Please don't spend money on this.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

"Concrete Cowboys" is a rather unusual mix of buddy comedy, country musical (with several real-life singers appearing as themselves) and murder mystery. It does fairly well in all departments: Tom Selleck and Jerry Reed (who also sings the amusing theme song) have a comfortable chemistry, and the mystery plot has one or two good surprises (and even lying flashbacks!). The problem with the film is that it's too laid-back for its own good - a tighter script would have helped. Apparently this was followed by a short-lived TV series, where Selleck was replaced by another actor - which is probably why the series failed. **1/2 out of 4.

A country-fried buddy movie, and potential pilot for a series (that later emerged with Reed, but with Geoffrey Scott in Selleck's role), this concerns two cross-country cowboys on their way to Hollywood who become embroiled in a missing person/murder investigation and find themselves on the edge of danger. When Reed loses the pair's money in a shady card game, he and pal Selleck take up residence in a buddy's luxury apartment in Nashville. However, once there, they are mistaken for private investigators by a (hilariously) brunette Fairchild and, in order to regain the funds they lost, opt to take on her case. They've barely begun to sort out the clues when their lives become threatened. In standard issue, TV show fashion, they make the rounds, interviewing various suspects and witnesses while trying to piece together the mystery. In a finale that isn't all that hard to guess (but with a subplot or two that help keep things from becoming too predictable), the gentlemen wrap things up and proceed on their way to H-town. Reed yuks it up and delivers a lot of sassy dialogue, clearly enjoying himself in a rare leading role. (in fact, video releases have eliminated his picture from the cover and sometimes his name, despite his top-billing!) Selleck is his typically easy-going and charming self. He would soon land the iconic role of "Magnum PI" and launch a more significant career for himself. Both men wear pants that are almost criminally tight and are at times distractingly so! Fairchild isn't put to any tremendous task in her dual role, but adds a bit of camp factor to the proceedings thanks to her dated styling and soap opera-esquire acting. Akins appears as a country music star who seems uneasy about the case while real-life singers Acuff, Mandrell and Stevens have cameos as themselves. Benson gets an amusing little part as a cathouse madam and familiar face Zabriskie has a role as co-proprietress of a country music wax museum. Easy-going and lacking a significant budget, it's harmless, undemanding entertainment for those who aren't expecting a great deal. Commercial breaks are punctuated by a series of illustrations and chapter names which add a whimsical feel to the movie.

Always enjoy Tom Selleck, (Will Cubanks) films and in this picture he plays a rather low key person who loves studying a dictionary and was a former ex-cowboy who has a good friend and sidekick, J D Reed, (Jerry Reed). These two guys decide to travel to Hollywood and they wind up in a freight car which takes them to Nashville, Tenn. where they meet up with many Country Western Music Stars, like Claude Akins, Barbara Mandrell and Roy Acuff which are all cameos. However, Barbara Mandrell had a few lines more than the rest of her other actors. There is plenty of humor and slapstick and Morgan Fairchild, (Kate) gives a great supporting role and also a double role to perfection. If you like to see a very young Tom Selleck, you will enjoy a completely different acting by Tom. Enjoy.

Tom Selleck and Jerry Reed are utterly engaging as rascally, penniless, down-on-their-luck cowboy drifters Will and J.D., who find themselves stuck in Nashville, Tennesse. A lovely young woman (the gorgeous Morgan Fairchild) mistakes the pair for private detectives and hires the affable duo to find her missing sister. Pretty soon both Will and J.D. are neck deep in all kinds of trouble. Briskly directed by Burt Kennedy, with a slight, inane cookie cutter script by Jimmy Sangster, crude cinematography by Victor Salzis and Alan Stensvold, a jaunty hillbilly bluegrass country score by Reed (who also sings the rousing theme song "Breakin' Loose") and the expected copious slapstick fist fights and wacky car chases, this totally inconsequential piece of made-for-TV piffle makes for a perfectly enjoyable diversion. The loose'n'wiggy chemistry between Selleck and Reed is a treat to watch. Solid supporting turns by Claude Akins as a famous country singer/songwriter, Gene Evans as a gruff police lieutenant, Lucille Benson as a stern, but friendly whorehouse madam, and Grace Zabriskie as a wax museum worker are likewise delightful. Special guest appearances by country stars Roy Acuff, Ray Stevens and Barbara Mandrell as themselves further add to the goofy fun. A likably silly timewaster.