Maverick (1994)

	Directed by: Richard Donner	COUNTRY USA GENRE Western/Comedy NORWEGIAN TITLE Maverick RUNNING TIME 127 minutes
	Produced by: Bruce Davey Richard Donner
	Written by (based on the TV series created by Roy Huggins): William Goldman

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Bret Maverick	Mel Gibson	½
Annabelle Bransford	Jodie Foster	½
Zane Cooper	James Garner	½
Joseph	Graham Greene	½
Angel	Alfred Molina
Commodore	James Coburn	½
Room Clerk	Dub Taylor
Matthew Wicker	Geoffrey Lewis
Twitchy	Dan Hedaya
Johnny Hardin	Max Perlich	½
Bank Robber	Corey Feldman
Bathhouse Maid	Lauren Shuler-Donner

Review

Evocative and humorous comedy with a spirit that easily outshines the rather giddy script by veteran writer William Goldman. The direction is by Richard Donner, and he is in a free-flowing vein of form, reuniting with Mel Gibson (and briefly Danny Glover), transmitting and developing the carefree energy that characterised his Lethal Weapon – an energy that fits the character of Bret Maverick perfectly.

It was a year in Hollywood when little or nothing could go wrong – not even a remake of an old western series in which James Garner passes the baton on to Mel Gibson. There is something instant and triumphant about Maverick – like a babbling, lively kid whom you just can't dislike, even if he is a little too much. Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster pull, twitch and twaddle their way through the plot in charismatic ways, both delivering some of the best work of their careers, and certainly in the comedy genre. Great dialogue, combined with amusing twists and a genuine appreciation for classic, synthetic Hollywood values lays the foundation for this fine symbiosis.