The plot for JUNIOR BONNER is so simplistic you could just use the brief description offered by TCM and you have the whole story in a nutshell: "An aging rodeo rider returns home for a comeback and discovers that his parents are separated." STEVE McQUEEN is the rider and JOE DON BAKER is his more successful brother with other plans.
He also discovers that he and his brother don't see eye to eye on how to build a future. His brother has some real estate plans on his mind while he's content to keep at the rodeo circuit as long as he's able to ride a horse. Naturally, they argue and fight throughout the story.
There's plenty of background flavor but absolutely nothing much going on in the plot department. A weak sub-plot involving his estranged parents (ROBERT PRESTON and IDA LUPINO) is no help. Both of them are wasted, particularly Lupino who has little to do. BEN JOHNSON is another wasted cast member.
If Fourth of July rodeos out west are your thing, along with occasional barroom brawls, you may find something to enjoy in this really dull Steve McQueen enterprise where he's determined to follow his destiny along a lonely path. He looks tired and says little as the aging rodeo rider, giving one of his most laconic performances.
Summing up: A Sam Peckinpah film that is nothing to shout about.
He also discovers that he and his brother don't see eye to eye on how to build a future. His brother has some real estate plans on his mind while he's content to keep at the rodeo circuit as long as he's able to ride a horse. Naturally, they argue and fight throughout the story.
There's plenty of background flavor but absolutely nothing much going on in the plot department. A weak sub-plot involving his estranged parents (ROBERT PRESTON and IDA LUPINO) is no help. Both of them are wasted, particularly Lupino who has little to do. BEN JOHNSON is another wasted cast member.
If Fourth of July rodeos out west are your thing, along with occasional barroom brawls, you may find something to enjoy in this really dull Steve McQueen enterprise where he's determined to follow his destiny along a lonely path. He looks tired and says little as the aging rodeo rider, giving one of his most laconic performances.
Summing up: A Sam Peckinpah film that is nothing to shout about.