The Last Rodeo (2025) Review – A Great Rodeo Drama
Director: Jon Avnet
Cast: Neal McDonough, Mykelti Williamson, Christopher McDonald, Sara Jones, Graham Harvey, Daylon Ray Swearengen
Running time: 113 mins
Directed by Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe), this uplifting rodeo drama is produced by Angel Studios, who specialise in “values-based” entertainment. Usually, that means strong Christian themes, but on this occasion, that element is largely dialled down, and the result is an engaging underdog sports drama, anchored by a strong lead performance from perennial character actor Neal McDonough.
McDonough – who also co-wrote the script and served as producer – stars as former rodeo champion Joe Wainwright, whose young grandson Cody (Graham Harvey) is diagnosed with a brain tumour and needs a series of cripplingly expensive operations. In desperation, Joe signs up to a high-stakes bull-riding rodeo tournament as the oldest ever contestant, in the hopes of making enough money to save Cody.
Realising that he’s going to need help, Joe enlists the services of his former right-hand-man Charlie Williams (Mykelti Williamson), attempting to heal some old wounds in the process, since the two of them had become estranged after the death of Joe’s wife, also from a brain tumour. On top of that, Joe tries to mend fences with his daughter Sally (Sara Jones), Cody’s mother, who also has deep-seated issues with her father, over his past behaviour when her mother died.
It’s always a delight when a perennial character actor is handed a lead role and knocks it out of the park, and that’s what happens here. McDonough is superb as Joe, delivering an impressively physical performance and hitting all the right emotional notes as a man who isn’t all that good at showing his feelings.
On a similar note, Williamson is excellent as Charlie, sparking strong best-friend chemistry with McDonough, while Jones is touching as she undergoes her own emotional journey, and there’s strong support from Christopher McDonald as the rodeo boss, who knows Joe from the old days.
However, the decision to cast actual rodeo stars as the contestants (mostly playing themselves) leads to decidedly mixed results – on the one hand, there’s the obvious benefit in the rodeo sequences, but on the other, they are terrible actors and their line deliveries are at best jarring and at worst downright awful. The worst offender is real-life rodeo star Daylon Ray Swearengen, who plays fictional reigning champion Billy Hamilton and somehow fails to make any of his lines sound convincing or natural.
As for the rodeo scenes, they are nicely shot, enlivened by the occasional use of a point-of-view body-camera attached to the contestants. However, it’s fair to say that the film ignores any opportunities for heightened drama in the rodeo sequences, and the only real tension comes from whether Joe makes it through each round without serious injury.
It’s fair to say that the story is largely predictable, but the script makes up for it with a couple of nice little details, such as the fact that Joe is hardly ever seen without his hat (which has a nice payoff), and the inclusion of a training montage in which he punches bales of hay.
Finally, it’s worth noting that although Angel Studios productions are usually heavily Christian in their themes, the script shows commendable restraint in that respect and doesn’t play out the way you expect, despite the fact that Joe lost his faith when he lost his wife (and career).
In short, this is a well acted and solidly directed underdog sports drama that’s both engaging and enjoyable. Worth seeing.
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