''Cowboy Up'' (also known as ''Ring of Fire'') is a 2001 American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
film directed by
Xavier Koller
Xavier Koller (born 1944, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a Swiss film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his work on the Disney live action film '' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'', an adventure historical fiction film based on the life of Squan ...
. It stars
Kiefer Sutherland,
Marcus Thomas,
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an or ...
, and
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, in ...
.
It won the Crystal Heart Award at the 2001
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion pict ...
.
Plot
Rising rodeo star Ely Braxton (
Marcus Thomas) is recovering from injuries that almost took his life. Against the wishes of his mother Rose Braxton (
Melinda Dillon
Melinda Dillon (born October 13, 1939) is a retired American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', and she was nominated for the Academy Awar ...
) and girlfriend Connie (
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an or ...
), Ely starts riding bulls again to achieve his dream of becoming a champion bull rider like his estranged father, Reid Braxton (