Film festivals often market their hard hitting dramas for obvious enough reasons. With awards season coming up, festivals trade accolades for recognition as an upstanding film festival that promotes quality. Rarely do comedies or pulpy films ever make the headline. Texas Cotton is one of these pulp films that is just here for a good time.

You follow an aging lawman as he uncovers a conspiracy that touches the entire small town of La Coste, Texas. Priority one for this film is having fun. You can tell everyone is having a grand ole time bringing to life this small town caper. The main actor, George Hardy (of Troll 2 fame), portrays an idealistic yet rough and aged Sergeant with great relatability. The rest of the cast, from the fat cat Mayor Kane to the laid back horticulturalist Joe, are all memorable and fun to watch. It’s hard to pick a favorite out of the cast of eccentric characters.

The story is simple enough. What I took away wasn’t necessarily the thematic and dramatic harmony or anything like that. This film actually turns you away from that kind of viewing experience. It gives the audience an enjoyable time. The mystery is fine, but I was hooked for a different reason. Watching the crazy characters interact and hold revolvers to each other while their small town sensibilities just take over the dialogue is hilarious. Watching the older guy not exactly run but quickly jog to pursue a criminal is funny. This is No Country for Old Men but made for fun.

The downsides fall at the fast and loose filmmaking that they used. It shows sometimes. Scenes like the first encounter with “The Sprayer” or the shootout in the woods look great but some more dramatic moments are bogged by a boring look. The courtroom scene in particular was drab and uninteresting to watch even though it’s important to the climax of the film.

As a Texan I have a bit of bias for the cinematography because how could you not make Texan countryside look beautiful? Seriously though, the countryside is shot fantastically as well as the interiors. The interiors, especially in the action scenes, have a great neo-noir look that adds to the fun of the situations. This movie is just a good time. It’s not life changing but not everything needs to be.

★★★

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