A 1994 Western directed by Jonathan Kaplan, about four prostitutes — Cody (Madeleine Stowe), Anita (Mary Stuart Masterson), Eileen (Andie MacDowell), and Lily (Drew Barrymore) — who go the run after Cody kills an abusive customer who was hurting Anita.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: While all four of the girls qualify to some extent, it's especially the case for Cody. Before she fell into prostitution she was an outlaw who rode with Kid Jarrett's gang, and is the best gunfighter of the group.
- Ambiguously Gay: Lily is the only one of the four without a love interestnote or who shows any interest in the men they come across, and frequently expresses her annoyance with Eileen's flirtations with William. She also playfully flirts with Eileen herself, and takes it the hardest when she, Cody, and Anita ride out and leave her behind at the end of the film.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played with. All of the protagonists spend a considerable time dirty and mussed from the trail. Additionally, Cody has a number of old scars on her back, heavily implied to have been the result of Jarrett having whipped her in the past, and receives some new ones after he does it again. However none of them take a disfiguring injury anywhere that's normally visible.
- Bittersweet Ending: Eileen finds love with William and agrees to settle down with him, as well as fulfilling one of her life's dreams by getting a "rich husband" (courtesy of the financial windfall of the shootout with Jarrett, which they share). However McCoy is killed and Cody can't stay in Texas because of the price on her head, while Anita's claim in Oregon is worthless because of her husband's death. Cody, Anita, and Lily ride out to make their way north to the Klondike, knowing they may never see Eileen again.
- But Now I Must Go: Cody, Ania, and Lily ride on to follow-up on McCoy's claim in the Klondike at the end, while Eileen remains behind to start her new life with William.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: McCoy wants to kill Frank Jarrett, but they need him alive as a bargaining chip to get Lily back. Frank eventually pushes him too far, and McCoy guns him down.
- Chekhov's Skill: Lily is the first to ride after the wagon when a rattlesnake spooks the horses in a daring attempt to regain control of the team, and later in the film she mentions to Kid that her father was a legendary show rider. Lily herself then uses some fancy trick riding during the final shoot-out to shield herself from gunfire.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Kid puts McCoy through the wringer after he's captured trying to single-handedly rescue Lily.
- Cool Big Sis: It's unclear whether she's the eldest, but Cody takes this role on for the others. She's the one that takes the lead, and goes Mama Bear when any of the girls are in danger.
- Crime of Self-Defense: Cody only shot the Colonel when he opened fire first. Everyone treats it like she'd murdered him, with his widow sicking Pinkerton detectives after Cody (the lynch mob she escaped earlier were more concerned with her "evil" as a prostitute). It's clear that, no matter what, a prostitute killing an "upstanding" citizen (even if he'd been in a brothel at the time, right after abusing another prostitute) makes her guilty even if this was obviously self-defense.
- Damsel in Distress: Cody, Eileen, and Lily all spend time in need of aid. Cody is being dragged by a lynch mob to be hanged, and later is taken by Jarrett and raped. Eileen gets caught by the Marshall when the girls try to flee after Kid Jarrett's robbery. Lily is kidnapped by Jarrett. Cody is saved by the other girls in the first case, and in the second McCoy finds her riding alone in the desert and in desperate need of medical attention (it's unclear whether she escaped or Jarrett let her go after he finished with her). Eileen starts to work her charms on William, and after a failed rescue by Anita and Lily convinces him to let her go. Lily is rescued by McCoy, who becomes a Distressed Dude as a result when he's caught.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- All of the girls came from difficult backgrounds even before they joined the brothel in Echo City:
- Cody formerly rode with Kid Jarrett's gang and spent time as his lover. It's revealed in her Toplessness from the Back scene when she confronts McCoy spying on the girls while skinny dipping that he used to whip her, among other acts of abuse.
- Anita's husband died of cholera on the Oregon Trail, leaving her stranded and destitute, forcing her to turn to prostitution to survive.
- Eileen was born to a poor rancher family. She left home young hoping to find a rich husband and to be able to afford the finer things in life, only to wind up falling into prostitution.
