The cowboy way of life is fading so Hewey Calloway returns home to his brother’s family, where he finds they’re about to lose the ranch. As he works to help them save the homestead, Hewey falls for a schoolteacher. Now he must decide between settling down, and his freedom.

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The Good Old Boys

An all-star cast! Directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones! Featuring Sam Shepard, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, and Matt Damon. Tommy Lee Jones earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role, and Sissy Spacek was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her supporting role.

The year is 1906, and the cowboy way of life is rapidly becoming a romantic vision of the past. Aging cowboy, Hewey Calloway, has been wandering the west on horseback for years, living a basically solitary life, herding cows and horses, spending time enjoying the “beautiful country” while sitting around a campfire. He’s a slow-talking man, seemingly ornery, but deep down has a big heart. He’s more given to conversations with his horse than with people. In his travels, he’s seen glaciers in Canada and has the habit of taking baths while still wearing his cowboy hat.

In a world where cars and electricity are becoming more and more available, Hewey begins to wonder if it’s time to hang up the lasso and spurs and get with the times. So, he leaves his wandering ways and returns to his brother, Walter’s homestead in a town in west Texas. Walter lives there with his wife, Eve, and their sons Cotton and Tommy.

After not being a part of their lives for such a long time, he was not exactly welcomed with open arms. Especially hurt by Hewey’s sudden reappearance is his 16-year-old nephew, Cotton. Hewey had made several promises to Cotton when the boy was younger, but he never kept his word. Instead, he left. In the years since Hewey was gone, Cotton has honed a talent for mechanics, which he uses around the farm, but his passion is working on automobiles.

Soon, Hewey learns things are not right on the homestead. The bank is about to foreclose, and getting a fair price for their crops would go a long way to save it. But corruption abounds in this town, Hewey himself becoming a victim of trumped-up charges when a mere scuffle before he even arrived, ends with a charge of attempted murder! Greedy landowner C.C. Tarpley and banker Fat Gerven are ready to pounce on the Calloway property the minute the family defaults.

As Hewey spends time reuniting with his family, helping them fight for their land, and mending his relationship with Cotton, he becomes torn between this settled life and the pull at his heart for open spaces. To complicate his struggle, he finds himself falling for a strong, independent schoolteacher, Spring Renfro, who returns his love, but fears she will not be enough to tame his wandering soul.

The Good Old Boys is filled with passion and compassion, action and humor.

“I’m tired of these mountains, and if you won’t take this the wrong way, I’d sooner talk to somebody who talks back once in a while. You ain’t said nothing for two years.”

– Hewey Calloway to his horse Biscuit.

Tommy Lee Jones – Real Life Cowboy

Much like the character he portrays in The Good Old Boys, Tommy Lee Jones is known for his gruff, aloof, no-nonsense personality. A native Texan, he maintains a ranch in his home state and owns ranches throughout the country and in Argentina. He raises cattle, and horses, and is an avid, world-class polo player.