Wagons East!

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Movie
German title Wagons East!
Original title Wagons East
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1994
length 104 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Peter Markle
script Jerry Abrahamson ,
Matthew Carlson
production Garry Goodman ,
Barry Rosen ,
Robert Newmyer ,
Jeffrey Silver
music Michael Small
camera Frank Tidy
cut Scott Conrad
occupation

Wagons East! is a western parody from 1994 . It is the penultimate film by John Candy - he died a few days before the end of filming and never lived to see its release. There is therefore a dedication for Candy in the credits.

action

Some settlers in the New World don't like the recently opened Wild West at all. Instead of projecting painted in advertising freedom and wealth they find in their city Prosperity City nothing more exciting than occasional raids and the obligatory whiskey in the bar. So decide Phil Taylor and Ben Wheeler to organize a trek east to in St. Louis , the to be able to enjoy the life you were used to until then.

After a short discussion in the bar, almost all the residents of Prosperity join them - among them Julian, the bookseller, or Belle, the barmaid.

Since the trek is a bigger one, a guide has to be found and Phil finds the - mostly drunk, but affordable - James H. Harlow. However, he only learns shortly after the start that the journey is to go east.

There is a secret surrounding the driver, however: He was also the leader of the infamous Donner Party , a tour group that was to be included in the list of the greatest catastrophes of all trek trips: only a few got through and most of them only because they ate their fellow travelers. Since the trek is already on its way when you find out, the journey continues, of course, chaotically.

With the 4th of July approaching and a major contest to land in the west in St. Louis on American Independence Day , the settlers have to contend with the railroad's intrigues. This will only continue to receive funds from the state for the expansion of the lines if the population in the west increases.

The initially feared Indians, on the other hand, in whose area Harlow led the trek directly, are more pleased about the surprising visit: If the people can successfully leave the west, they can do so more often. Therefore they support the settlers in their wanderings and offer them escort until the end of their territory.

During the journey to the east, the settlers have to deal with gunslinger John Slade. However, his bombs always explode too late and usually only blow up himself. The course of the raids is very comic. In the end he is thrown to the ground by Julian. After a gang of hired crooks, even the US cavalry comes into play in the end .

The cavalry mainly confused the travelers by not forming their wagons, as usual, in a circle to form a wagon castle , but by letting them form a square. Here the riders have to draw bigger circles and are forced to change their tactics. Since that doesn't really work, the riders stop and there is an eternal single fight between Harlow and the general, which Harlow wins in the end.

At the end of the day, they arrive in St. Louis at exactly the same time as the start of the conquest.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on August 26, 1994 that the film was one of the "least amusing comedies" he had ever seen. Ebert criticized both the script and the direction. John Candy has made some good films, which is why it is all the "regrettable" that this was his last.

“John Candy died while filming. That was the end of the film: Candy's meager appearances are buried under stupid gags and amateurish direction. Conclusion: An unworthy farewell for comedian John Candy. "

"An original, evil parody of American virtues, the pioneer myth and western motifs, which offers amusing entertainment through imaginative gags, original characters and lots of black humor."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Review by Roger Ebert
  2. Wagons East! on cinema.de
  3. Wagons East! In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used