steven@ism70.UUCP (07/17/85)
SILVERADO Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Rosanna Arquette. Also starring John Cleese, Kevin Costner, Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Jeff Goldblum and Linda Hunt. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Mark Kasdan. Produced by Lawrence Kasdan. Photographed by John Bailey. Production Designed by Ida Random. Edited by Carol Littleton. Music by Bruce Broughton. From Columbia Pictures (1985). First, the bad news: "Silverado" opened to $3,522,897 in its first weekend. That's 7th, behind "Back to the Future" at 10.5 million, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" at 7.2 mill, "Cocoon" at 4.9 mill, "Rambo: First Blood Part 2" at 4.3 mill, "Pale Rider" at 4.0 mill, and "Explorers"'s weekend take of 3.6 million dollars. The questions about the viability of the Western at the box office may already have been answered by the nation's moviegoers. Second, the good news: "Silverado" is a damn good time at the movies. Lawrence Kasdan Strikes Back Raiding the Lost Genre with Big Heat. Four archetypal Western figures, taciturn Emmett (Scott Glenn), good man Paden (Kevin Kline), searcher Malachi (Danny Glover) and hotshot Jake (Kevin Costner) join forces against the evil McKendrick family and their crooked protector, sheriff Cobb (Brian Dennehy). Kasdan takes on a lot. In 2 hours and 13 minutes he compresses several pretty complicated storylines together to weave his tale of the cleanup of the town of Silverado. But something has to give, and since Kasdan chooses to include four main characters, he has to excise a love interest (Rosanna Arquette) angle from the final cut. I don't know about having that many leads with all their different stories and motivations. It's all good and all entertaining; none of it falters enough that you want to have it deleted, but it makes for a long, long finale. Everyone has their own resolution against their own worst enemy. And because Kasdan chooses to follow the classic Western mold, the ending comes off with more than a whiff of predictability about it. "Silverado" has all the virtues of a good Western and a good Lawrence Kasdan movie, and some of the datedness of a classic Western. Kasdan handles his ensemble cast beautifully (Kevin Kline sure looks like Robin Williams in "Moscow on the Hudson" though, don't he?) with only the minor misstep of casting Jeff Goldblum as a villain. Goldblum's character isn't overtly nasty enough to overcome the actor's innate likability, I think. "Silverado" also sports some wonderful dialogue, dolloped out in sparing portions as Western heroes are prone to do. There's plenty of action: shootouts, chases, and stare-downs galore. It's so much fun that I feel a little churlish dwelling on its weak points. Deep down, though, I think Kasdan should either have cut down on the number of leads or said to hell with Columbia Pictures and delivered a three hour cut. I'd find either solution satisfying. Three stars out of four.