Original subtitles

Play it loose, J.W.

- Thank you, Bob.

Sign your name on the three forms by the X.

- Where?

By the X.

One-way bus ticket to Chicawa and $25 release.

- $25? More coming, ain't there?

When I hear it, you'll get it.

First place saddle-bronc,

Elwood Medcalf.

First place bull riding, J.W. Coop.

Best all-around, J.W. Coop.

- You heard it.

You got it.

- Where is that cowboy?

Just went out the door, warden.

- Stop!

Where do you think you're going?

Damn, cowboy.

You don't waste no time, do you?

- I gave you two extra weeks already.

- Oh, now, J.W.

You don't begrudge the old warden two extra weeks

for rodeo finals, do you?

Besides, it gave you time to let your hair grow out.

You gonna be fine, boy.

You gonna be just fine.

Nobody bothers my number one bucking-horse rider.

Not if I got anything to say about it,

and, you know, I got just a little bit to say about it,

now, don't I, J.W.?

No, sir.

Nobody bothers the captain

of Warden Morgan's Champion All-State Prison Rodeo Team.

Now, anything else I can do?

Anything else you want?

- No, sir.

All I want is some gone between me and here.

- Okay, cowboy.

Chute's open.

Good luck.

Hello.

- Hello, Sonny Boy.

Did you have a nice time?

Your supper's gone cold.

Daddy was fit to be tied, waiting.

I fed him.

He's in bed.

I won't wake him.

You got to learn to be on time, Sonny Boy.

Else you'll never hold down a job.

That day's not far off.

Of course you always have a roof here

with your daddy and me.

But the first thing you gotta do

is finish your schooling.

Daddy's kidneys gotta be looked at.

Company won't help a lick.

Maybe Roosevelt.

Still in all Communists, NRA.

- I ain't hungry, Mom.

- You ain't ate yet.

- No, ma'am.

- Well, it's going to rain, I suspect.

And Sunday, we'll go to the park,

and after, we'll go over to lona's for dinner,

if your Daddy ain't working.

Oh, I swear, that woman, she takes the cake.

It's just wrong, that's what it is.

It's wrong.

People like us, your daddy and me,

we're not getting any younger, you know?

I mean, he's still working.

Worked till we was blue in the face, Sonny Boy,

and for what?

So our boy would have to go on working

in that dead rodeo.

And all those, I don't know what, all them gipsies.

It's just wrong, that's all.

I don't know.

It's wrong. It's just...

Seems like all the people...

Oh! Stove.

Gotta get a new one.

Seems like people who got things,

God just gives them more than people who need things.

God just seems to have to keep testing his holy truth.

Brothers and sisters, praise his name.

- Praise his name.

- Praise His name. Praise God's name.

- Sonny?

Is there anything you want to tell me?

Anything you want to tell your daddy and me?

Anything about the, uh, envelopes?

Your poor daddy.

He'll work himself into the grave.

I know there was an envelope somewhere.

Daddy thought you might be needing some spending money.

Brethren, let's open up our hearts

to the glory of God.

- God's glory. Amen, amen.

- I'm okay, Mama.

- Mm-hmm.

Did you clean up your room?

Yes, ma'am.

- Practise your trumpet?

Hmm.

- Mama, you gonna, you gonna be needing

that old car of Daddy's?

Does it, does it still work?

- Where're you going?

- Rodeo.

- Well, that's nice.

You be careful playing around

in that old empty rodeo ground, Sonny Boy.

Sonny, you hear me?

That's nice.

Give your old mommy a nice kiss.

- When did you start smoking?

- I've been smoking a long time, Mama.

- Your daddy would tan your behind

good for you if he found out,

if I was to tell him.

- Mama, if you ain't gonna be needing

that old car of Daddy's, I'd like to use it.

- Now, you know that car is Daddy's lifeblood.

- Daddy's gone, Mama.

Daddy's gone.

- You know, you need a shave.

I didn't notice it before, but you do.

You're just so pretty, Sonny.

Got your daddy's nose, perfect.

I'll see you in the morning.

Be a good boy.

Don't let the dark catch you.

- Sleep tight, Mama.

- Sleep tight.

Don't let the bedbugs bite.

And now offer up a silent prayer.

- Did you hear me?

I said, don't let the bedbugs bite.

- If they do, get a shoe-

-And slap them until they're black and blue.

Good night, Sonny.

- How're you doing, cowboy?

- Okay.

I appreciate you letting me use these tools.

Appreciate?

I appreciate you and anybody else being in this dead town.

- You think it's dead now,

you ought to have been here when I was growing up.

You mean this town was deader then?

- Sure as hell was.

The only thing here in those days

was Chicawa Oil Company.

And if you didn't work for Chicawa, you didn't work.

Is that right?

- That's right.

How long have you lived here?

- 63 days.

Be right back.

Fill her up.

- Hey. Hector.

- Goddang, is that you, J.W.?

Son of a bitch! When'd you get back?

Oh, I got back last night.

- Well, son of a bitch.

Damn. Been a long time, J.W.

- Yeah. - What, six, seven years?

No, it's been nine years, nine months, 13 days.

- Goddamn. Just for one little pinchy check?

Yeah.

Well, I got, you know, three,

three for the check and two for the sheriff.

- What sheriff?

Well, that guy that arrested me in Lone Hill.

- That's right.

You beat the shit out of that guy, didn't you, J.W.?

- Yeah.

- What did you get the other three or four years for?

- Oh, the same thing.

You know, giving the guards a hard time.

- Yeah?

Now what you gonna do now, J.W.?

- Well, pick up where I left off.

- Rodeoing?

Yep.

- Where?

Oh, where I left off.

- Lone Hill?

- Yep.

You working?

- Working for Chico.

- Your brother?

- That's right.

This here's his truck, one of them.

