Those familiar with author Tom Robbins will likely understand how unusual his books tend to be and how non-conducive they seem to be to filmic adaptation. He wrote his second novel, “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” in 1976, and it was considered striking by readers, a kind of earlier, more whimsical version of Ken Kesey.
The main character, Sissy, was born with abnormally large thumbs that extend as far as her index fingers. Her thumbs, it turns out, make her an exceptional hitchhiker, giving her a near-supernatural control of vehicles. She aims to hitchhike to New York City to become a model for a powerful tampon company overseen by a dandyish man who goes by the title The Countess (John Hurt).
In the book, Sissy marries a young, handsome Mohawk man named Julian. In Van Sant’s adaptation, Reeves plays Julian, although he plays a smaller role. Sissy meets him in New York, but the two have no real fling, which is different from the book. He merely remains a man she desires. Later in the film, Sissy will have an affair with the bisexual cowgirl Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). The two also, in turn, have their own affairs with a cave-dwelling sage played by “The Karate Kid” star Pat Morita.
The plot is truly odd. After Sissy models for the Countess, she moves to his “beauty ranch,” called the Rubber Rose Ranch, overseen by Jellybean. The cowgirls who live there are hellbent on drugging the local crane population (!), so they cease migrating and remain out of danger. Cops and other agencies all try to invade the ranch, but the women scare them off with their, uh, feminine odors. The picture ends with a shootout.
“Even Cowgirls” is peppered with cameos from notable actors in addition to Reeves, such as Ed Begley, Jr., Angie Dickinson, Rosanne Arnold, Sean Young, Heather Graham, Carol Kane, Udo Kier, Lin Shaye, and Edward James Olmos. Ken Kesey plays a small part, and William S. Burroughs (who also appeared in Van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy”) has a cameo as himself.
Watch it if you can. Sadly, it’s not on streaming.