Rancho Deluxe

In Frank Perry's curious, off-center comedy Western, Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston play Jack McKee and Cecil Carlson, a couple of cattle rustlers whose special target is taciturn rancher John Brown (Clifton James). Both men are outcasts by choice; McKee can't stand being around his stuck-up ex-wife (played by Doria Cook), while Carlson, an Indian, finds his fellow tribesmen too tradition-bound for his tastes. Together, they plan to lift themselves out of the penny-ante class with one big crime caper. Brown gets wind of their scheme, and sends private eye Henry Beige (Slim Pickens) after them. The cast is top-heavy with delectable females, ranging from Brown's bored wife, Cora (Elizabeth Ashley), to Beige's crafty daughter, Laura (Charlene Dallas), to camp followers Betty Fargo (Patti D'Arbanville) and Mary Fargo (Maggie Wellman). Thomas McGuane authored the script; Jimmy Buffett provides the songs.