Damn.

Tacos, huh?

- Oh, yeah. Taco stands.

He's got them franchised.

- Is that right?

- That's right.

He's got six of them.

One in Pecos, one in Redwing, one in Gardner,

two in Abilene, and one right here in Chicawa.

- Damn, sounds like he's up to his ass in tacos, huh?

- Six tacos, three enchiladas,

three tostadas.

Three burritos and one chilli dog.

You owe me $2.50.

- Hurry up, Maylene.

- Coming when I get done feeding them.

There's you kids' lunch, Betty Rose.

Now, I'll see you home for dinner.

When's dinner, Ma?

- When I get done bowling!

Damn kids. They're gonna make us late.

What time did they say be there?

- Hey, old Chico do business like this every day?

- And night.

Of course, today is special,

it being Saturday and the jalopy races down the street.

- Oh, yeah. Jalopy races.

Where they bump them old cars around.

- Right, it's a big thing around here.

Most every weekend, they get one big

son-of-a-bitching crowd out here.

- That right?

- That and the, uh, drag races.

- Yeah.

Well, if old Chico does business like this

in all his other stands, he must be one rich Mexican.

- I reckon.

They made him vice-president

of the Chamber of Commerce last year.

First Chicano ever to make it.

Is that right?

- Damn. He's got it made.

Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to whip his ass.

- Well, that's good for the Mexicans, Hector?

- For the wet ones it is.

- Wet?

- Sure, amigo.

They all work out in the back.

I rotate them for Chico,

and this way, we get no trouble with the border.

Border patrol keeps a tight rein, huh?

- Yeah, what with the pot and all.

- Them kids and their pot.

Remember when we used to take it out of

old Doc Haggart's vacant lot?

Because we couldn't afford tailor-mades?

Remember that?

- Not today, amigo.

These guys around here are getting 50 cents a joint.

Son of a bitch, you've been away a long time, J.W.

Lots of things have changed.

- I guess so.

That's him, all right.

That's the cowboy.

How's he doing?

He's doing good, sheriff.

Let's see if he's learned anything in 10 years.

In yonder, cowboy.

Sit down, cowboy.

- Well, J.W. Long time, no see.

How'd you do, cowboy?

How much did he win, Tiny?

- Uh, $50 for saddle, $90 for bareback,

$155 for bulls.

His total of 295, $295.

- Enough to cover his check.

If it's good.

But if it ain't good...

Matt did you, uh, call Harker at the bank?

- Yes, sir.

He opened an account at the bank this morning.

It's good.

- Good?

- Do you like them, cowboy?

You like the show?

- Yeah.

- Well, you gotta drink if you're gonna look.

- Well, give me a Toro.

- $1.00.

- For a Toro?

- Honey, you're paying for the tits.

- Well, for the Toro, I don't know.

- Hey, 14 more, and you can go down to Rosie's.

You can get the real thing.

You come back to Rosie's, you hear?

Put your hands on the wheel.

You didn't see me, did you?

Hmph. Didn't hear me either, did you?

No, sir.

- I guess it's 'cause of the wind.

Hey, what, what, what year

is this piece of shit here anyway?

- '49.

- But, well, what is it?

A Hudson.

- A Hudson?

- That's right.

-And I know, I guess you've never been stopped

before either, have you?

That's right.

- Well, I'm sorry I got to be the first one,

but, you know, uh, we got to take care

of these things these days, you know, pollution and all.

- Pollution?

Yeah. Pollution.

You know, we gotta fight it every way we can, you know.

Car exhaust like that of yours

is the worst offenders we got.

Especially on trash like you're driving.

Now, if you'll just sign right here.

Nope, the other hand.

I want your left hand.

Use the other hand.

Keep them both up.

- Where do I sign?

- By the X. Right there by the X.

Wait a minute.

Keep one hand on the wheel.

Other hand. Left hand.

You hand it back with your left.

Now, if I could just see your driver's licence,

Mr. J .W. Coop.

Damn, I, I must've,

I may, I may have left it at home.

Yeah. Mm-hmm, yeah.

- I think I left it at home.

- Keep your hands up.

Put them back on the wheel.

Well, I was just gonna give you

an exhaust warning ticket,

but now I'm gonna have to give you a real ticket.

What's your address?

My address?

- Yeah, your address.

Uh, I live in Chicawa.

- And the address?

- 13, 13 Luck Road.

- Mm, how do you spell that?

- L-U-C-K. Luck.

- L-U-C-K. Luck.

Okay.

Use your left hand as usual.

Now, if you'll meet me at Municipal,

Municipal Building, room 218,

tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock,

I'll make it a point to be there with you.

- Right.

- Sorry I had to do this. But that's our job.

Okay? Now you drive slow.

- Right.

Obey the law.

- Right.

And get that exhaust fixed.

- Right.

See you 9 o'clock, Mr. Coop.

- Wrong.

Where you headed, cowboy?

- Toward Mesquite.

I'm going as far as Redwing. Come on, get in.

Throw them back there.

I appreciate it.

- Mesquite, huh?

As I see it, it's the kids, the Commies,

worst of all, the unions.

They're trying to ruin this country, all of them.

Used to be a damn good country.

When I left Oklahoma during the Depression,

hell, we never had no trouble with kids.

They were too busy working.

Or they was out looking for work.

Went out to California, me and the missus

and the kids, we had to live

in one of them orchard chicken houses.

- Is that right?

- That's right, chicken house.

All five of us.

Boy, we was up at daybreak and we started picking.

Ah!

We was picking fruit all day, way past sunset.

We was picking for a nickel a lug,

and we was damn glad to get it.

And any of them agitators

was sent back across state lines or back to Russia,

or wherever the hell they come from,

because there was plenty of Dust Bowl farmers

to take their place.

