I was lucky enough to catch this on the Independent Film Channel, thinking it was a different film entirely. Within a few minutes, I was engrossed.
It seemed from the very beginning that I was watching real people, not actors; that someone was just filming what happened to be going on. The fact that several of the actors have no other credits besides Last Night At the Alamo bears out this theory.
These are real people with real jobs, real lives and real problems. You can go to any dank bar in America and find exactly the same people you're watching, here, and they'll act exactly the same way. They come in, tell lame stories, posture for each other, and get drunker and stupider as the night goes on.
The byplay between Cowboy and Claude was interesting; it felt like a seduction, at times. It would have added a new dimension to the film if Cowboy had actually been trying to put the moves on his friend, but the filmmakers copped out on that one.
As more and more characters showed up at the bar, I started to think that Cowboy didn't even exist, and I'd been suckered into a drunken version of 'Waiting for Godot'. When he did show up, I immediately began to wonder exactly why he was so popular with the patrons - and believe me, there's a guy like that in EVERY bar.
It's difficult to describe the rest; the concept was so simple, it boils down into very few words. It looks like this film hasn't been released to the home market, yet, so I'll have to keep my eyes open and tape it, next time it comes around. I suggest you do the same.
