Picture a cow in a field. Calmly chewing its cud. Feel the grass slipping from stomach one to stomach two, then into the third tummy, and finally, number four. At this point, the grass has no where to go other than down and out. A week later all that's left in the field from this whole episode is a smelly brown frisbee, used historically by the pioneers for winter's fuel. If AMER!CAN COWSLIP writer\director Mark David had captured this whole process on film, he no doubt would have produced a superior, far more engrossing flick than the one he expelled here instead. For Rip Torn, Val Kilmer, or Peter Falk, AMER!CAN COWSLIP was just another day at the office. But it's a disservice for the U.S. film community to drag former Hollywood stalwarts such as Diane Ladd or Bruce Dern into sludge of this nature. (And how did Jennifer Coolidge miss this mess--she's still alive, isn't she?) AMER!CAN COWSLIP puts the stew in "stoo-pid," with its mishmash of unbelievable characters spouting lame dialog in totally implausible situations. Hanna Hall as a virginal JUNO wannabe with a creepy attraction for the much older Ethan Inglebrink (Ronnie Gene Blevins) might interest some people. But the actual number is less than even the production of an AMER!CAN COWCHIP would attract.

One of the worst movies I've seen. All the characters are one-dimensional, the dialog is insipid, and the characters' motivations make no sense at all. The protagonist is an unemployed, agoraphobic junky, who doesn't pay his rent and doesn't think of anybody but himself. He's disgusting, revolting and selfish. He has not a single redeeming quality, yet everyone loves him. Even his landlord, to which he owes several months rent, says that he really likes him. They don't even mind the fact that he goes weeks without bathing. But what's beyond even those absurdities is the cute teenage girl across the street, who is half his age and is madly in love with him. Yeah, this could happen - in a bizarro universe! I didn't laugh once. All the jokes were juvenile, insipid or lame. It was painful to sit through this. I felt embarrassed for the filmmakers. For example, they put trendy, titillating vulgarities like "corn rocket" and "donkey punch" in the mouths of 70 and 80 year-olds. This concept was beaten like a dead horse at least 15 years ago. And now, it's just sad. Every characters' actions are so implausible that the story falls apart because what they're doing is so completely out of character and nonsensical. It's as if a group of 10 year-olds got together and brainstormed for a story - and then threw in some requisite adult swearing. Who is the target audience? It's clearly written for the 10 year-old mind, so why did they make it an R rated movie? Don't waste your time with this trash.

this is a perfect example of producers, writers, and director getting together and deciding to purposefully make a quirky crazy movie, with oddball goofy but lovable characters living in an exaggerated hyper color story book setting and fill the movie with some big Hollywood names! it doesn't work!

the plot line never gets beyond the stunted growth of Ethan's failed and sabotaged attempt to grow an American cowslip flower. none of the neighbors are remotely humorous or funny. Ethan is just so one dimensional the viewer looses interest in his erratic drug addicted reclusive life. and the women on the street all love him and for what reason we don't really know outside of the poker games. and the sudden jack and the beanstalk growth of the cowslip is just silly!

even goofy nonsense movies have to make sense somewhere in the story! this story is just a bunch of ideas thrown together to try to make an instant cult favorite. all it made was an instant failure.

skip it!