Let alone the wetbacks.

Shit!

J.W., I want to tell you something.

Fruit and fruit pickers, they just alike.

You don't mess with them and they do fine,

but just start to agitate them, and they'll rot.

No, sir.

You don't agitate the fruit

and you don't agitate the pickers.

- When'd you come back?

- Three years ago.

I bought myself a pig farm

six miles from where I was born.

- You working, uh, picking fruit

all that time in between?

- Hell, no.

I wasn't gonna bust my back

picking somebody else's peaches very long.

Not me.

No, in 1940, I seen it coming.

I got myself into the shipyards.

- Oh, you're a shipbuilder, huh?

- Naw, nobody working in them yards

in them days were shipbuilders.

Hell, we were just workers.

- Well, how'd you get your stake?

- How do you mean that?

- Well, your farm, your pig farm you got now?

- Oh.

War.

- Which one?

- All three of them.

I got to be a master machinist.

Been working in defence plants for 25 years.

- How many pigs you say you got?

1500.

- Damn.

Machinist pay must be good.

- Damn right.

Good union.

Climb aboard, mate.

Where're you headed?

- Mesquite.

What happened to your horse?

Oh, the sheriff impounded it.

You got a lot of miles to log

to get to Mesquite.

Yeah.

You been waiting long?

Yeah, quite awhile.

- Yeah, well, when I saw you hitching,

I figured you wanted a ride.

- Right.

- You know, that's the trouble with most drivers nowadays.

They're in too much of a damn hurry.

I mean, on the step, and flat out all the way.

Holy Christ.

An Atlas fork 22-2.

One of these days!

One of these days.

One of these days,

if the kids and the Commies don't screw it up.

- What?

- The country.

I mean, what do they want?

Christ, they got everything

handed to them on a plastic spoon.

Silver spoon.

You and me, we gotta work for what we got.

At least I did, I imagine you did too.

Right.

- Hauling these rigs across country,

sometimes 16 hours a day.

B.H.

You know, you can say what you want about Jimmy,

but he did a lot of good for a lot of drivers.

Things were damn tough B.H.

- B.H.?

- Before Hoffa.

I sure as hell wouldn't be driving my Trojan today

if it weren't for Jimmy.

- Trojan?

Is that the kind of truck this is?

- No, no, no, that's my boat.

Holy Mary, mother of God!

Hey, look at that.

A Chris-craft X-K-18.

You're beautiful.

Hey, one of these days!

Well, you can say what you want about an outboard,

but when it comes to all-around dependableness,

you still can't beat them.

You sure you don't want to take off tomorrow

for all day and come skiing with the wife

and me on the lake?

- Well, maybe some day.

I got a lot of ground to cover.

Gotta keep moving.

Gotta lot of time to make up.

- Well, I can appreciate that.

I mean, a man's gotta do what he's gotta do.

You gotta ride them broncs, I gotta ride my boats.

Well, listen, I'm gonna have to turn off for Dallas

right up here.

Now, if you want, I can drive you to the plant.

Maybe line you up for a couple of days work

when you're finished.

I mean, if you need it.

Well, I appreciate it,

but I think I'll stick to bucking horses.

Suit yourself, mate.

And you're sure you don't want to go water-skiing?

Oh, maybe some day.

Thanks a lot.

Good sailing, mate.

Keep her nose to the wind.

- Where you going?

Which way you headed?

- Oh, I'm headed north, I think.

- You're not sure?

- Yeah, I'm sure.

- Where are you headed?

- I'm headed for Mesquite.

- What do you do in Mesquite?

What do you do in Mesquite?

- I mind my own business, for one thing.

- I'm going to Woodlake.

- Good.

You ever been to Woodlake?

Nope.

You ever planning on going to Woodlake?

Maybe.

Yeah, they, they got a rodeo up there on the 12th.

Tomorrow is the 12th.

- Yeah, well, I'm going to Mesquite.

You make more money in Mesquite?

- No, you make more money in Woodlake.

It's a bigger rodeo.

- So why don't you go to Woodlake?

Why don't you want to go to Woodlake?

So, what's wrong with Woodlake?

- Damn hippie.

What did you make them the victory sign for?

They didn't give you a ride.

- They didn't have any room.

You want a ride?

- What?

Do you want a ride?

- Uh, no, I'm just waiting for a friend.

Okay, cowboy.

- Thanks.

He's just going down the road a couple of miles.

Just, just going down the road a couple of miles.

- Hi.

- Thanks a lot, partner.

- Here, you'd better take these with you.

You might need them.

- What for?

- Energy.

- Oh, hell, I've got all the energy I need.

I don't need a mess of hippie seeds.

- They're not seeds.

They're soybeans for high-protein.

- High-protein, huh?

- Yeah.

- Uh-huh.

I'll see you around.

- I hope so.

Hey!

What's your name?

- J.W.

Coop.

Gosh, how've you been, J.W.?

- Oh, I'm all right, Myrtis.

How you been?

- Oh, pretty good.

- Good.

- Still some old timers hanging around.

- Is that right?

- Yeah, Big Bull, Case, Meadows, even Jim Wild.

- Is that right?

Even old Fergus, he still hanging there.

- Damn.

- He'll probably be up there in his camp this weekend.

- Yeah, I sure as hell hope so.

I sure didn't see anybody I knew in Lone Hill,

except the sheriff.

- Gosh, I wouldn't be glad to see him.

- Sure. - After what happened.

- No way.

It's good to see you, though,

and thanks for letting me borrow your chaps.

- Any time, J.W.

- Hey, we'll have a beer afterwards, huh?

- Okay, J.W.

- Hey, man, thank you.

- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

this is Johnny Jackson of Woodlake, California,

your rodeo announcer, bidding each and every one of you

a very fond and western welcome

to the first performance of the Woodlake Rodeo.

