User Reviews

I gotta say upfront, did Jan Michael Vincent ever make a movie where he wasn't a rough neck. Kim Basinger was the best part of the movie. Jan Michael Vincent works better in action and don't think as a dramatic actor he was not. A factory worker by day and dance clubber by night was the only thing I thought this movie shown. The rest of the cast to me were just there. To me they took a great idea and didn't really know what to do with it. I thought it moved around too much and didn't really focus on the main plot. Jan Michael Vincent was really miscast, a different actor who was more a actor could have done more with this script. Next I thought that Country singer Tanya Tucker would have a bigger role than what she had and not just a few minutes of screen time. In all this movie struggled to keep your attention and really doesn't go anywhere. Plus some other scenes were just too hard to believe. Moving a trailer connected to water and power lines would be disastrous, plus the prank they pulled on a guy would have resulted in lawsuits. They should have stayed believable and made the characters more interesting than all of them being flat. I didn't expect much from this movie and wasn't let down.

Kim Basinger ("L. A. Confidential") made her starring film debut here as Jodie, a small-town Texas gal who's grown dissatisfied with her life with boyfriend Kyle (Jan-Michael Vincent, 'Airwolf'), a factory worker. Jodie is eager to explore the world beyond this little town, but the unambitious, irresponsible Kyle likes nothing more than beer drinking and Hell-raising on Saturday night. Still, he *does* love her enough that he just might be capable of change.

David Greene ("The People Next Door", "Godspell", "Gray Lady Down") directed this slice-of-life comedy-drama with an excellent rural flavor. It's an amiable film that is able to get serious without ever tipping too far into melodrama. Co-authored by Michael Martin Murphey, who also supervised the soundtrack and appears on screen, it's very easy to take. It has some decent laughs and some effective moments.

It gets most of its mileage from the appealing performance by Basinger. Vincent makes his character stubborn but not unlikable. They're supported by an interesting cast including Ted Neeley ("Jesus Christ, Superstar"), Gailard Sartain ("Mississippi Burning"), Michael Parks ('Then Came Bronson'), Sierra Pecheur ("Kalifornia"), Daryl Hannah ("Splash"), who plays Jodies' kid sister, Lewis Van Bergen ("Stir Crazy"), Richard Lineback ("The Ring"), and Richard Moll of 'Night Court' fame. Also making her film debut is country star Tanya Tucker, who both acts and performs on stage, playing a former resident who made good in Hollywood.

This good, if not especially memorable, entertainment does have another thing going for it, a fantastic soundtrack. All in all, it was able to put a smile on my face at the end, even if it doesn't leave a truly lasting impression.

Seven out of 10.

Ambitious young Jodie (an excellent and appealing performance by the gorgeous Kim Basinger in her film debut) wants more out of life than her small Texas country town has to offer. Jodie realizes that in order to pursue her dreams she will have to leave Texas and move to the big city. However, her shiftless factory worker boyfriend Kyle (a fine portrayal by Jan-Michael Vincent) wants to stay in Texas. Director David Greene, working from a thoughtful and perceptive script by Michael Kanes, firmly grounds the compelling story in a totally plausible gritty blue collar reality and delivers a flavorsome evocation of the colorful downhome Texas setting. Moreover, Greene and Kane show genuine compassion and sensitivity towards the everyday characters and their wants and desires; the narrative makes a pertinent point about the compromises and sacrifices one has to make in order to get ahead in life, but thankfully never gets too sappy or melodramatic. This film further benefits from sturdy acting by a sound cast: Basinger and Vincent do sterling work in the lead roles, Tanya Tucker contributes a vibrant turn as sweet and successful country singer Caroline, plus there's able support from Michael Parks as Kyle's slick'n'sleazy well-to-do brother Royce, Gailard Sartain as rowdy good ol' boy Johnny Bob, Sierra Pecheur as Jodie's doting religious fanatic mother, Lewis Van Bergen as smarmy heel music producer Ransom, and Daryl Hannah as Jodie's brash and restless kid sister Loretta. Richard Moll has a neat bit part as a belligerent beer-guzzling redneck. Jimmie Haskell's twangy score hits the harmonic spot. The country music soundtrack is likewise quite tasty. Dennis Dalzell's polished cinematography also does the trick. A good little movie.

