Keanu Reeves Has Only Starred In One Western (And It's Not What You'd Expect)

Keanu Reeves has starred in romances, comedies, monster movies, Shakespeare productions, sci-fi spectaculars, action bonanzas, time travel films, addiction dramas, horror flicks, hengehog adventures, shoot-em-ups, and at least one "SpongeBob" movie. Although he doesn't possess a lot of range as an actor, his personal sense of devotion — not to mention his relentless decency as a human being — has fans coming back again and again. He has always seemed interested in variety in his career, equally at peace acting in major blockbusters and tiny low-budget dramas. He has also seemingly valued working with quirky, interesting directors, having acted for the Wachowskis, Ron Howard, Stephen Frears, Kathryn Bigelow, Francis Ford Coppola, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kenneth Branagh, Sam Raimi, Eli Roth, Ana Lily Amirpour, Nicholas Winding Refn, and Alex Winter. 

In the early '90s, Reeves made two films with Gus Van Sant, then considered a new voice on the ever-expanding indie movie scene. In 1991, Reeves starred as the Prince Hal character in the queer hustler "Henry IV" riff "My Own Private Idaho." Then, in 1993, he appeared as a dashing, desirable nerd named Julian in Van Sant's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," adapted from the semi-surreal novel by Tom Robbins. He was the object of lust of the film's main character, Sissy Hackshaw, played by Uma Thurman. To date, "Even Cowgirls" is the only Western that Reeves has appeared in, and it's a deconstructionist Western at that.

"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" certainly has a bevy of (queer) cowgirls, and it does spend its time meandering around the American West (albeit in the present day), but "Cowgirls" is more like a cartoon of a Western. It's semi-surreal, like the book, and it eagerly turns all the tropes of Westerns on their ear. Also, it was mostly shot in Oregon and not in the dusty deserts one usually sees in Westerns. Also, also, Reeves doesn't play a huge role. 

But, dammit, it's too weird to ignore. Too weird to live, too rare to die.

Those familiar with author Tom Robbins will likely understand how unusual his books tend to be and how non-conducive they seem to be to filmic adaptation. He wrote his second novel, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," in 1976, and it was considered striking by readers, a kind of earlier, more whimsical version of Ken Kesey.

The main character, Sissy, was born with abnormally large thumbs that extend as far as her index fingers. Her thumbs, it turns out, make her an exceptional hitchhiker, giving her a near-supernatural control of vehicles. She aims to hitchhike to New York City to become a model for a powerful tampon company overseen by a dandyish man who goes by the title The Countess (John Hurt). 

In the book, Sissy marries a young, handsome Mohawk man named Julian. In Van Sant's adaptation, Reeves plays Julian, although he plays a smaller role. Sissy meets him in New York, but the two have no real fling, which is different from the book. He merely remains a man she desires. Later in the film, Sissy will have an affair with the bisexual cowgirl Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). The two also, in turn, have their own affairs with a cave-dwelling sage played by "The Karate Kid" star Pat Morita. 

The plot is truly odd. After Sissy models for the Countess, she moves to his "beauty ranch," called the Rubber Rose Ranch, overseen by Jellybean. The cowgirls who live there are hellbent on drugging the local crane population (!), so they cease migrating and remain out of danger. Cops and other agencies all try to invade the ranch, but the women scare them off with their, uh, feminine odors. The picture ends with a shootout. 

"Even Cowgirls" is peppered with cameos from notable actors in addition to Reeves, such as Ed Begley, Jr., Angie Dickinson, Rosanne Arnold, Sean Young, Heather Graham, Carol Kane, Udo Kier, Lin Shaye, and Edward James Olmos. Ken Kesey plays a small part, and William S. Burroughs (who also appeared in Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy") has a cameo as himself. 

Watch it if you can. Sadly, it's not on streaming.