The bucking events in rodeo are bareback bronc riding,

saddle bronc riding, and bull riding,

and each rider is judged on his ability, or inability,

to ride his mount till the 10-second buzzer sounds.

Riders are judged on the performance

of both rider and horse, or both.

Strict rules concerning the treatment of these animals

must be adhered to.

They're under the supervision

of the American Humane Society.

And down here on my right, gate number one,

is Dallas Kleeton of Burbank, California, on Blue Care.

Down on gate number six is J.W. Coop

from Chicawa, Texas, on Coppermouth.

Good luck, cowboys.

Pete Diaz, from Santa Monica, California on Star Girl.

- Aw.

- Now the famous suicide race, ladies and gentlemen.

One and a half miles through marsh, mud, and water for $200.

Winner take all.

All right, they're all lined up.

And they're off.

We've got a muddy start

and four horses are leading the pack.

We're gonna have a bunch of wet cowboys now,

because they're all in the pond together,

and that pond is 12 feet deep and 300 feet long.

This is a horse race.

In the lead is J.W. Coop from Chicawa, Texas,

and right behind him,

Buckskin Jack Baccarach from South Dakota.

In third place, looks like Greg Jackson, number five,

and this is getting to be a tough one,

and we have a cowboy down in the water

and a horse coming through by himself.

Out of the pond, J.W. Coop

coming down the back stretch now.

And Baccarach is right behind him

as they head towards the final gate.

Greg Jackson still there.

We still have that riderless horse

he's coming in all by himself.

Look out, cowboys, now,

as we head into this final stretch.

J .W. Coop and Baccarach

right through the first gate together.

And we have got a horse race,

and they're neck in neck down the home stretch.

The winner takes all, $200.

And this is home, and we have a winner.

It's J.W. Coop from Chicawa, Texas.

You might help all of our tired,

wet cowboys out now.

Coming up now is this dangerous rodeo event,

professional brahma bull riding.

Winner of the suicide race, in the clean green shirt,

J.W. Coop on My Own Choice.

I think you've got to admit, ladies and gentlemen,

that if rodeo is rough on anyone,

it's got to be the cowboy.

- Well, J.W., maybe you'd better go on.

- What do you mean?

- You know, this ain't no rodeo bar.

- Oh, bullshit. Come on.

Thanks for the drink, J.W.

- Thanks for letting me borrow your chaps.

They brought me good luck.

- No, you brought your own self the good luck.

You've got a lot of try.

That one horse was a high humper.

- Yeah, that one, humped like a Korean whore.

- Humped a few of them, huh?

- Who, me? Oh, yeah, years ago.

Hell, I was 16, gyrene, shooting the geek

and dreaming of nook.

That was my first hitch.

- You had two, huh?

- Yeah, I had two.

I was kind of late out of the chute.

I've got a lot of time to make up, Myrtis.

How much time did they give you in the pen, J.W.?

- Almost 10 years.

- You know, ever since you've been gone,

rodeo is big business now.

- Yeah?

- The sky's the limit.

A guy like Billy Hawkins, he's making $56,000 a year.

- Is that right?

- He flies his own plane.

Makes two or three rodeos a day.

It's not like the old times when we were rodeoing

you just had to throw 'em down the back of the stairs.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yep.

Hey, Dulcie.

How about some more spurring juice?

- What about your friend?

- Well, Myrtis, you want something?

- The same thing, J.W.

- Well, make it two.

- Excuse me, J.W.

- Yeah.

Hey, Miss, I don't think

he was through with that other drink.

- Yeah?

- Um, where's my hooch?

- No more, cowboy.

- What do you mean, no more?

- There is no more, cowboy,

and if you don't like it, talk to the boss,

don't talk to me, all right?

- Hurry it up, Dora Mae.

Hurry it up.

All right, folks, got a nice table right down here.

- Wait a minute, friend, I'm sitting here.

- Wrong. Your friend is on the way out.

We ain't running no NAACP tea house here.

Sit right down here, folks.

- What's going on in here, cowboy?

- Oh, nothing, Sheriff, just a couple of boys

making weird advances.

- What's that fellow doing in there?

- I don't know, just washing up.

Uh, hello, amigo.

Hector?

J.W.

Yeah.

Oh, all right.

It's been a gravy lick up to now.

How are you doing?

Good.

Oh, not bad.

It's starting to rain a little bit up here.

Listen, uh, how's Mama?

Mm-hmm.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, well, look,

I'm gonna send a money order tonight,

and there should be more next week.

Right.

Keep an eye on her, will you, amigo?

Okay. I appreciate that.

Okay, buddy. Thank you.

Good bye.

- Hey! Hey, J.W.

- Well, my lord.

How are you?

- How'd you do?

- Oh, I did all right.

How you doing?

- Fine, fine.

I'm glad I found you.

- What you got there?

- Licorice.

- Oh, licorice. Good.

Well, thank you.

What happened to your beans?

- I thought you didn't like beans.

- Oh, yeah, I like some beans.

I like pinto beans, chilli beans,

even some human beings.

- You like me?

- Yeah, you're a pretty nice bean.

-Are you riding again tomorrow?

- No.

Today is the last day.

- Where's your next stop?

- Mm, Angel Camp.

- Do they have a rodeo up there?

- Sure do.

Are you hitching?

- No, I'm driving.

- Driving what?

- Well, come around tomorrow about 9 o'clock, I'll show you.

- Where?

- You see them trees over there?

- Yep.

- I'll meet you over by them trees, right by them weeds.

Hey!

Hey there, Bean!

Hey, wow!

- Hey, well, I couldn't afford a Cadillac.

Well, I'm sure glad.

Where did you get it?

- Oh, I got it at an army surplus yard.

It's old, but it's strong.

Come on, get in.

