Cadillac Ranch

Ne'er-do-well C.J. Crowley (Suzy Amis) tricks her more staid sisters Mary Katherine (Renee Humphrey) and Frances (Caroleen Feeney) into helping her rob a safe at the sex club run by Wood Grimes (Christopher Lloyd). Supposedly seeking withheld wages, C.J. is really after the key to a classic Cadillac once owned by their long-imprisoned father, Travis (Jim Metzler). Withholding the truth from her sisters, C.J. has been informed by Travis that he hid a fortune in the Cadillac. Years before, when Wood was a corrupt Texas Ranger, he forced Travis and his partner Leroy (Joe Stevens) to pull stickups for him. After framing Travis for Leroy's murder, Wood has kept him in prison trying to force him to reveal where he hid the money from those robberies. But Travis has preferred to rot in jail so that the money can go to his daughters instead.

After robbing his safe, the sisters outrun Wood, despite his connections to law enforcement. They steal a car from gas station owner Beau (Linden Ashby), who falls for Frances and aids the sisters in their flight. When C.J. reveals to her sisters that Travis recently died in prison, she also informs them of the real reason for their robbery of Wood's club. The sisters argue, and Frances leaves--only to be captured by Wood. (He tells her that she and her family never heard from Travis because Wood had his mail intercepted.) Escaping from Wood, Frances rejoins her sisters. They find Travis's hidden money at the Cadillac Ranch, where they are soon tracked by Wood. About to kill the sisters and Beau (who has also followed), he is arrested by honest Texas Rangers; evidence supplied by the reunited Crowley sisters will be used to convict him.

CADILLAC RANCH ambitiously develops the premise for an intricate psychological drama, but then waters down its traumas with sketchy characterizations and transparent dialogue. The depth of the sisters' pathos is skimmed over while their personality differences are needlessly overdrawn. Superficially demonstrating how C.J., Frances, and Mary Katherine have been warped by their father's presumed guilt, the film doesn't do a strong enough job of balancing this with the explanation behind his apparent child neglect. On the other hand, CADILLAC RANCH is rather more successful in its shallower goal to be a pure action comedy, benefiting from jaunty direction and appealing performances by the lead actresses. The odd-couple romance between Frances and her gas jockey Lochinvar is also ingratiating. Veering off in too many directions, CADILLAC RANCH is best enjoyed as a devil-may-care adventure. (Violence, nudity, extreme profanity, adult situations, sexual situations.) leave a comment