Meh, an essay i had to do for psych class, might as well

The psychology City Slickers

Now recommending City Slickers is a rather odd movie to recommend, because when one simply explains the plot it sounds like yet another corny modern day American that preach hollow messages about finding one’s true nature while lacking any real depth. And it does follow the same format as most of those mediocre comities, the difference here is it does it well. It is using a standard model, but it is adding a very mature directing style to it. The humor is not only funny and clever, it feels realistic, like real people. And the message is presented in a way that feels really realistic in how they reach there conclusion. But there is also this great psychology aspect to it about the mid life crisis aspect to it, as well as touching into the themes of masculinity and childhood trauma.
Three men named, Mitch, Phil and Ed are going on a cowboy styled cattle drive, as part of a two week vacation. Mitch is coerced into it by his wife, who thinks he needs to unwind and refocus his life, Phil is trying to get over the divorce with his horrible wife, and Ed does this as yet another example of his need for excitement and adventure. All three characters are really trying to find themselves, as they are lost and confused looking for some sort of meaning to life, and they experience a good deal of development over the course of the film. While non of them miraculously change there personality forever and become totally new people, all three start to understand themselves better and find a moral center to life.
Mitch the main character is the one who’s change at heart is most obvious over the course of the film. In the beginning he is depressed and bored at his job, lost both spiritually and emotionally. He is most likely having a mid life crisis, as he is questioning weather he is a useful member of society and if he is really successful or happy at his job. When he is exposed to the cattle drive and the hard work involved in that, he starts to appreciate himself, and his work, effectively getting over his mid life crisis. Mitch’s moral development is mixed however. Before his trip he tries to provide for his family, but does so purely out of a sense of moral obligation, and is the character most focused on justice, such as saying he would never cheat on his wife even if she would never know, standing up for the women being harassed and protecting his calf. However if it is after the trip that he starts to find the purpose of his moral ideals, so he moves to the next step, becoming more enlightened about how his life is actually being run. His issues stem also from his mid life issues, worrying about how successful he is in terms of material wealth, rather than his own mental state, basically generatively vs. stagnation, and morally he is He mentions in the film that he has had a bad relationship with his parents, and is trying to be more honest with his kids, but mostly he is trying to feel alive again.
Ed’s case is similar, but unlike Mitch he need to find a reason to settle down, instead of looking for excitement. Ed is always trying to find excitement in life, or to “Prove” to himself. His issues come from his dad, who cheats on his mother and doesn’t seem to care for his family, and has no attachment to anybody, with Ed eventually driving him out of the house. However Ed never seems to want to settle down, always running from one adventure to another, or one women to another. Mortally he is focused primarily upon pleasure first, pleasure later, but eventually he grows to learn to take care of his family. His main issue however is Intimacy versus Isolation, as he is trying to choose between settling down and ending his adventure days or choosing instead to keep up with his way of life until he gets to old to keep it up.
Phil’s problems are the most obvious, and oddly enough the easiest to fix. Having always been somewhat of a “GoofBall’ he also had issues with his father, who we gathered was disapproving and distant from him. His marriage was nothing short of horrific, but he lacked the ability to stand up to his wife until she caught him cheating on her. To him the vacation is both an improvement from his life, and a new start/a way to recuperate, so his issues stem from that in part, his desire to start a new life, and to find happiness again. He is dealing with a new fear of commitment, and eventually leans to not worry about things so much and to live his life to an extent.
In short, City Slickers, despite its rather mellow plot and storyline, contains a good deal of deeper psychological meaning to it hidden under its more casual movie design. Its blend of realistic feeling comedy and human reactions to their situation it can really make the audience feel in touch with the characters and there problems. So it is a good movie, if your into a simple mid life crisis tale

from
EE