Cherokee Kid (1996)

Isaiah Turner is just a child when his half-Cherokee father and his mother are killed so the railroad can gain control of their land.

He winds up being raised by a minister and his wife. But once grown, Isaiah (Sinbad) has one thought in mind: Get revenge against Cyrus B. Bloomington (James Coburn), the man responsible for his parents’ deaths.

Of course, that might be a bit difficult for a young man who can’t ride, can’t shoot, has a poor sense of direction and whose mom has packed him just one sandwich.

He’ll be back by the end of the day, his minister father predicts.

He isn’t. Instead, a hungry Isaiah chases a turkey into a whore’s house, then inadvertently kills her prospective client

Turns out that client was part of an outlaw gang. A quick talking Isaiah talks his way into the gang, then into a bank robbery.

It’s part of his path toward becoming the Cherokee Kid, who winds up being mentored by a mountain man (Burt Reynolds as Otter Bob) and a second outlaw gang led by Deadwood Dick (Ernie Hudson).

By the time he rides into Larabee, Texas, he’s much better prepared for the task at hand, ridding the world of Cyrus B. Bloomington.

But Bloomington is running for governor by that time and has two hired guns, Frank Bonner and a man known as the Undertaker to protect him from the outlaw who’s been robbing his banks.

Review:

Few Western fans will be fooled by the film-opening ruse. And if you’ve endured comedy Westerns like “Wagons East” (1994) and “Almost Heroes” (1998), you can be excused for having a quick trigger finger on the stop button.

Sinbad? In a Western? Sure sounds like a potential turkey, doesn’t it.

But rest assured, this is a much funnier, much more entertaining film. And Sinbad as a cowboy works surprisingly well.

Of course, he has a lot of help. A. Martinez has one of the best roles as Mexican revolutionary Juan Cortina, whose life is save by The Cherokee Kid.

He insists on sticking by the Kid’s side until he can return the favor, only to find that the Kid keeps stumbling into ways to save his life time and time again.

Two fiesty females help too, including Dawnn Lewis as Stagecoach Mary and Vanessa Bell Calloway as Abby Holsopple.

The latter belts the Kid over the head with a frying pan when she first meets him. After all, there’s a $5,000 price tag on his head.

She winds up using a rifle to make sure he doesn’t ride off into any damn sunset. At least not without her.

Directed by:
Paris Barclay

Cast:
Sinbad … The Cherokee Kid / Isaiah Turner
James Coburn … Cyrus B. Bloomington
Gregory Hines … Jedediah Turner
A Martinez … Juan Cortina
Ernie Hudson … Nat Love, aka Deadwood Dick
Mark Pellegrino … Frank Bonner
Vanessa Bell Calloway … Abby Holsopple
Hal Williams … The Rev. Peel
Burt Reynolds … Otter Bob
Obba Babatunde … Isom Dart
Lorraine Toussaint … Mama Turner
Reginald Dorsey … Cowboy Graham
Dawnn Lewis … Stagecoach Mary

Runtime: 91 min.

Memorable lines:

Nat Love: “If a man can’t go out in a blaze of glory, he can at least go out with dignity.”

Cyrus B. Bloomington: “Looks like you’ve earned yourself a name — the Whorehouse Kid. By God, that’s a quaint little moniker.”

Nat Love: “That’s a whole heap of men to shoot for a man who ain’t got a gun, can’t shoot and is presently incarcerated.”

Stagecoach Mary: “We’re either gonna have to kill that kid or teach him how to shoot. We don’t get shot at this much when we’re robbin’ banks.”

The Undertaker: “Where the hell’s Bloomington?”
Cherokee Kid: “Why a coward always is? Tryin’ to get away.”