Had avoided this film for years, being put off by negative reviews and the thought of a possibly inferior sequel to a great classic - - moral: never listen to fucking critics, and half the time the public don't know a good thing when they see it either.
As though to take us forward in time, Texasville's opening 360 degree arid landscape pan starts on a satellite dish, ends on a dog and the twenty years older Jeff Bridges (brilliant), who is surrounded by domestic chaos and affairs of sex and money. Film is often hilarious (mood caught very early on in dialogue between Bridges and wife Annie Potts, and the way his daughter drops her baby into the pool), thrilling, tense at times, tender and melancholic, as we catch up with Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Eileen Brennan, Randy Quaid and - ultimately - Cybill Shepherd.
Great cast as usual includes Pearl Jones, Katherine Bongfeldt, Su Hyatt, Angie Bolling and the great dog Jake (playing 'Shorty'). Amongst many things to love are the way Bridges gives Shepherd his dog; she later steals his entire family!
Impossible to describe, film freewheels along like They All Laughed but has scenes of such humanity (e.g. fight between Bridges and son William McNamara, fight between the twins, Shepherd frequently with baby in arms, kids chasing dog).
Based an another novel by Larry McMurtry, film is arguably better than its predecessor. I wanted to watch it again while it was still on, and that's not something that happens often (Petulia springs to mind). Really, really well written and filled with amazing lingering looks and moments.
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