Fine Line Features
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
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The Ballad of Little Jo
In the Wild West, a woman had only two choices. She could be a wife or she could be a whore... Josephine Monaghan chose to be a man.
After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.
- Original title
- The Ballad of Little Jo
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- $543,091
tmdb76622195
Sep 30, 2023 · via TMDB
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."
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Suzy Amis
Jo Monaghan
Bo Hopkins
Frank Badger
Ian McKellen
Percy Corcoran
Heather Graham
Mary Addie
René Auberjonois
Streight Hollander
Carrie Snodgress
Ruth Badger
Anthony Heald
Henry Grey
Melissa Leo
Beatrice Grey
Sam Robards
Jasper Hill
Ruth Maleczech
Shopkeeper
Cathy Haase
Mrs. Addie
Tom Bower
Lyle Hogg (uncredited)
Mark Friedberg
Production Design
Declan Quinn
Director of Photography
Jeff Dashnaw
Stunt Coordinator
Danny Rogers
Stunts
Maggie Greenwald
Director
Jeffery Passero
Casting
John Sloss
Executive Producer
Fred Berner
Producer
Maggie Greenwald
Writer
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Aug 20, 1993
