MIDNIGHT WOWBOY

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
dir: John Schlesinger

MAD #134, April 1970
w: Stan Hart
a: Mort Drucker

One of the first mainstream X movies, before the rating became synonymous with pornography, and before the supreme court decision that essentially made pornography legal nationwide. By today's standards it could be shown on prime-time TV. Joe Buck (Jon Voight) leaves the small town in Texas and the diner where he works to move to New York City and become a male prostitute, his hook being his cowboy persona. MAD mostly having a juvenile audience, it didn't actually mention the themes that gave it an X rating.

On the bus there he has all sorts of dreams and flashbacks of his childhood, raised by his grandmother (Ruth White) and with his girlfriend (Jennifer Salt).

In New York, he moves into a hotel, after a few attempts at picking up tricks, he meets an older woman Cass (Sylvia Miles) on Park Avenue, has an afternoon with her, and she turns out to be a prostitute herself.

In Times Square he meets Rico “Ratso” Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a local con artist and confides that he's a hustler. The film won several Oscars that year (it was a given the Oscars would be hosted by Bob Hope). Ratso getting angry at a driver for nearly hitting him is probably the most famous scene in the movie.

Ratso arranges to set Joe up with Mr. O'Daniel (John McGiver) to be Joe's pimp for $20, then leaves with the money. Mr. O'Daniel ends up being a religious fanatic trying to save Joe, making him flee. Joe tries to track down Ratso and has fantasies of finding him and killing him but can't find him. He tries to go back to the hotel where he lives but has been evicted and all his belongings have been confiscated. Joe is left wandering the streets homeless and penniless and is approached a young student (Bob Balaban) who blows him in a movie theater. The student becomes sick and he doesn't have the money for for Joe's services after all. Joe ends up finding Ratso and moving in with him into a condemned building. Ratso isn't doing to well and agrees to make up for running away with Joe's money by becoming his pimp. Later that day at a restaurant, they're invited by a party girl (Viva) to attend a happening.

At the happening, Joe doesn't know his own tolerance and gets too stoned and meets Shirley (Brenda Vaccaro) who becomes his trick. Ratso jumps in letting them know he's the manager and it's obvious he's becoming increasingly sicker. Joe can't get it up with Shirley and she tells him she thinks he's gay, which works.

Shirley is impressed by Joe's prowess and the next morning arranges dates for him. His career is suddenly taking off and he rushes to tell Ratso the good news only to find Ratso can't walk anymore and needs to get to Miami quick to recuperate. To get the money, he picks up a man he meets at an arcade (Barnard Hughes) under the pretense of being a hustler who “swings both ways”. Here the man is portrayed as a professor. Joe takes Ratso to Miami but Ratso dies on the bus before they can make it there.