Follows Cecil Peachtree, a schoolteacher, and Dooley, an outlaw, as they strike a deal and develop an odd friendship along the road to Fortune after having to deal with gunfights, jailbreaks and saloon gals on the way.
Chuck says:
Bouyed by a charming performance from Malcom McDowell, director Adam Rifkin’s “Last Train to Fortune” is a modest western that manages to combine reliable genre tropes with elements from a buddy comedy. It doesn’t always work but its veteran cast manages to lend it an uassuming sense of harm that holds it in good stead.
McDowell is schoolteacher Cecil Peachtree and he’s setting out to the remote town of Fortune to open a school there. He doesn’t get off to a good start when he misses his train but he crosses paths with an outlaw named Dooley (James Paxton) who agrees to tote him to the titular town for a few bucks. Of course, difficulties and challenges arise along the way, events that force the odd couple to form an unexpected bond.
The conversations between the two are the most delightful aspects of the film, Peachtree espousing the value of education and trying to get his new friend to improve himself, while often Dooley just wants a good night’s sleep. McDowell and Paxton have the subtle comic chops to make this work but more importantly they employ a deft touch as well in the more quiet moments that lends a sincerity to the budding friendship that forms between the two.
Bernadette Peters and Mary Steenburgen show up in key supportuing roles, each making the most of their scant time on screen. While more minutes with them would have been welcome, there’s no denying the appeal of Rifkin’s brisk approach, the movie clocking in at just over 90 minutes. “Fortune” proves to be a welcome diversion that you wind up mulling over more than you think you might. That I continue to think about how the friendship between Peachtree and Dooley might have developed over the years speaks to its appeal and the actor’s fine work.
3 Stars
