was well-received on the time, and nonetheless has its followers at this time, as evidenced however its Letterboxd web page. What’s extra, it was surprisingly influential by way of its cultural influence. For one factor, that bull Travolta rides? It is the very first mechanical bull ever made. Created by the real-life Gilly’s proprietor, Sherwood Cryer, the bull was put in in his membership and had develop into successful with locals earlier than being featured all through “City Cowboy.” After Travolta, Debra Winger, and Scott Glenn all examined their using expertise, the bull gained far more recognition as a form of cultural artifact of the late-Twentieth Century that maintains a major presence to this present day. In case you noticed Netflix’s rom-com “The Fallacious Paris” in 2025, for instance, you may not less than partly thank/blame Travolta and his cowboy film for the scene by which the women journey a mechanical bull to win the center of Pierson Fodé’s Trey McAllen.
“City Cowboy” was additionally credited with bringing nation and western music to the mainstream within the Nineteen Eighties. The truth is, as Rolling Stone put it throughout a fortieth anniversary retrospective, the movie’s “Wranglers, cowboy boots, and leather-based equipment of City Cowboy offered an genuine and all-American various” to the widespread disco tradition of the time. As such, “City Cowboy” is without doubt one of the chief architects of the form of pop-country tradition that also pervades the zeitgeist to this present day, so you too can thank/blame Travolta for Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll desecrating John Denver’s “Take Me House, Nation Roads.” Nonetheless, “City Cowboy” does have a strong 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it an odd entry within the already surreal world of forgotten Travolta initiatives.
