Roughing It (2002)

Mark Twain weaves a story of epic adventure in Roughing It, a classic tale about the American West during the gold rush. In a speech delivered at his daughter's graduation, Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Clemens, played by James Garner) vividly recalls his travels to the American West in search of gold and his own destiny. He relates his encounters with obsession, legend, love, instinct, danger, luck, and hard work--experiences that encouraged his maturation, but did seemingly little to acquaint him with his destiny. Instead, Twain asserts that chance is a common catalyst in the "mysterious adventure of life" and points to just such a chance occurrence as the pivotal moment in his own life. Mark Twain's Roughing It is Southern storytelling at its best--this miniseries skillfully preserves Twain's distinctive tone and style and will keep you entertained throughout its four-hour running time. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi Amazon.com

It was okay, but...

...several scenes are highly unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, the movie has many delightful scenes as my wife would put it, but the following ones were a bit over the top.

I don't consider these spoilers, just wanted to list a few examples.

* A poker game so serious that the building they are playing in becomes inundated with floodwaters from a storm, so bad that the very table they are playing on begins to float...all while they continue to play???
* While getting lost in a snow storm, they end up hunkering around a tree all night, giving in to impending doom. While I realize that snow will act as a blanket from the freezing weather, thus probably saving their lives, I cannot believe that the very morning sun would melt all the snow around them before they awake???
* Three men can pull a wagon, uphill, and full of their equipment but two horses could not???

Maybe I'm being a little nitpickitty, but if you have over two-and-a-half hours to spend then what they heck, give it a try. Like I mentioned before it does have some bright spots too. December 11, 2007

Sensational

Roughing it is a great movie about the interesting life of Mark Twain. It is extrememly accurate and is well made. Roughing it is an entertaining made-for-tv movie. You will learn a great deal and will enjoy it while doing so. The writer of this film (Steven H. Berman) was nominated for his brilliant screenplay by the Writers Guild of America. James Garner is great along with his all-star cast. Highly recommended! July 30, 2006

Great family movie

I rent many DVDs for the family to watch. It's hard to find movies that will be entertaining for the kids and yet keep the interest of the adults. This is one of them. Very beautiful movie - everyone loved it. You'll laugh like crazy but the movie, like Twain himself, is often profound. May 11, 2004

A Great American Adventure

After completing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Celebrated Frog of Caleveras County, I decided to show Roughing to my 8th grade students. Some students had enjoyed Tom Sawyer, but there were quite a few that found the vocabulary very difficult. Many of them were apprehensive, and thought it might be BORING, but the classroom was silent during this film. I ask students after they have watched a film if they would recommend showing to future students. All of them said they would watch it again, at home, if they had the movie.
Roughing It demonstrates the sense of adventure that we expect in the old west, but with the intellectual input of Twain. This film can be enjoyed by people from age 6 to 60 and beyond. August 14, 2003

Even if you hate camping, you'll love Roughing It!

This is a great family film. James Garner is wonderful as Mark Twain. The stories he tells about his adventures before he became Mark Twain are fantastic. This movie shows Mark Twain's brilliance as a master story teller. We have been recommending this movie to everyone who will listen to us about it. Definitely a must have for the family video collection. November 3, 2002

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