Who saw Cry Macho? Members' Comments (WARNING: SPOILERS ALLOWED!)

[The Schofield Kid]

Cry Macho opens in the US this week, so it's time to get our traditional "members' comments" threads started.

In this thread, spoilers are allowed. Anyone who has seen Cry Macho and has more to say than can be safely posted in the "No Spoilers" thread, please give us your thoughts, comments or full-fledged review.

[antonis]

Just came back from the theater.
I originally wanted to post at the no spoilers thread but then I thought that there are no spoilers to reveal.
The whole movie is on the trailer.
The film has great cinematography, believable characters & above average acting.Great score also.
The main fact is that nothing really happens on screen. A road movie with no drama just Clint walking or driving around for a couple of hours while giving lessons of life & humanity to his companion (Rafo is played better than Gran Torino's Thao apparently).
That's fine for us members of the board but not friendly for the average moviegoer.
Overall a slow paced road movie and an interesting addition to Mr Eastwood's filmography,who seems to expand his legacy as far as his ageing allows.
4/5 for me.

[antonis]

On second thought...
This is Mr Eastwood's most Japanese film to this day.
I didn't forget about Letters . The rythm is I'm talking about

[exit00]

Saw the movie today at 12:30 and a pretty decent crowd of around 25 people (all who appeared older than me!).  (One interesting note in the theater lobby, a film-goer was wearing a big brown poncho).

As for the film itself, I liked it a lot and it seem to grow on me as the movie went on.  Pretty much agree with most of what Antonis posted earlier.  Great score/music and cinematography.  Clint seems to love these stories about adult/kid learning life lessons thru each other.  Can't help but marvel at Clint at 91 riding horses and getting down easily to look under a car.  The easy-going story and tone kept reminding me of Honkytonk Man.

[Klas]

Just came back from the theater.
I originally wanted to post at the no spoilers thread but then I thought that there are no spoilers to reveal.
The whole movie is on the trailer.
The film has great cinematography, believable characters & above average acting.Great score also.
The main fact is that nothing really happens on screen. A road movie with no drama just Clint walking or driving around for a couple of hours while giving lessons of life & humanity to his companion (Rafo is played better than Gran Torino's Thao apparently).
That's fine for us members of the board but not friendly for the average moviegoer.
Overall a slow paced road movie and an interesting addition to Mr Eastwood's filmography,who seems to expand his legacy as far as his ageing allows.
4/5 for me.

I don?t think the whole movie was in the clips.  I was pleasantly surprised they did not falsely advertise this as an action movie by showing Eastwood pointing a gun threatenly.  The Mule made that mistake by showing cop raids and him slowly looking into the camera all bloody and seems to advertise a movie it wasn?t.

[Klas]

Saw the movie today at 12:30 and a pretty decent crowd of around 25 people (all who appeared older than me!).  (One interesting note in the theater lobby, a film-goer was wearing a big brown poncho).

As for the film itself, I liked it a lot and it seem to grow on me as the movie went on.  Pretty much agree with most of what Antonis posted earlier.  Great score/music and cinematography.  Clint seems to love these stories about adult/kid learning life lessons thru each other.  Can't help but marvel at Clint at 91 riding horses and getting down easily to look under a car.  The easy-going story and tone kept reminding me of Honkytonk Man.

Agreed.  I enjoyed it and was nice to see him in a cowboy hat, on a horse, and point a gun at someone.

[Matt]

I went to see it last night. It was my first time in a theater since COVID-19 hit. It was a Friday night, but I got a parking spot right outside the main entrance. This never happens at my theater -- typically you have to walk 4-5 minutes to get inside the theater.  I visited the bar before getting to my seat and ordered a Moscow Mule, and the people in line behind me overheard my order and started discussing The Mule and how they wouldn't miss seeing a 91 year old Clint Eastwood on screen for yet another of his films. I thought that was funny "Speaking of your Moscow Mule, did you see Clint's The Mule"?  Taking my seat, I found most seats in the small theater were taken - maybe 40-50 people. I'm in Tennessee, and there were plenty of older conservatives in the audience. The person next to me grumbled that they'd never buy a Samsung phone now, after seeing an ad showing a LGBTQ person with a Galaxy. It's strange to me how divided our country has become on social issues.

So, the movie starts, and the opening scene with Dwight Yoakam set my expectations at rock bottom. That was some of the worst acting I've ever seen. So I settled myself in for what I expected would be a very low effort film, and hoped there would be some value to it. There was the obligatory scene with a much younger woman wanting to sleep with Clint's character (well, she had ulterior motives, but that seems to be a theme in Clint films too -- women trying to bed Clint's character in order to get him into a vulnerable position, or for some other purpose). It made me think of the scene in True Crime and how many members here hated seeing Bob's wife in bed with Clint at his age. Well, here we have Clint 23 years older. Good thing that didn't happen.

Somewhere after that scene, about 20 minutes into the film, the film's best co-star makes an appearance -- Macho. And, it's all uphill from here. Yeah, there are some laugh-out-loud bad moments. And every scene with Dwight Yoakam is cringe. There are implausible scenarios in nearly every scene. There's every woman (even young girls) turning to butter with just a glance of Clint's steely blues. But, I was surprised to find that the film DIDN'T feel like it dragged on -- it just meandered in a pleasant way right to the last scene. The only spoiler - where Macho winds up at the end. And I won't spoil it, but I did find that one part of the film a bit too sentimental for my liking.

As usual, Clint has a few great one liners. My favorite:

I don't know how to fix old.

