Robert J. Maxwell Selleck and Carradine are members of the cowboy subculture of post-war Wyoming and, boy, do they have fun when they're not working. They have the esprit and solidarity of the U. S. Marine Corps.Alas, the West is being taken over by the suits, "Eastern money," capitalist entrepreneurs who downsize everything to maximize profits. That's okay except that cowboys go the way of itinerant tinkers. If the beginning is raucous, the end is tragic really. As his way of life is squashed by higher economic powers, he loses his friends one by one and turns into a kind of Willy Loman, talking alone to his horse.I don't want to repeat any observations from my earlier review of the original "Monte Walsh", with Lee Marvin. The stories, and even the individual scenes, are pretty much the same.Tom Selleck is okay in the lead role. He's better at some things, like bronc busting, than anybody else and maybe a bit more moral, but otherwise he's just one of the boys, subject to the same physical and spiritual insults, comfortably within Northrop Frye's "low mimetic" mode -- just one of us reg'lar fellers who bleeds after a fist fight and doesn't always come out on top.

spectrx Another top-notch movie for Selleck and the boys at TNT. I found myself smiling at so many of the genuinely silly and touching moments in here. Definitely more character driven than action-driven, but done perfectly. I have nothing bad to say about this movie, whatsoever. This is what movie-making is all about. As far as I'm concerned, Selleck should have a western in production all the time. I like him in other stuff, too, but since he's the main western actor right now, I'm really focused on them. Some favorite scenes were the section with the train workers and cowboys, and the fight in the bunk-house. Haha great stuff. As others have mentioned, there is a top-notch supporting cast here, which is just icing on the cake.

rykerw1701-1 Selleck has found his post-Magnum PI niche with Westerns, such as Monte Walsh and Quigly Down Under, among others.Selleck delivers a quiet, strong performance. He looks like every cowboy ever wanted to look, and fortunately, he keeps his sometimes too high voice in check. Monte Walsh is a story about times changing and how that impacts the lives of those that need for times to stay the same. It's a character study, not a Cowboys and Indians shoot them up. It does have enough gun play to keep the most traditional Western fan happy, but don't rent it for that. Watch for the great characterization by Selleck, a very good supporting cast, and wonderful cinematography.

JimB-4 Best known for the novel "Shane," Jack Schaefer also wrote the novel "Monte Walsh," a depiction of the life of the itinerant cowhand. There's not a lot of plot, but a hugely detailed and wonderfully described slice of life, tough, tender, and comedic. The first film of "Monte Walsh" was a great little picture, with a nice uncharacteristic role for Jack Palance as Monte's pal Chet. But this TV remake may in fact be a better film. Tom Selleck is just grand as Monte--getting a bit old for bronco-busting, but still full of piss-and-vinegar. And Keith Carradine is swell as Chet, the cowboy who gives it all up to marry the hardware widow. Everything about this film is done extremely well. The costumes are superb--colorful and mythic while at the same time obviously useful and well-used work clothes. This is not a clean-hat Western, one of my pet peeves. The music is really touching and classic and romantic, and the cinematography is, to coin a cliche', stunning. All the performances are really quite good, and the movie left me with the feeling that I'd really spent a few months with a bunch of cowhands. What plot there is is realistic and uncontrived, and is ultimately moving. But "Monte Walsh" really earns its spurs by showing a 21st century audience how wonderful and horrible life on the 19th century range could be.