30 Years Later, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's "How the West Was Fun" Deserves More Recognition

11/19/2024 04:53 PM

The Olsens' first movie holds up well — despite past tepid reviews

Of the films child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen starred in throughout their years as actors, How the West Was Fun is an underrated classic that holds up surprisingly well 30 years later.

Released in 1994, when the twin stars were just 8 years old, How the West Was Fun is consistently one of the least-loved films in the Olsen twins' compendium, based on online reviews, though a first viewing decades after its release proves the movie is a bit more timeless than initially anticipated.

Following twin second graders Jessica and Susie Martin, the film begins with the girls in a dream set in the wild wild west, facing off against an enemy who fires off a cheesy, "This ranch ain't big enough for the three of us." Lo and behold, upon waking, they're greeted with a letter from their late mother's godmother, asking them to visit the dude ranch she manages before it's shut down for good.

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Upon arrival, godmother Natty (Peg Phillips) is surprised to learn Jessica and Susie's mother died three years earlier, despite their father writing a letter to inform her. Natty's son, Bart, is also present at their arrival, boasting about how horrible business has been and that the dude ranch will soon be sold for a hefty sum of money.

With some help from George, the Native American ranch hand who works for Natty (played by Ben Cardinal), and their mother's old horse Lightning, the twin girls quickly piece together that the ranch's financial failings may have more to do with Bart's meddling than with Natty's business model. Through some naive sleuthing and meddling, the girls manage to bring a corporate retreat out to the ranch in a last-ditch effort to prove there's still a demand for Natty's ranch.

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It's a decidedly bland premise, but one that still invokes a sense of nostalgia for simpler times when it seemed possible that connecting with one's inner child would always prove to be more valuable than money. Though it's not a film that won any awards (nor should it have), it holds a surprising sensitivity to the delicate relationship between a Western ranch and Indigenous communities considering its age.

The Olsen twins' characters are also surprisingly savvy at negotiating, making me wish I had them on speed-dial them next time I try to negotiate my own salary. They even manage to rope George into creating a Home Alone-type trap to delay Bart's inevitable meddling in their dude ranch rescue mission.

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The film wraps everything up in a neat little bow at the end, giving it a decidedly happily ever after (and their widower dad his first chance at love since his late wife's death). The businessman who took a chance on a weekend retreat at the ranch decides to gift Natty and the business a large sum of money to pay off its debts — and even agrees to lower his profit share to a measly 10% thanks to the twins' negotiations.

Though stumbling upon a cave of fool's gold after a day-long excursion hoping to find wealth isn't currently a viable path to save a failing business, for the 90 minutes of How the West Was Fun, it's easy to believe that's just enough to make (literal) dreams come true.