What was you doing over there anyway?

Waiting for you.

You waiting long?

All night.

All night?

Well, I told you I wouldn't be here till now.

I like sleeping out.

What? In them weeds?

Yeah.

You like sleeping in weeds?

Yeah, I like sleeping in weeds.

You're loco.

Oh, go on. You've done it.

Oh, yeah, lots of times,

but I'm not sleeping on weeds unless I have to.

Where you headed anyway?

West.

Yeah? What's West?

Oh, some things I wanna learn,

some places I wanna see.

You sound like one of them mystery people.

Nope. I'm a lot of people.

Well, I don't know about any establishment.

But my daddy worked and gave his life for the big man,

who never knew he existed until he ceased.

And they covered Mama with religion like a blanket,

gave her $800, a pin, and a bound volume on the history

of the Chicawa Oil Company.

Their version, abridged.

What's your version?

- The Chicawa Oil Company bought the law,

stole the land, and rode the Depression to World War II.

I never knew a day in my daddy's life

that he didn't stink of oil.

Ain't been a day since then

that I haven't remembered that stink, and that company.

It's just damn puzzling. I don't understand it.

We never threw the empty bottles away

because each one was worth two cents.

Us kids used to swipe all the empty ones we could find,

because we needed the money.

You know, people don't need the money anymore.

They come up with that no deposit, no return.

Now, you tell me to return them

even though we don't need the money.

Hell, that just don't make sense.

- It's called recycling.

It's one way to fight waste and pollution.

- Yeah, that's another thing.

What?

- Oh, that pollution.

I mean he's gonna give me a ticket, cost me $35,

before I even have the damn thing put on.

Who did?

- That cop.

- What did you do?

- Well, what could I do?

I dumped the car, that's what I did.

Maybe I should've had that recycled, you think?

- Right.

Damn.

This is pretty good cocoa.

What do you call this stuff again?

- Carob.

Mm. Tastes just like cocoa.

- Yep, except it's a lot better for you, J.W.

- Yeah.

More proteins.

- Right.

It'll grow hair on your chest.

Maybe even your upper lip.

Yeah. I think I'd like that.

- Damn.

Make a hippie out of me yet.

- I'll sleep with you, if you want, J.W.

Do you want me to wait?

- No, you go ahead. I'll see you later.

When?

- I don't know when. Later.

I want to see my friends.

- Hey, wake up. Wake up, you bunch of sage poppers.

Come and give me a hand here.

Lazy bunch of cowboys.

Hey, cowboy, come over here and give me a hand.

Well, I'll be a son of a bitch.

Where the hell have you been?

What you been doing?

Come here and give Big Marge a hug, you.

Some Texas Siberian prison camp

give you the five-year shaft

for some $32 pissant check you didn't write.

Where the hell you been for the past 10 years, lover?

- Honey, I tried to write.

- Oh, who gives a damn. Come on with me.

This I got to see.

Wake up, wake up, you boozed-up bunch of bushwhackers!

Get off your ass and say hello to J.W.

Shut the damn door.

- Shut your snort and look who's here.

J.W.'s back in town.

- Goddamn, look who's come back to see us.

- Man, you boys look like you rode hard and hung up wet.

- Where've you been?

- What you doing, Red?

Hey, what's happening!

- Well, I'll tell you one thing,

he's up to his ass in money.

Joe Bob?

Joe Bob Ryan?

Yeah. How'd that dogger make it?

He couldn't carry shit for a dead bear

the last time I was out here.

- Still can't.

Well, how'd he get rich?

Hangin' upside down in a car seat.

- His wife's pappy owns an oil field

that you can't ride through in a whole day.

- She goes all over herself every time she sees a cowboy.

- You remember her, J.W. She was, uh, Bonnie Gibbs

before Joe Bob married up with her.

Right after you left.

- Everybody knows Bonnie Gibbs.

She's the town pump.

- A real punchboard.

- Well, how you doing, old horse?

Damn, they took a little lard off you, didn't they?

How'd they treat you in there, anyway?

- Oh, it weren't no county fair.

No?

- What brings you here?

- Oh, too lazy to work, too nervous to steal, I guess.

You got your RCA card?

Yep. Signed up, paid up.

- What's your event?

- Bares, saddle broncs, and bulls.

- Oh, three events is a passel of rodeoing,

but most of the boys just tend to sort of specialise now.

- Specialise, huh?

- Well, it depends on what you're looking for.

- Well, I'm looking to get in the national final.

- Well, hell. You're a month slow out of the gate.

Most of the boys have been collecting points

since the first.

- Yeah, I got a couple shows in last week.

- Oh, yeah. How'd you do, lover?

- I did all right.

How's old Billy what's-his name doing?

- Lawson? - Yeah.

- Oh, he's a hot one.

He won $60,000 last year,

and like to doubled it in, uh, commercial endorsements.

- Yeah, he's doing real good.

- Good, shit, he's just a good businessman,

like most of the young dudes now.

He's riding for the money.

Ain't like the old days, J.W.

- What'd you ride for in the old days? Peanuts?

- Well, maybe they did just that.

They didn't bail out very often,

I can guaran-damn-tee you.

They didn't give up when it got tough.

They hung in there.

- You bet.

- Till they busted their ass.

- No.

- You see, J.W., these boys,

like Hot Pistol Billy, got this theory,

the less you hurt, the more you're up.

And the more you're up, the more chances you got to win.

- The more you win, the more points towards the finals.

- Strictly playing the percentages, J.W.

- And it ain't only the rodeo.

- Football and basketball.

Yeah, and some of them others.

- They're smart.

They use their head when they ride.

- I'm dumb, I still use my ass,

but I guarantee you one thing,

I ain't bailing out fill that horn honks.

- Well, you got big ones, J.W., but rodeo's changing.

