The Last Rodeo
The Last Rodeo is a film that could only take place in America where a broken healthcare system would force a grandfather into risking his own life to pay for life-saving medical procedure for his grandson (Graham Harvey) which the insurance will not fully cover. While the film focuses on the hero's journey and bringing former rodeo star Joe Wainright (Neal McDonough) closer together with his daughter (Sarah Jones) and former best friend (Mykelti Williamson), the idea that any of this is necessary is as tragic as the boy's brain tumor.
McDonough, who also co-wrote the film with Derek Presley and director Jon Avnet, stars as the broken down cowboy forced to take advantage of his past as a rodeo star to enter a competition whose winnings just might pay for young Cody's surgery. The boy's condition, and Joe's return to a profession that nearly killed him, rips open old wounds between the cowboy and his daughter who was forced to take care of him after her mother's passing.
The Last Rodeo is a solid enough film that wouldn't feel out of place on the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime. The rodeo sequences are slowed down in an attempt to emphasize how long 8 seconds is while riding a bull feel like an eternity to the rider (the act of which, from the bull's perspective rather than the nobility of the rider, is never questioned). Produced by the Christian media company Angel Studios, the film is about as family friendly as you can get while introducing religion as a balm through Joe's old partner Charlie who, like Joe, has seen his own dark moments over the years. It's more subtle than most Christian films, staying far more focused on Joe's impractical journey as the oldest man to compete, let alone attempt to win, a rodeo championship.
Watch the trailer- Title: The Last Rodeo
- IMDb: link