So, Clint has somehow managed to entertain me yet again. Cry Macho is by no means a great film, but it's an enjoyable piece of cinema and it's worth the price of admission.

6.5/10

[john snow/targaryan]

"So, Clint has somehow managed to entertain me yet again. Cry Macho is by no means a great film, but it's an enjoyable piece of cinema and it's worth the price of admission."

I think it all boils down to expectation. What is the expectation for a 91 yo who is starring and directing? Clint made his bones with primarily action movies. At 91, not realistic to expect anything other than a leisurely paced film.
Think we should all be happy that Clint is still in front of the camera.

[Christopher]

I wrote the absolute bare minimum thoughts in the spoiler free thread. Here I'll say that I think the movie is pretty forgettable. It reminded me a little of movies like Honkytonk Man and A Perfect World, but those are both far better movies. As I said in the other thread, I thought it was OK. I didn't dislike it, but I am glad that I just ended up watching it on HBO Max (they have a good deal going right now--undoubtedly as a way to get more subscribers).

I don't think the kid's story is necessarily going to end happily ever after--like Eastwood's character says, he'd be better off without either of his parents. So I was invested in him as a character, and am interested in knowing what happens with him. I did like the end for Eastwood's character. I was glad to see him just turn around at the American border, and just head back. Though given the romance angle there, I think this would have been better to have been made in the late '80s or sometime in the '90s (maybe the Bridges of Madison County era).

[Perry]

One of the big complaints I've read about Cry Macho among everything else is Eastwood is too old as Milo and the romantic scenario was far fetched and ridiculous. Considering the novel the character of Milo is about 40 years younger. I agree with you Christopher the movie should had been done 35 years ago.  At a 33 million dollar budget no way is this movie making 60-70 million at the box office to even break even or a profit. Also like you, when i saw the trailer some weeks ago i wasn't too enthused. Unless I drop by someones house who has HBO Max I doubt I'll be seeing this movie. For some reason it was the same feeling I had about 'Trouble With the Curve' which I ended up seeing a few years later on cable and didn't like at all. Boring movie. It doesn't please me to say this, but I think this will be Eastwood's last movie in front of the camera.

[feymains]

I watched it on HBO Max. One of his smaller films. I liked it for sure. The Trailer got it all wrong with how it was promoted. I think it might be time for Eastwood to get someone else to direct him. His mind is still sharp but the back surgery he had has taken a toll on him.

[AKA23]

I saw this opening night and really did not like it. It was a very disappointing film for me, and I was not super excited about it based on the trailer and did not read any reviews prior to seeing it, so in this particular case, I don't think the problem was my enthusiasm for it going in. I'm okay with discussing why, but also don't want to dampen enthusiasm for the film here on the board either, so let me know if you want to hear via PM and we can discuss privately.

[Perry]

AKA23 I'd love to hear ..I have no plans on seeing the movie. Like you as I said before I didnt care for the trailer as well....

[Klas]

AKA23 I'd love to hear ..I have no plans on seeing the movie. Like you as I said before I didnt care for the trailer as well....

I thought the same - did not care for the trailer and it seemed to make the movie more sappy than it turned out to be.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It was nice to see Eastwood in front of the camera, in a cowboy hat, on a horse and pointing a gun at someone.  It reminded me how much his acting presence has been missed and, as someone said here earlier, most likely his last acting role.  I enjoyed it more than The Mule or Trouble With The Curve.

[Christopher]

AKA, I think it'd be fine to go ahead and go into it in the spoilers thread. The others that are waiting a few months to see it may stay away from this thread anyhow.

[Rawhide7]

Just got back from seeing it at the theatre. Agreed Christopher would be better if made 30 yrs ago. It is a pretty slow paced film. Really never got me excited. I was looking for it to get better as it went along or to have a strong ending. Neither happened, other then a few decent scenes.  It needed to have a few great redeeming moments just never happened.  With all that said was cool seeing Eastwood act again. And wearing a cowboy hat and pointing a gun like others have said.  I like trouble with the curve and The Mule better. But I'm a baseball fan and The mule first time seeing I didn't care for it. But watching it a few times now I actually love The Mule. I'm hoping Cry Macho will grow on me more the more I see it.  It is a watchable movie for me. I'm hoping I will like it a bit better more I see it. And I'm hoping Eastwood acts again. Would like to see him end on a little better movie.

[Jed Cooper]

I took my girlfriend Cydney to see this during the films? premiere weekend.  I haven?t been this underwhelmed since Blood Work but I don?t mind.  I consider seeing a Clint Eastwood movie in a theater a privilege.  I?ve been a fan going on forty years now, what feels like a lifetime.  Clint is the man.  There are better actors but Eastwood is my favorite above and beyond all others. 

His performance is so well done, laid back and effortless it?s almost as if you?re peeking in on a day in the life of Mr. Eastwood.  That in of itself makes it worthy of my effort to see it on the big screen.  It was very much worth it and I?m looking forward to another viewing.  I wonder what his next movie will be.  I just hope he?s in it.

[antonis]

Saw it again .Liked it better this time. Nobody mentioned it yet but at the end of the credits there is a dedication to Alan (Murray I suppose)

[bledstein]

I liked it more than The Mule, but I don't think it's the best way to end his acting career on top. I want him to end his acting career with a great movie.

[AKA23]

I have a hard time understanding how anyone could like this better than "The Mule," which to me was better written, better acted, and had a more compelling story. Eastwood's performance also had a lot more energy to it in "The Mule" and his character arc was more developed and interesting. For those that like this better, why do you say that? What was better to you?