- Goat shit.

Nobody ever paid me a nickel for drinking somebody's coffee

or wearing somebody's pretty underwear.

- You don't got any underwear.

- That's just what I mean.

I can't see no difference.

You pays your fee and you takes your draw,

and then you try to keep from getting your ass busted,

just like everybody else, and for what?

So if you're lucky, you wind up in the top 15,

and go to the national finals,

and if you ain't, why you just holed up some place

them two weeks and stay drunk.

- Guess, it's still money or mud.

-Naw, J.W.

Rodeoing has changed.

- Yeah, that's his plane.

Well, he's arrived, folks.

The current defending all-around champion, Billy Hawkins.

- Here comes Billy.

- Yeah, yeah. That's him.

Is everything ready?

The horse in the chute, ready to go?

- Yeah, he's ready.

- Well, you know how he is about being kept waiting.

Yes, sir.

That's old Hot Pistol Billy, just a'blowing and a'going.

And he's out it to the last minute, as usual.

I declare, that boy could plumb wear out a steam engine.

He is a steam engine!

I tell you one thing, you got to hand it to him.

He's a top hand.

Any cowboy wears all-around champion buckle

on his belt is a top hand.

How come they call him Hot Pistol?

Because that's the way he comes out of the chute.

He always cut it this close?

Nope. Sometimes even closer.

He makes it to two or three rodeos a day.

- When do we go, man?

Right now, Billy. Right now.

- Good. I don't like to be kept waiting.

Got to be in Sonora in a couple of hours.

What kept you, Billy?

- Ran into some weather just north of here.

Nearly had to set her down in a wheat field.

- Plane okay?

- Spinning like a top, tickety-boo all the way.

- By the way, Billy, is there anything I can do for you?

- Yes, sir, you can call my broker.

- Broker?

- Tell him I'm sorry, but I'm running a little late.

He'll be in the office for another 20 minutes.

There's a three-hour time change, you know?

There is?

- Tell him I'll take his advice on those mutual funds.

Okay, man.

- There he is, folks,

Billy Hawkins with 80 points.

That moves him into first spot,

and that's a familiar place for Billy Hawkins,

last year's all-around champion.

All right, here he is.

That lanky bull rider from Sonora, California, Cisco Maye.

Hey, Myrtis, give me a hand, will you?

I got it. Go ahead.

- J.W., this here's Billy Hawkins and Larry Mahan.

- Glad to know you, J.W. - Hi, Billy.

- What you got to ride, J.W.?

- I don't know, but he don't look like whipped cream to me.

- Oh, you'll be all right when he gets out of these boards.

- What happened? Did you hurt your hand?

- Yeah. What did you say he does again?

- He's a spinner.

He'll crank you back to the left,

but you'll be able to mark out on him.

He's swift out of the box, boys.

Be sure to get the gate open in a hurry.

- Thanks, Larry.

- Now, friends, about ready to go is a rider

who has just returned to the rodeo circuit

after a long absence.

And here he is, from Chicawa, Texas, J.W. Coop

on a bull called Eight-ball.

Folks, the judges say that ride is worth a 72.

Let's hear it for the new leader

in the bull-riding event, J.W. Coop.

Welcome home, son.

From Lubbock, Texas, here's one of the world's

leading bull riders, Myrtis Dightman.

- You ride bares and broncs too?

- Yes, sir.

- Damn, you'll have me working for wages.

- I doubt it.

- Billy! Billy!

Later, girls.

The King's in a hurry.

- Here's an event you've all been waiting for,

and the prettiest riders in rodeo,

the girl's barrel-racing event.

Clear the decks, boys.

- Hey, that's a pretty smooth-looking tomato there.

She's gonna be at the party tonight.

- Yeah? What party?

- Bonnie's daddy's throwing a barbecue for everybody,

and there's gonna be some finger-licking little girls there,

and she's just one of them.

- Damn.

- Manuel, it looks just marvellous. Just divine.

Hey, everybody, come and get your food.

Chow's on.

- I really shouldn't, Mr. Gibbs.

I need to get to the airport. - Ah, it's from

the horse's mouth, Billy.

Come on, come on. Right from the horse's mouth.

You know, it isn't much.

Just a little old country place

for a little old country boy, but it's comfortable.

- Sure is pretty, Mr. Gibbs. - Yeah, it cost me

a half a million before I got it fixed.

500 acres, 100 thoroughbreds.

12 police dogs.

Billion burglar alarm system.

It ain't much.

- The old lady said,

"Go ahead and shoot him, Walter."

There was a fence about five or six feet high

surrounding that trailer court,

and I cleared it, shucking clean.

Bam! Bam!

That little son-of-a-bitch let go with both barrels.

- The trouble was, when you looked at Judy,

you couldn't tell the difference

between her and some old boy.

- But you could sure feel the difference,

I can guaran-damn. Why you!

- Is the green sauce too hot, boys?

- Green sauce? Yes, ma'am,

I mean no, ma'am. - Fine, Bonnie May.

It's just fine.

- How about you, J.W.?

You like it hot?

- Yeah, I do.

That doesn't surprise me, J.W.

But you did, turning up after all these years.

It's been so long.

- What's so long, Bonnie, hmm?

- Why, Marjorie, don't you look sweet,

and your hair, oh, your hair looks real nice.

It really does.

Doesn't it, boys?

Doesn't it look nice?

What did you do to it?

- Just teased by the wind, Bonnie.

Just teased by the wind.

- Well, Marjorie, you should do it more often.

It makes you look so young.

Now, J.W., I want you to eat up,

because you're gonna need all your strength

if you're gonna ride.

- I wish I had a swing like that in my backyard.

No, you don't, Leroy.

That's a public playground.

- Tell you what I got in mind, Billy.

I want to get you and all of the pros together,

all in one place.