I remember seeing this movie for the first time when I was in high school and wondering who that good looking cowboy was. This film evokes the whole feel of the '80's when Dallas was popular and a lot of people I knew wanted to move to Texas. Jan-Michael Vincent delivers a great performance as a back to the grindstone everyday blue-collar worker. Kim Bassinger does a great job in an early film role for her as Jodie, the disenchanted girlfriend of Kyle's. The film does have some great funny parts and lines. One of my favorite funny scenes is when Kyle asks the manager if he would like a pair of socks. I enjoyed Darryl Hannah's character as Jodie's inquisitive little sister. I think the plot hits home for a lot of people who fall into a mundane routine each day going to work and then try to bring some fun to their lives on Friday and Saturday nights. Even the scene when Kyle asks Jodie if she is on her period after they argue, probably is familiar to a lot of women out there. The fight scene between Kyle and his brother is a great scene and a bit touching when you see the tears in Kyle's eyes. It seemed the fight not only affected him physically but emotionally as well. OK and being a Jan-Michael Vincent fan I enjoyed seeing Jan's backside too. There is a lot of music, but maybe because Michael Martin Murphy was the screen writer.

TITLE: HARD COUNTRY was release on April 1 1981 and the time on this movie was 104 minutes. Hard Country is a 1981 dramatic movie starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger, and co-starring country music star Tanya Tucker along with Daryl Hannah. It was directed by David Greene and is rated PG in the USA.

SUMMARY: This picture opened in theaters in the USA sometime in April of 1981 starring Jan Michael Vincent as Kyle, Kim Basinger who made her movie debut in this picture starred as Jodie, Michael Parks as Royce and Gayland Sartain as Johnny Bob. This movie is about the lives and that great state of Texas. No one ever moves away from the great state of Texas or even thinks about except one person. That person is a very young lady who's name is Jodie and she works for the telephone company. Jodie is filled with love and has that Georgia charm that makes anyone that comes around her fall in love with her right away. Jodie leaves with a young man name Kyle. Kyle is a young Texas boy who works at a local factor making chain link fences. These two young kids lived together in a little mobile home along with Kyle's dog. The problem is that Kyle likes the some country bars his friends and drinking beer while Jodie wants more. The country bar that everyone goes to is Stallions where they sing drink beer and have a good old country time. One night while at Stallions, a young woman that Jodie grew up is announced as tonight's entertainment and her name was Caroline. After Caroline is down singing her and her friend all, meet at Jodie place to drink and talk. Caroline and Jodie go into another room where they catch up on old times. Jodie biggest dream is that she wanted to become a flight attendant. The next day while at work, one of Jodie's coworkers shows her and ad in the local paper that states that the airlines are holding interviews at the local Marriott Hotel. While in the interview Jodie is asked if she would be willing to go to California for training and she accepted now all she has to do is wait to see if she can get the letter in the mail that states that she was accepted. Things start to erode when while at the Stallion Kyle is called out in a drinking game. The object of the game is both players get a pitcher of beer and the first person that drinks it all and puts his pitcher on the bar wins. After sitting and watching this, Jodie gets up and walks out because she had enough of Kyle childlike behavior.

QUESTIONS: Will Jodie get accepted to the airlines as an Attendant? Will Kyle ever grow up and realize that what he has with Jodie is hard to find. Will Jodie dream of leaving Texas and moved to California ever happen.

MY THOUGHTS: I thought this movie kind of drag a little even thought it had action, adventure, and drama in it. I thought that Kyle was your typical young man who had a good thing going but continue to act like a jerk. I thought Kim Basinger was excellent in her movie debut. She had spunk and knew when to use it. She was not only beautiful but she has talent also. I love the scene where she's cooking breakfast in her underwear and the other scene where she lying in bed with her legs up showing off the gorgeous thighs. I think that this movie could've used some more drama but Kim Basinger saves this movie and that's why I'm going to give this movie 10 weasel stars base on Kim Basinger alone. Kim Basinger movie debut was fantastic