a review of

MANNVANUARY CINQ MOVIE ONE: A great watch for a long, lazy New Year's Day. As late-era vintage Western comedies go, it's not as groundbreaking or irreverent towards the genre as BLAZING SADDLES! would be a few years later, but it still has some fun deconstructing the genre in a way that feels sneakily countercultural at times. James Garner is damned charming as the laid-back protagonist and I was delighted to see that classic character actor Jack Elam (one of this year's required actors) has a pretty meaty sidekick role making the most of his sad-sack drawl and walleyed gaze.