You, Joe Namath, Mickey Mantle,

Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus.

- Mm-hmm.

- Willy Shoemaker.

And what's the hockey jock, that handsome hockey jock?

What's his, what's his name?

- Bobby Orr.

- Bobby Hull, that's right.

With Bobby, and you, and all of us together,

all us pros, in my jet,

and fly down to the main ranch for a week's hunt.

Just us pros.

- What will we hunt?

- Why, everything.

Everything that moves.

Mountain goat, deer, antelope, birds.

Hell, anything that moves.

I don't give a damn.

I got 100,000 acres.

Help! Help!

- You bitch!

You been aching for a breaking for a long time.

- Antelope, deer, birds,

Lizards, snake, armadillo, coon.

Wild boar, deer.

Look, it's moving!

- Water moccasins, gophers.

There you are, Billy.

Right from the horse's mouth.

Roadrunner, sloth, bull eagle, snake,

snipe, horn toad.

- I really need to be- - Crow.

-At the airport, Mr. Gibbs.

- Hill rat, razorback,

and anything with hair!

I don't know why I don't live in a motel

like a civilised human being,

instead of a goddamn bushes with a college graduate.

What the hell is that?

Looks like some kind of Indian sign.

She must be some kind of Indian,

putting a hex on me.

Smells like licorice.

Damn Indian sign made out of licorice.

- It's a peace sign.

- It's a what?

- It's a peace sign.

- What kind of peace?

- You know, like peace on Earth.

- Yeah.

I guess that's the only kind of peace

you'd know anything about.

- I'm not a virgin, you know, J.W.

- Well, how would I know?

I don't know if I'm glad or not.

I think I'm glad.

- Pretty good, huh?

No, just wasn't cowboying good enough today.

That old bull whomped me pretty good.

Didn't fit my ticket.

- Were you hurt?

No, just honked.

Hell, it happens to everybody, you know the saying.

- What saying?

- Never a horse couldn't be rode,

never a cowboy couldn't be throwed.

Want to bring that chart we made up?

Can you tell me how in hell I'm gonna give

Billy Hawkins a race when he can do 120 rodeos to my 78?

It's that damn Beechcraft aeroplane, that's the difference.

Well, I'll just have to try harder and ride faster.

- How many points did Billy score?

Last year, according to Marge, 60,000,

which is a hell of a, a hell of a lot more than I've scored.

Yeah, but you still got 11 months, J.W.

Yeah, 11 months to make up for 10 years,

and I'm hungry.

Money hungry?

No. Time hungry.

Do you like my new addition to the paint scheme?

Yeah. We'll be the laughingstock of the rodeo,

but it's okay.

Well, I guess I'd better stick to bucking horses.

Sure can't hack this golf.

Oh, I don't know, J.W.

You were hacking away pretty good there.

You got any more surprises?

Yeah, wait'll you see the hotel

we're staying at tonight.

- Where are our bags?

- Where are you taking me? - Oh.

Oh, I got a surprise for you.

I got a surprise for you.

Now. - What?

What are you doing? - Now for dessert.

How about that?

And how about that, huh?

How about that?

Can you believe that?

That's the next thing to flying, ain't it?

Can you believe that, Bean?

That this East Chicawa jailbird

has, has achieved these heights from a bucking saddle?

Ain't it a wonder?

Ain't, ain't that beautiful?

There goes Hot Pistol Billy.

And we're not far behind.

Honey, did you give Larry Mahan back those chaps I borrowed?

- Yeah.

J.W., you're so funny about that borrowed-chap superstition.

- Well, it ain't funny.

Hell, it works, don't it?

If it works, I'm gonna do it.

Can't afford not to.

Hot damn!

Oh, you Marge, you nut!

- Oh, boy. Nice going, lover.

Boy, you gave your A act tonight.

You're breathing hard on old Hot Pistol Hawkins.

- Oh!

- He kind of showed signs of choking tonight.

What do you think, Bean?

- You did real well, J.W.

- Oh, he ain't choking.

He ain't choking. I just lucked out.

- Lucked out, my ass.

You beat him for $1,200.

Come on, party's in my van.

- Oh, listen, I gotta call home.

- For permission to have a drink?

- No, I haven't called in a couple of weeks.

I'll hook up with you in a few minutes. All right?

See you later, honey.

Hello, operator?

Operator, I'd like to call, uh, Chicawa, Texas, please.

- Looks like J.W. is moving up on old Hot Pistol Billy.

- Yeah, old J.W.'s got a lot of try.

- How'd he get in the pen anyway?

- Bad penmanship.

- I heard it wasn't a bad check, a bad friend.

A fella promised him to hold it for two weeks and didn't.

- Come on down, Daddy.

It's late.

Come on down, Daddy.

Mama wants you home.

Mama wants you home.

Hell, I got 20 miles of shoreline.

Well, what do we fish for?

-Anything. Hell, anything.

Anything that swims.

Bass, trout, perch, catfish, mud cat, channel cat,

crawdad, halibut, flounder, flying frog.

Flying frog?

I'm thinking of turning it

into a recreation centre for retired Republicans.

I'll tell you what I got in mind for you, J.W.

Thought we'd start an aqua-rodeo.

Get a bunch of giant water skis that can hold up a horse.

We'll have them bucking on water.

- Well, we're over the hump, honey.

To the nationals.

- To the nationals, champ.

- Well, I don't know about that.

Still four weeks off.

Still and all, I'll say this.

It's one thing going in one of 15,

and it's sure a hell of a lot more comforting

going in top hole.

- And coming out number one.

I don't know.

Those cowboys are awful good

or they wouldn't be in the nationals.

Old Hot Pistol Billy got $60,000, $70,000

in endorsements alone last year.

- That's a lot of money.

Sure as a pig's ass is pork, it's a lot of money.

