There are just too many half-cooked ingredients in this utopian stew of a movie: the gender-bending Countess (John Hurt), who markets feminine-hygiene products; the cave-dwelling guru called The Chink (Noriyuki ““Pat’’ Morita); Delores (Lorraine Bracco), who leads the cowgirl revolt at the Rubber Rose Ranch, run by Miss Adrian (Angie Dickinson); Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix), the lesbian cowgirl with whom Sissy finds true love, and lots more. As his movies become bigger, the gifted Van Sant is losing control of their form and meaning. ““Cowgirls’’ is like a counterculture pinata scattering messages – freedom, feminism, love – all over the place. Moments of lyric sweetness are swamped by moments of malarkey. As The Chink would say, Van Sant needs to find his true center.
