Cowboys and Angels
Reel Affirmations 2004
Review by Dan Odenwald
Rating: 
(4 out of 5)
Friday, 10/22/2004, 9:00 PM
Feature presentation, $9 at Lincoln Theatre
A NEW GEORGE Michael club hit implores the young, beautiful people of the world: “It’s no good waiting, you’ve got to go the city, you’ve got to reach the other sideÂ…” And that’s exactly where Cowboys and Angels, a delightful little Irish film, begins.
Newly employed but still living with his mum, the devilishly handsome but bored Shane leaves his small town for the big city lights. There, he ends up renting a flat with Vincent, a fabulously gay fashion student. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, but one rooted in the cosmopolitan live-and-let-live glue of big cities everywhere. At first, we hope for romance, but Shane is straight and has eyes for Vincent’s best gal pal, Gemma.
Foppish Vincent remakes the style-challenged Shane: new haircut, new wardrobe, new outlook. It’s not long before Gemma starts to take notice. Trouble ensues, however, when Shane needs money for art school, and he gets mixed up with the neighborhood drug dealer.
But the power of friendship rescues the ill-fated Shane, and the feel-good ending will surely please audiences. Capitalizing on the ugly duckling gay makeover motif made ever-so-popular by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, director David Gleeson camps up his fish-out-of-water tale. Michael Legge performs admirably as Shane, a lonely twentysomething in search of a more exciting life. Allen Leech is also fun and irreverent as the budding gay fashionista.
Though Cowboys and Angels is little more than sweet confection, it’s a touching reminder of how cuddly and adorable buddy movies can be. The stars are young and gorgeous, and the drama a little too pat, but it’s a fun-time Friday night date movie that won’t lead you astray.
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