Lightning Jack (1994) – Paul Hogan’s Wild West Comedy Adventure

Movie Memory Machine

The Machine sends us to March 11, 1994 to cover the comedy western Lightning Jack, written, directed and starring Paul Hogan.

Podcast Description:

Grab your cowboy hat and dust off your six-shooters because this week, we’re taking a wild ride through the 1994 western comedy Lightning Jack! This lesser-known 90s gem features the legendary Paul Hogan, fresh off his Crocodile Dundee fame, as a bumbling outlaw with more heart than sense. He’s teamed up with a mute sidekick played by a pre-Jerry Maguire Cuba Gooding Jr., and trust us, hijinks ensue.

Join your hosts as they revisit this forgotten film that combines slapstick comedy with old-school western action. Lightning Jack isn’t just about robbing banks and dodging bullets — it’s also about unlikely friendships, dusty saloons, and questionable accents. Does it hold up today, or is it one of those movies that should’ve stayed buried in the VHS bargain bin?

Saddle up as we take you through a rootin’-tootin’ retrospective that’ll leave you wondering how many kangaroo jokes you can fit into a western. And is Paul Hogan still rocking that cowboy swagger, or has time caught up with Lightning Jack? Let’s find out!

Show Notes:

•Released: 1994

•Director: Simon Wincer

•Cast: Paul Hogan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Beverly D’Angelo

•Genre: Western Comedy, Adventure

In this episode:

•We break down Lightning Jack, the 90s western comedy that paired Paul Hogan with Cuba Gooding Jr. in one of the oddest outlaw duos in film history.

•Explore why Paul Hogan traded his Aussie outback gear for cowboy boots and a six-shooter — and whether that transition made any sense at all.

•Take a trip back to the golden era of 90s western comedies, where slapstick meets gunfights and hijinks on horseback.

•Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a mute sidekick — wait, what? We’ll dive into this bizarre character choice and how it shapes the film’s strange sense of humor.

•We discuss whether Lightning Jack stands tall as a cult classic or limps into the sunset as another 90s oddity.

•Get ready for some fun trivia, including how this film fits into Paul Hogan’s post-Crocodile Dundee career and the wild production choices that make this movie so memorable.

Plus, find out why this movie is the perfect late-night western comedy to watch when you’re in the mood for some goofy gun-slinging antics and 90s nostalgia.

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Movie Memory Machine is part of the Grunt Work Podcasts network. For more information on today’s episode, visit moviememorymachine.com.

Theme song by Porky’s Groove Machine.

Special thanks to Nate DuFort.

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