Enough money to buy the dream too.

- The dream?

- 10 year dream.

What's that?

- Oh, not much.

Just a few hundred acres, a few charolais,

some good bucking stock, and a house on a hill.

That's all. Nothing fancy.

That's all?

- Yeah, that's all.

Oh, maybe a few other things.

- What other things?

- Oh, it'd be kind of nice to have a boat, a plane.

- To herd cattle?

Oh no.

Oh no, I don't mean because it's gonna be business, silly.

It's nice to have a boat, plane.

- Hello?

Hello, Bean?

- Yeah.

Uh, listen, I'm gonna be a little late.

- Where are you?

- I'm in Hale's Corners.

Hale's what?

- Corners. Corners.

- Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.

I just, uh, got lost and ran out of gas.

- How are you gonna get home?

- Well, I'm gonna fly home,

just as soon as I get some gas back to the dairy.

- J.W., are you all right?

- Yeah, I told you I'm all right.

I just gotta take some gas back to the plane.

- Well, where is the plane?

- It's resting on a field.

It's resting on a dairy field

about, uh, four miles from here.

Well, when will you be home?

- Oh, shouldn't be more than a couple of hours.

- J.W.?

Yeah.

- You all right?

Yeah, I'm all right.

- Well, what happened?

What happened?

The damn cows ate my plane.

- J.W., are you sure you're all right?

-Yeah, hell, I'm fine, but my plane ain't.

Damn cows ate off all the fabric.

Shit!

Well, it's official, honey, we're in the nationals.

Next stop, Oklahoma City.

- J.W!

- J.W., will you?

- Will I what?

- Kiss me?

- Wha?

These last 10 months have been

about the happiest time of my life.

Not just 'cause I'm riding and winning,

'cause I'm with you.

And you're with me, all the way.

And I'd like to extend that partnership.

I'd like to extend that happiness.

I'd like to extend an invitation to you to be my wife.

And I know you're a lot younger and a hell of a lot smarter,

but I can't help it.

I just gotta offer you that extension.

Do you know what a loner is?

I mean, do you really know?

Me.

I'm the original loner.

At least I was, until I met up with you.

You opened up my head, my heart.

Now I can't make it alone.

- J.W., you can make it with or without anybody.

You've proven that.

- No way.

And I don't want to go back.

A loner is a lonely man.

And I don't want to go back.

- J.W., don't go back.

Nobody wants you to go back.

Just look back at this year,

and then look back at the 10 years before that,

and what do you see?

You see a man, a very exceptional man,

who had a dream, and who never let go,

and who never will let go.

You're strong, J.W.,

and you don't need anything but your own beliefs.

You must believe that.

- I believe in you with me.

Qualified in the regular season

for a place here at the national finals in Oklahoma City.

This year, we have beauty of a race,

the all-around cowboy championship

between the defending champion, Billy Hawkins,

and this year's dark horse contender, J.W. Coop.

Coop now leads by $300, with a total of $49,400.

Here at the national finals,

the championship will be decided

on the roughest, rankest bucking stock,

gathered from every string in the United States and Canada,

including the infamous Escadero,

the bull the cowpokes will tell you

is the meanest one they've ever seen in rodeo.

- Hey, where the hell have you been, cowboy?

You're supposed to wait for me in the doctor's office.

I don't like waiting in the doctors' offices.

They all stink of Lysol.

- Get your ass in this car or Big Marge'll kick it in.

Broke, my ass.

It's a compound fracture you dumb-dumb.

Just like the doctor said,

if you never want to ride again,

all you got to do is go out there and break it again,

and the closest you'll ever get to rodeo

is parking cars right here on this lot.

Now that's the truth of it.

- It's just a break, Marge.

I broke it 12 years ago in Abilene,

and it didn't slow me up much then.

- Uh-huh.

Well, it's gonna slow you up this time, doctor.

See you shaved your moustache off.

Listen, J.W.

I know you're pissed off,

but you can't let it get to you.

Sure, she's a cute little filly,

but when people aren't right for each other,

they're just not right for each other.

Besides, you're in good shape.

You won almost $50,000.

- I don't like to be second, Marge.

This was gonna be my year.

I waited 10 years.

And I blew it.

- Blew it?

You didn't blow it.

Jesus, you won 49,000 goddamn dollars, didn't you?

You started from nothing.

In one year, you worked your way up

to second-leading cowboy.

Second's the bottom.

Second's last.

- Even if you were to go out there and win every event,

you couldn't win.

When you were getting your leg fixed,

Billy nailed down four firsts.

It's too late.

It's just too late.

- And now the most dangerous event

on the American sporting scene today,

this is cowboy's bull riding.

First and second place, of course,

has already been determined.

Winner of this year will undoubtedly be Billy Hawkins

of Mineral Wells, Texas.

In second place, the guy who came from nowhere

to get the runner-up position,

J.W. Coop from Chicawa, Texas.

Ivan Ingstrom on Tornado, a great bucking bull,

all the way from St. Paul, Minnesota,

let's watch Ivan Ingstrom.

And again, might we suggest a consolation round of applause.

These bulls are really taking the toll

on these great bull riders in the finals this year.

Well, if he, if he drew him, it's legal,

but I can't believe it.

Here is a guy with a broke.

Ladies and gentlemen, it, it's official now.

This dark horse, J.W. Coop,

suffering a broken leg just performances ago,

has drawn legally the greatest bull

that professional rodeo has ever known, the mighty Escadero,

and tonight he's going to try to ride him.

So in chute three, a guy with the greatest heart

we've ever seen in professional rodeo.

Let's watch J.W. Coop try to do the impossible.

Here he is on Escadero.

- He's gonna make it.

- It's impossible, but he's done it.

- Get off, J.W.!

- Let go! Let go!

Let go!