After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.
Suzy Amis
Jo Monaghan
Bo Hopkins
Frank Badger
Ian McKellen
Percy Corcoran
David Chung
Tinman Wong
Heather Graham
Mary Addie
René Auberjonois
Streight Hollander
Carrie Snodgress
Ruth Badger
Anthony Heald
Henry Grey
Melissa Leo
Beatrice Grey
Sam Robards
Jasper Hill
Olinda Turturro
Elvira
Ruth Maleczech
Shopkeeper
Jeffrey Andrews
Sam
Cathy Haase
Mrs. Addie
Peadair S. Addie Sr.
Mr. Addie
Irina V. Passmoore
Russian Mother
Michael Ruud
Russian Father
Sasha Pasmur
Nick - Age 14
David Ruben Plowman
Nick - Age 9
Rusty Pegar
Duke Billy
Troy Smith
Soldier #1
Keith Kamppinen
Soldier #2
Jenny Lynch
Helen Monaghan
Vince O'Neil
Amos Monaghan
Vince O'Neil
Mortician
Barbara Jean Marsh
Laundress
Robert Erickson
Wilkins
Sean Murphy
Young Henry Grey
Renee Tafoya
Woman Photographer
Richard Osterman
Traveling Judge
Karen Johnson
Farm Wife
Jaime Crabtree
Jo's Baby
Tracy Mayfield
John
Julianne Kirst
Nora Monaghan
Deborah J. Richard
Mabel
Netha Goodrich
Lucy
Becca Busch
Little Sue
Jim Dunkin
Mr. Brown
Homer Simon
Fiddler in Addie's
Eryn L. Bent
Russian Girl
Peter Plowman
Young Russian Boy
Joe Freed
Older Russian Boy
Anne Plowman
Young Russian Girl
Melissa Ladvala
Older Russian Girl
Yeugeuiy Yasyriu
Russian Father
Tom Bower
Lyle Hogg (uncredited)
Director, Writer
Maggie Greenwald
September 30, 2023
10
Before watching this, do not make the mistake of lumping this film in with crossdressing comedies like "Tootsie" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." While based on a true story, director Greenwald sidesteps many western, and Hollywood, conventions to bring one of the best westerns of the 1990's. Suzy Amis plays Jo, a woman who is a little too trusting of some bad men. After escaping to the west and leaving her born-out-of-wedlock son behind, she is almost assaulted by two soldiers. To hide from them, she wears men's clothing and scars her face, eventually using her new facade to get what she needs to survive. Woman hater Percy (Ian McKellen) takes her in, believing she is a young man. She eventually befriends Frank (Bo Hopkins), who had his best role in years, and starts a sheep ranch. She falls in love with Tin Man, a Chinese man (David Chung) she was forced to hire as her cook, and must eventually do battle with a cattle conglomerate trying to get a foothold and driving the sheep ranchers out.
Amis resembles Eric Stoltz in her scenes as a man, and is totally believable. McKellan and Rene Auberjonois have small but pivotal roles as older father figures who Amis trusts, but eventually turn on her. Bo Hopkins is great as the neighbor Amis tolerates, befriends, and tolerates. Chung plays Tin Man as an ailing, opium-addicted, flawed man- he looks perfect for the part, life scars and all. Heather Graham also has a small part as Amis' paramour Mary Addie, and does her best with it. The most surprising aspects of this film is what the film is not. There are no cute "Yentl" scenes, where Jo falls in love with a man as a man. The cattle company war, a standard western plot point, never overwhelms the story, or comes to a trite conclusion. The final scenes, with Jo's unmasking, seem almost like farce, but when thought about later, play very truthfully and touchingly, especially Frank's reaction. Greenwald's camera turns a small film into an epic, with gorgeous Montana scenery. Her script is also very smart, never going for cheap laughs or the kind of exploitation that another director may have gone for. I strongly recommend "The Ballad of Little Jo."
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$543,091.00