City Slickers (1991)

I first became aware of Billy Crystal when he played Jodie on "Soap" -- still my favourite long-running TV comedy series.  After enjoying "Momma..." below, I wanted more and found my copy of the above movie which I personaly consider his best (even better than "When Harry Met Sally", although it's a close call).  In this film, he and his two closest friends (Daniel Stern and the late Bruno Kirby) are each facing a different mid-life crisis and they try to resolve them by taking a working cattle-drive holiday.  The result is a movie full of smiles rather than chortles, an amusing meditation on the meaning of friendship and responsibility. It is well-played right down the cast list, including David Paymer and Josh Mostel as Ben-and-Jerry-like ice cream makers and Jack Palance in Oscar-winning support as the tough trail boss.  The latter's scenes with Crystal smack of brilliance as two characters who are a world apart find common ground.  Even now thinking about Norman the Calf makes me feel happy -- and that has to be a good thing.