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    Sneak Peek at MFAH

    Charles M. Russell defies the usual cowboy art cliches: This real cowboy wields a sharp eye

    Steven Thomson
    Jun 3, 2010 | 6:58 pm
    "Carson's Men" (1913) by Charles M. Russell

    Engulfing compositions of pioneers, cavalry and indigenous tribes engaging in the American story of Manifest Destiny are what make Charles M. Russell's paintings among the most striking works on display this season at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Cowboy art" typically conjures notions of kitsch mid-century entertainment or villainizing depictions of the plight of the American Indian.

    But the pieces in "The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell: A Retrospective," opening Sunday at the MFAH, are not this variety of cowboy art. Rather, these 60 paintings and precious bronze works, dating from the first two and a half decades of the 20th century, indicate the nuanced eye of a self-taught American painter who was as much a cowboy as a chronicler of a fading fantasy of the wide-open West.

    Russell may be cornered into the label of "cowboy artist." However, he is not the machismo-obsessed frontiersman of Hollywood westerns, but the cowboy as iconoclast — a rogue cultural observer who began his career escaping at age 16 from his upper echelon St. Louis family to work at a sheep ranch in what was then the Montana Territory. He entered the cow-handling arena during the trade's twilight, and as his painting progressed, his attachment to the former West appeared more clearly on his canvas.

    Russell's familiarity with frontier culture shines on such animated works as Camp Cook's Troubles, in which he wove one of the show's most dynamic arrangements of animals, crooks and the eternal landscape: A smoldering fire ignites the cries of a horse as it tosses off its rider's hat into the sky. To the right and left, a pioneer flashes a knife and a bandit is knocked to the ground. The prominent elements in the foreground — an abandoned yellow smock and upturned ax — add intrigue to the painting's story, while unconsciously directing the viewer's eye around the circular composition.

    The tumult takes place no more than two yards from the observer, yet the backdrop of pink and lavender-soaked mountains at sunset remains miles in the distance.

    It's an enrapturing glimpse of the adventure that embodied the American West just before Russell's time and still constitutes the region's popular iconography. While this is the sort of rough and tumble tableau that most associate with cowboy art, it's just the beginning of Russell's range of expression.

    "Russell is not just a painter — he's a storyteller," explains Emily Ballew Neff, MFAH curator of American Painting and Sculpture.

    For Neff, one of Russell's most stirring tales takes form in Meat's Not Meat Till It's in the Pan. The hunter's red plaid jacket indicate an Easterner, clearly out of his element, reconciling with his hunt. He hovers, perplexed, above his prey at the edge of a cliff — devastatingly out of reach. The soaring geography of the region is made all the more poignant by a bird freely navigating the abyss below. The towering halls of the Beck Building's exhibition space couldn't be a more fitting venue for communicating this vision of the Western landscape's unyielding power.

    Raw emotions like those expressed in this painting — powerlessness, isolation — have been depicted for centuries by artists, but with Russell's paintbrush, they become entirely American.

    "The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell: A Retrospective" is on view at MFAH June 6 to August 29.

    "Camp Cook's Troubles" (1912) by Charles M. Russell

     
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    Movie Review

    New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

    Alex Bentley
    May 16, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship
    Photo courtesy of A24
    Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

    Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

    Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

    He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

    Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

    The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

    Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

    Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

    There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

    ---

    Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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