When I posted my review of the Gene Autry flick "Down Mexico Way" some seven years ago as I write this, I wondered whether there might be at least one more Western out there that had a polka played in it. With a dab of poetic license, I'd say you could call "Rancho Deluxe" a Western, after all it's got cowboys, horses and cattle rustling in it. So when free spirit Betty Fargo (Patti D'Arbanville) called over to the band to 'Play a Polka', I'd have to say their response qualifies this flick as the third time I've caught one in the genre. If you're wondering what the other one was, it was Charles Starrett's programmer from 1951 called "Snake River Desperadoes".

Well that polka might not have sounded much like a polka, and this might not look much like your traditional Western, but it sure does have that cattle rustling thing down pat. Problem is, most of the rustling by bad boys Jack McKee (Jeff Bridges) and Cecil Colson (Sam Waterston) is done one at a time, and they generally just shoot and butcher the poor animal right where he drops. I've never tried it, but it seems to me that taking a chainsaw to a dead animal would be a lot more gruesome than the picture allowed; Jack didn't get a drop of blood on him!

This is a wryly amusing tale with quick and abrupt scene changes but it's not hard to follow. Writer Thomas McGuane must have let his fertile imagination head into Mexican overdrive to come up with the story. The Baseheart of Bozeman Canyon making shambles of the hotel room is almost worth the price of admission alone, but prepare yourself to really pay attention to everything going on along with all the sharp dialog because you'll want to reflect on things when it's all over.

With a title tune from Jimmy Buffet and a sneak peak harmonica cameo by Warren Oates, this is definitely not your father's Western. The only connection there would be Slim Pickens' role in the story, and having seen a bunch of his pictures from the Fifties, I was a little surprised to see him in this one as late as 1975. But he did have quite a few more screen appearances after this one so I'll have to check out some of those as well if I can find them.

After catching Sam Waterston in all those 'Law and Order' episodes, it's a bit strange seeing him here as an alcoholic Indian, or any kind of Indian for that matter. But it wouldn't be the last time he appeared in a Western. He showed up four years later as a Kiowa warrior named White Bull, giving Martin Sheen fits in another off beat story, but that time he went the entire picture without saying a word.

The engagingly kicked-back seriocomic slice-of-life picture was one of the more beguiling sub-genres which flourished in the 70's. This disarmingly quirky, low-key, easygoing cult favorite is one of the best of the bunch. Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterson are both very much in their wry element as two indolent, disaffected, shiftless smartaleck country youths -- Jeff's a quick-tempered white boy; Sam's his more level-headed Native American buddy -- who make their living by blasting cows and selling the meat to the highest bidder. Gruff, truculent rancher Clifton James, mighty ticked off about his livestock being decimated, hires an aged, irascible, but extremely shrewd stock detective (a lively, marvelous performance by the always wonderful Slim Pickens) to put a stop to the increasingly irksome and costly cattle rustling.

Tom McGuane's sharply written script acts as an acidic, witty and insightful meditation on the sad, unfortunate, painfully protracted passing of the glorious Old West and the gaudy, corrupt, superficial money-grubbing New West that's being erected in its place. Frank Perry's able direction, aided by William Fraker's sparkling cinematography and a catchy, flavorsome country and western score by Jimmy Buffett which kicks out the clop-hoppin' jams something nice (Buffett himself can be glimpsed performing "Livingston Saturday Night" on stage at a honkytonk bar with none other than an uncredited Warren Oates playing harmonica),does McGuane's superb script full justice, thereby producing a leisurely paced and pleasingly off-center charmer which effortlessly draws viewers into its uniquely oddball laid-back universe without ever becoming too forced or cloying about it. And the top-rate supporting cast couldn't be better: Harry Dean Stanton and Richard Bright as a pair of useless nitwit ranch hands, Elizabeth Ashley as James' bored, neglected wife, the delectable Patti D'Arbanville as Bridges' ditsy girlfriend, Charlene Dallas as Pickens' seemingly sweet and innocent grand niece, and Joe Spinell as Waterson's concerned, mellow, philosophical Native American father. Ashley, Stanton, Spinell and Oates also appear in McGuane's sole directorial effort, the similarly splendid and endearingly idiosyncratic treat "92 in the Shade."

An odd, quirky western that treads an extremely narrow path, but does it not only rather well, but with all flags flying. You really need to see the movie twice to gain an understanding of all the subtle turns in the plot and get a really firm picture of who is who. In my opinion, the picture is stolen by the interaction of Slim Pickens and Clifton James, although I can readily understand that some viewers will side with the characters played by Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston. However, I cannot bring myself to admire a couple who make their living by shooting and decapitating cattle. As in most westerns, the ladies play minor roles but they do have something to say for themselves here, even if they all do knuckle under to the demands of the men. In my view, the movie is far too violent to class as a comedy, but who am I to argue with the movie-makers and most of the press?