Annie Oakley: Why is she aiming at his heart?

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school Hollywood charm and don't care about historical accuracy, you’ll probably have a decent time. If you’re the kind of person who gets annoyed when a biopic turns into a soap opera, maybe skip it. It’s definitely not for anyone looking for a gritty western.

Honestly, the whole movie is just Barbara Stanwyck being too good for the script. She handles that rifle like she was born with it, but the movie keeps trying to force this romance with Melvyn Douglas that feels like it’s happening in a completely different film. Whenever they are on screen together, the energy just drops off a cliff.

There’s this one scene where she’s practicing her aim, and the sound of the gun is so obviously added in later. It sounds like a toy pop-gun. It’s distracting, but in a funny way. You can almost see the editor shrugging their shoulders in the booth.

Some odd observations

• The extras in the background of the show scenes look like they’d rather be literally anywhere else.
• The dialogue is so snappy it occasionally makes zero sense.
• I’m pretty sure I saw a guy in the back wearing shoes that didn't belong in the 1880s, but who knows.

It reminds me a bit of the vibe in A Made-to-Order Hero, where the hero is just a bit too perfect to be interesting. The movie wants us to believe in her struggle, but she’s so competent that the stakes never really feel real. It’s just a series of events where she shoots something, smiles, and then someone falls in love with her.

The pacing is… well, it’s not pacing. It’s more like a gentle trot that sometimes stops for no reason. Some scenes linger for an eternity, usually when two people are looking at each other and not saying anything important. It’s sweet, but it gets old.

Anyway, it’s fine. Just don't go in expecting a history lesson. It’s more like a postcard from a version of the Old West that never actually existed. 🤠