- Lily's father was an expert and famous show rider. However after he died his show died with him, and she was left alone and penniless. Like the others, her only option to survive was to turn to selling her body.
- Further, McCoy lost his family to Frank Jarrett, when Frank jumped the elder McCoy's claim, killing him and raping and murdering McCoy's mother.
- All of the girls came from difficult backgrounds even before they joined the brothel in Echo City:
- Death by Origin Story: Anita's husband died on the Oregon Trail, leaving her stranded in Texas. McCoy's mother was murdered by Frank Jarrett sometime before the film begins, as well.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Gender-inverted. McCoy is shot in the back by Kid Jarrett as a petty act of vengeance in the climax, cutting short his romance with Cody.
- Disposable Sex Worker: Outright lampshadeed by Anita in her angry rant to the lawyer who informs her that her husband's claim is worthless since his passing: as a woman she had no value before she was married, and even less value as a whore.
- Distracted by the Sexy: While all the girls have the looks to pull it off, this is Eileen's go-to strategy. She flirts and bats her eyes at almost anyone standing between her and what she wants, especially William, after she's been arrested and he's been deputized to stand watch while the Marshall pursues the Jarrett gang. Lily gets in on it, as well, when they need to spring Eileen.
- Distressed Dude: McCoy in the climax, after he rescues Lily from Jarrett, but is captured in the process.
- Domestic Abuse: It's danced around a bit, but Cody was abused by Jarrett when she was with their gang; she has a number of old scars across her back from being whipped, and gains a few more when he beats and rapes her after the bank robbery. The abuse extended beyond just physical, as well; he's possessive, petty, and controlling.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Kid thinks it's hilarious when he shot Josh In the Back while he'd been walking toward Cody to reunite with her.
- Faux Affably Evil: Kid and Frank Jarrett. Frank is generally polite to Cody and on the surface seems to have better standards than his son, but in the end is a nasty Manipulative Bastard who toys with Anita for kicks, and plays McCoy like a fiddle. Kid is charismatic, and even helps Cody get her money from the bank (which he happens to be robbing). But he's also a brutal and violent killer and rapist.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Eileen is probably the most feminine of the group, and William's first warning that their gang has decided to take residence at his ranch is when he comes home and finds her at work in his kitchen.
- Full-Frontal Assault: When the girls spot McCoy sneaking a peak while they're skinny dipping, Cody confronts him starkers.
- The Fundamentalist: A whole group of them storm Echo City railing against the local bordello. They turn their fury on Cody after she guns down a John who got rough with Anita. Even though the Colonel drew and fired first and Cody only killed him in self-defense, the fact that a prostitute killed an "upstanding" member of the community is all the excuse they need to hang her from the nearest tree.
- Gatling Good: Kid Jarrett's plot is to steal a Gatling gun that is being moved by the Army.
- Gender-Blender Name: Cody works as both a male and female name.
- Girls with Guns The film is about four Wild West prostitutes who are wanted by the law, and become an outlaw gang.
- Gold Digger: Eileen started as this when she was younger, hoping to find a rich husband to get her away from her life as the daughter of a dirt-poor rancher. It ended with her working as a prostitute. It's played with at the end when she falls for the not-well-off William and decides to stay with him even if all they have is their land and each other...but she'll gladly take her substantial cut of the loot they claimed from the Jarrett gang ending up with them both well off after all.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Cody, Anita, Eileen, and Lily begin the film as prostitutes in a rough-and-tumble western town, but all are ultimately decent women. It's especially the case for Anita and Eileen.
- Instant Knots: Kid's whip can instantly whip around people when he hits them with it.
- In the Back: How McCoy gets it in the climax; Jarrett sends him walking to return him to Cody in exchange for the Gatling gun. He shoots him in the back for nothing more than petty spite.
- The Lad-ette: All four girls qualify, but especially Cody and Lily. Cody is the best shot and quickest draw, drinks and gambles at the bordello in Echo rather than entertaining clients, and spends the least time in dresses. Lily is also a good shot, as well as a skilled rider, she smokes like a chimney, and even impresses Jarrett's rough band of outlaws with how well she can guzzle tequila.
