Rough Riders (1997)

It is 1920 and Henry Nash (Brad Johnson) limps into his attic to examine some of his old Spanish War memorabilia.  As he looks at a picture of the Rough Riders in Cuba, he declares how he misses them.  The story now switches to 1898 and the declaration of war between the United States and Spain.  Theodore Roosevelt (Tom Berenger) meets with Col. Leonard Wood (Dale Dye) to discuss a volunteer regiment.  Meanwhile, Henry Nash robs a stagecoach in Arizona.  He and his accomplice flee from a posse.  In an effort to escape, they join the volunteers for the war at a train station; they hope the train will leave before the posse arrives.  Nope.  Sheriff Bucky O'Neill (Sam Elliot) arrives.  It turns out they are not a posse, but a bunch of volunteers.  Nonetheless, O'Neill stares knowingly at Nash.

In San Antonio, the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry begins training.  Among the recruits are western cowboys, lawmen, Native Americans, Ivy League collegians, etc.  It is an eclectic collection of men.  Of particular note, almost every named member is based on a real person.  Having just read Roosevelt's account, it was entertaining to see so many of those he named appear in the movie.  Though Nash wants to leave, he is convinced to stay.  This does not please O'Neill, who views him - correctly - as an unreliable soldier.  After a montage of training in terrain that is clearly not San Antonio, the regiment sets out for Florida.  In Florida, the Rough Riders finagle their way onto a transport to Cuba.

In Cuba, the Rough Riders suffer their first casualties at Las Guasimas.  They then advance to the San Juan Heights where the famous charge takes place.  It is just prior to the charge that O'Neill accepts Nash as a worthwhile soldier.  After the battle, Roosevelt requests Stephen Crane (author of the Red Badge of Courage and in Cuba as a correspondent) to take a picture of them.

There follows the return of some of the survivors to their homes and families.  And then, the story returns to the 'present' where Nash stands at the gravesites of some of his fellow Rough Riders and tells them the news of the day and that he has done well.

Berenger is generally very good as Theodore Roosevelt.  There is a clutziness about him, but that is surprisingly accurate.  Though a proponent of the strenuous life and the most famous outdoorsman president, he could seem a bit goofy.  He does not have the look or manner of the classic tough guy hero.  John Milius, who had already made a movie about Roosevelt (The Wind and the Lion, 1975), clearly knows TR.  At times, Roosevelt speaks French and German, demonstrates a knowledge of ornithology, declares his love a books (he was a voracious reader), could be abrupt in manner, and a man of action.  His dashing off to charge the next hill nearly alone is true to history.  He was once described as 'pure act.'

The Henry Nash of the miniseries is not the Henry Nash of history.  Rather than a stagecoach robber, the real Nash was a schoolteacher.  He and O'Neill were friends and political allies in Arizona.  After returning from Cuba, Nash traveled to the Philippines, where he died in 1902.  Considering how good much of the history was for the rest of the show, one wonders why a fictionalized Nash was inserted.  The fictionalized Nash provides an arc for the bad soldier who eventually sees the light.  Meh.  It should have been a truly fictional character, not using the name of a known Rough Rider.

Sam Elliot, who is the third major character of the miniseries, is terrific.  The Western hard-as-nails sheriff fits him perfectly.  Bucky O'Neill died just as shown and had claimed that there wasn't a Spanish bullet that could kill him.

Gary Busey was too young and too tall to play General Joe Wheeler.  Wheeler had been a Confederate General during the Civil War, was only 5'4" and had a full beard.  Busey is 6' and sported only a mustache.

 (bearded man is Wheeler, Roosevelt on the right, and Leonard Wood between them).

Though he didn't look like Fighting Joe, he was quite entertaining in the role.  His mixing up Yankees and Spaniards throughout the battle was good humor.

Brian Keith, who plays President McKinley, had portrayed Roosevelt in The Wind and the Lion.  This was his last movie role, and the movie is dedicated to him.

Overall, a very entertaining miniseries.  Recommended, especially in concert with Roosevelt's account of the Rough Riders.

The Hero

"Lone Star Barbeque Sauce.  The perfect partner for your chicken."

Lee Hayden (Sam Elliot) is an actor long past his prime and now reduced to voice work for Lone Star BBQ Sauce.  That his prime is a distant memory becomes all the more painful when he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  He explains that he is proud of only one role in his career, a movie he made 40 years ago, The Hero.  With little time left to him, he seeks to mend fences with his daughter, gets involved in a relationship with a younger woman, attends a Western gala, and even gets high on mushrooms.  His drug dealer (Nick Offerman) is a younger actor who stared with him in a TV show many years ago.  Through him, Lee meets Charlotte (Laura Prepon), a comedienne who likes to pop pills and even convinces Lee to give it a try.

 

There was one point in the film that was SO predictable that I was extremely irritated when it was set up.  Sure, he could meet his daughter on Tuesday.  Oh, he missed the date?  Oh, honey, I screwed up and I'm so sorry.  That scene is so hackneyed that its use automatically knocks a film down a full point on the 1 to 10 scale.  I frowned when his daughter was shown sitting alone at the restaurant, rolled my eyes when he was too high from mushrooms to answer his cell phone, and sighed heavily when he left an apology on her voicemail.  "I'm so sorry."  Ugh!

 

For never explained reasons, at least none I could discern, Lee frequently dreams of his time in The Hero, replaying scenes though he is his current age in these remembrances.  Is this his life flashing before his eyes?  Remembering the glory days?

 

Except for the fact that he is being played by Sam Elliot, Lee Hayden is not a likeable man.  He smokes pot daily, drinks excessively, has a miserable relationship with his daughter, and a tense one with his ex-wife.  He essentially blackmails his ex-wife and daughter into forgiving him by telling them he's dying.  By the end of the movie, he has ruined his chances for a renaissance in his career and is once again pitching BBQ sauce but at least he's got a sweet young thing to keep the bed warm.

 

Not a bad film but not particularly good either.  Skip this one.