Midnight Cowboy

Midnight cowboy is a gritty and quite depressing film, set in the 1960s about a man named Joe Buck (Jon Voight). That moves to New York. He is obviously running away from some past trauma in his life. I think his grandma abused him and he and his girlfriend were rapped then I think he got accused of rapping her. We see this in flashbacks.

Anyway joe quits his job cleaning dishes in a kitchen and hops on a bus to New York. He has dreams of becoming a male prostitute (or a hustler/stud as he puts it). But things don’t really go well for him. His first job he ends up giving his client taxi money and doesn’t receive anything himself.

Things go from bad to worse when he meets con man ‘Ratso Rizzo’ played by Dustin Hoffman. Ratso charges him $20 to introduce him to a pimp that turns out to be a Jesus freak.

In desperation joe pimps himself out to a gay man and gets his cock sucked in a cinema. But yet again down on his luck joe doesn’t get paid.

He gets kicked out of his hotel and only has his trusty radio for company. This is when he come across Ratso.

An unlikely friendship emerges and joe moves into a derelict building with Ratso. Ratso becomes his manager however the two of them don’t have much luck.

Ratso who’s already a cripple becomes ill and starts coughing all the time. Joe sells his trusty radio for $5 just to get some money.

Winter comes and while at a cafe they get invited to a party. The party is strange to the friends and full of what Ratso calls wackos. Joe gets high and flirts with a girl. He’s going to leave with her but when Ratso finds out he pimps him out to her for $20 and $1 cab fair for himself. Then when they all go to leave Ratso falls down the stairs.

Joe gets erectile disfunction! But after she calls him gay he manages to get it up! He get paid finally And she even gets him more work with a friend of hers. Things are looking up.

When joe get back he finds Ratso worse than before he can’t walk and has got a fever. Joe leaves to get help but ends up meeting another gay man and going back to his apartment. Where he robs him and I think kills the man.

He wants to take Ratso to Florida because he’s always on about going there. So they hop on a bus. Ratso is looking terrible and piss’s his pants on the bus. So joe buys him some new clothes at a stop. Soon after Ratso ends and so dose the film.

I enjoyed some parts of this film. My favourite scen was probably the one where joe snatches the coconut out of Ratso’s hand and try‘s to open it by slamming it in a window where upon it falls out into the street and smashes. It sums up there luck perfectly. There were other parts of the film that just seemed like they were self indulgent, put in by the director to make the film more gritty and they didn’t really work. But on the whole it was an ok film. Hoffman and Voight both gave good performances. My main problem with it was that it all seemed so pointless. I’m not sure what message I’m supposed to take away from it. Maybe that you shouldn’t try to run away from your problems because things can be just as bad somewhere else if not worse. Maybe it’s a warning for those looking to make it as a male prostitute. Who knows?

I give the movie a 3 out of 5 it’s neither good or bad I guess for it’s time it’s held up well but it’s not a film I’d want to watch again.