- The Leader: Cody quickly becomes the unnamed leader of the girls, due to being more experienced at surviving as an outlaw.
- The Lost Lenore: Anita's husband, who suffered Death by Origin Story. Even working as a prostitute she loves him dearly, and refuses to kiss another man.
- Male Gaze: There's more than a few shots of the ladies riding at high speed in low-cut dresses. Lily and Eileen are particularly bouncy. Plus Toplessness from the Back for Cody and Lily (with generous Side Boob for Lily).
- Mama Bear: Do not mess with the other girls in Cody's presence, as the Colonel found out the hard way.
- Manipulative Bastard: Frank. He's very polite to Cody, but once he's captured he begins going to work on Anita and McCoy. Cody tries to warn them both not to listen to him, but he's still able to get under their skin.
- Miss Kitty: It's not established whether Cody ran the brothel where the four worked in Echo City, however she's generally depicted as older, or at least more mature, making her the Cool Big Sis of the group, and spends the most time looking out for the others.
- Ms. Fanservice: Plenty. Cody and Lily have Toplessness from the Back scenes, (with a generous amount of Side Boob) and then there's the Skinny Dipping scene. While all four women are prostitutes and look the part, Lily gets the most focus and revealing outfits (ironically, since she is the one least interested in men out of the entire group).
- Nice Guy: In contrast to most other male characters in the film, McCoy is nothing but kind and helpful to the girls, being even willing to lie to the Pinkertons for their sake.
- Not Good with Rejection: Kid holds quite a grudge against Lily for running away from him, and whips her nearly to death as punishment when he finds her again.
- No Woman's Land: The Old West was not a pleasant place to be a woman:
- All four of the women have been forced into prostitution to survive, as there are literally no other options for an unmarried woman with no other family to support her at that time. Even worse, they're considered disposable by society, with few protections from a John who gets too rough.
- Lily's father was a stunt rider who died and his show went with him, leaving her penniless and with no other means to support herself.
- Anita's husband died en route to Oregon, leaving her stuck with nowhere else to turn.
- Eileen came from a dirt-poor ranch and dreamed of finding a rich husband only to end up with a lot of heartache.
- Anita's and her husband's claim in Oregon isn't worth the paper it's written on after his death, leaving her with nothing and shattering her dreams for a new life.
- All four of the women have been forced into prostitution to survive, as there are literally no other options for an unmarried woman with no other family to support her at that time. Even worse, they're considered disposable by society, with few protections from a John who gets too rough.
- Pinkerton Detective: The Colonel's widow pays two of them to hunt down Cody for killing her husband. Although they catch Cody once, she slips away at the end.
- Police Are Useless:
- The Sheriff of Echo City doesn't make a move to stop the bible-thumping lynch mob trying to hang Cody for shooting the Colonel. Granted, he's only one man and the Temperance Group is riled into quite a fury.
- The Colonel's widow has this view when he refuses to go after Cody following her escape, leading her to hire Pinkertons to track her down instead.
- Post-Rape Taunt:
- Frank taunts McCoy about how he raped and killed his mother, prompting McBoy to lose it and killing him.
- Ned, the last outlaw to rape Lily, makes a remark about her coming to see him again where they can finish things. She shoots him for it, causing a gunfight with the whole gang.
- Prisoner Exchange: Kid manages to capture Lily while the girls and McCoy capture Frank. Cody wants to do exchange hostages, but the plan is ruined when Frank taunts McCoy about his parent's deaths and McCoy loses it and kills him.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Any pretense that Kid Jarrett is Affably Evil is quite thoroughly quashed the moment he brutally and violently rapes Cody. He later forces himself on Lily, as well.
- Redemption Equals Death: Ashamed of ruining Cody's Prisoner Exchange plan by putting his need for Revenge before Lily's safety, McCoy leads a Suicide Attack against Kid's gang in order to rescue Lily, and he ends up being captured and then executed.
