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In the world of "Smith and Jones" nothing and no one can be trusted. Heyes and the Kid are wanted outlaws, but compared to the respectable citizens - lawyer, sheriff, banker, nun - who swindle, lie, betray and try to kill them, they are new-born innocents. No matter how brilliant Heyes' latest scheme, it's bound to end in disaster, and even if they DO make a little money, someone will steal it. Not that WE are any better at knowing what will happen next:
"Everything's under CONTROL!" cries the harassed deputy, and the Bank explodes.
Heyes and the Kid are not great romantic rebels like Butch Cassidy and Sundance; they are just, like the rest of us, trying to earn an honest living in a treacherous world. But they ARE inspiring nonetheless in the depth of their friendship - at a crisis, they never have to confer -and in their empathy with other outcasts:
"We like to think there's a little bad in everyone," says Heyes, enjoying the joke.
While earlier Western series may have tended to sermonize, "Smith and Jones" never takes itself too seriously, but charms us with its modesty into acceptance of the values it recommends.
score /10
west-1 27 April 2001
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0114100/ |
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