- Retired Outlaw: Cody used to be an outlaw when she rode with Kid's gang, but she eventually abandoned that life, implied to be due to Kid being abusive towards her.
- Revenge: McCoy's initial motivation for hooking up with Cody and her crew is vengeance against Frank Jarrett for Frank jumping his father's claim and murdering his mother. He doesn't bother to hide that he followed after them once he learned that Cody had once ridden with Kid's gang in hopes she would lead him to Frank
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Even though multiple witnesses would be able to confirm that Cody shot the Colonel in self-defense, and the Sheriff himself had no intent in chasing her once she left his jurisdiction, the Colonel's widow goes over his head and brings in Pinkertons for revenge. However, it's made clear most people simply didn't care that he'd shot first, as he's an "upstanding" citizen while Cody is a prostitute, and therefore guilty no matter what in their eyes.
- Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: As seen on the page image, Madeline Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Drew Barrymore are about to shoot you. Andie MacDowell is not.
- Sexy Surfacing Shot: Downplayed. When the girls are Skinny Dipping at the lake, they're interrupted by McCoy. Cody doesn't hesitate from surfacing from the water to confront him, and the camera lingers on her Toplessness from the Back, but the whip marks on her back make the scene far less titillating. But McCoy does seem to appreciate the frontal view.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: When McCoy interrupts the girls as they're Skinny Dipping, most of them cower under the water, but Cody doesn't care for modesty and just gets out of the water, grabs the nearby pistol, and confronts him stark naked and dripping wet.
- Shameful Strip: Kid Jarrett forces Lily to strip out of the more practical clothes she wore during the ambush, and in front of his entire gang.
- Shoulders-Up Nudity:
- When the naked Cody confronts McCoy for the first time, the camera stays above her shoulders.
- When Kid forces Lily to undress, the camera doesn't fall below her shoulders when she takes off her shirt.
- Show Some Leg: Lily shows a whole lot more than just her leg when she goes to distract the deputy guarding the jail. She steps in wearing a dress with a very low neckline, and hikes her skirt up well past her hip at one point to show the guard an "injury" she received during Jarrett's robbery.
- Southern Belle: Eileen affects an image that she was born and raised in New Orleans. In truth, she only wishes she was. She was actually the daughter of a poor Texas rancher.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: All of the girls can ride, shoot, and fight, however Cody and Lily are the most overtly tomboyish. Both tend to dress in masculine clothing more often than not, while Lily smokes in almost every scene and can chug tequila. Eileen and Anita, by contrast, are much more feminine.
- Too Dumb to Live: One of Jarrett's men decides to taunt Lily during the standoff in the climax. With the girls already raw over Jarrett shooting McCoy In the Back, and Lily herself still angry over her rape earlier, she doesn't hesitate to gun him down.
- The Western: The film is set in Texas in the 1880s.
- Whip of Dominance: To highlight Kid's sadistic and cruel nature, he uses a whip at several points, such as to capture Lily after the Gatling gun heist or when he ruthlessly whips Cody after being reunited with her, as revenge for running from him. It's implied he has a habit of doing this with women, often before raping them, as a way to establish his dominance over them.
- Would Hit a Girl: Pretty much every antagonist.
- The Colonel strikes Anita when she tries to escape him, and draws and takes a shot at Cody when she tries to warn him off (he misses).
- The Temperance League of Echo has no qualms against lynching a woman, even if she did shoot in self-defense.
- Kid Jarrett brutalizes Cody partway through the film and whips her so badly McCoy has to take her to a doctor the moment he finds her.
- At first it seems averted with Frank Jarrett, who treats Cody much more kindly than Kid, and Cody in turn still displays some affection for him... and then you learn what he did to McCoy's mother.
- The entirety of Kid's gang has no more hang-ups about gunning the women down than they would anyone else in the final shootout.
- Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: Not wanting to be a prisoner, Frank tricks McCoy into killing him by taunting him about how he raped and killed his mother.
- You Killed My Father: McCoy is after Frank and his gang due to them being responsible for the death of his parents.
