35 best new Netflix movies and shows coming in May 2020

34. Urban Cowboy

Release Year: 1980

Directed By: James Bridges

Starring: John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith, Barry Corbin, Brooke Alderson, Cooper Huckabee, James Gammon, Steve Strange, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Daniels

Release Date: Friday, May 1

If you’re looking for a real throwback, Netflix has some pretty solid options coming this month. But perhaps one of the most obscure (at least now) throwbacks arriving this May has to be 1980’s Urban Cowboy starring none other than John Travolta. The film was a hit, with a matching hit soundtrack to boot, and left behind a legacy in its title. “Urban Cowboy” came to define an era of country music with artists such as Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and many others. But most people probably just remember that famous mechanical bull riding scene.

John Travolta stars in Urban Cowboy as country boy Bud Davis, who moves to Houston, Texas from the small town of Spur. Bud spends his time hanging around a local bar called Gilley’s in the suburb of Pasadena, where he meets and falls in love with Sissy (Debra Winger). The cowgirl challenges Bud’s views of gender roles as she views the sexes as equal (what we call feminism these days, of course). After Bud and Sissy get married, their relationship hits a rough patch thanks to Bud’s traditional views, but he tries to win her back by defeating the bar’s mechanical bull-riding competition.

Urban Cowboy came from director James Bridges, who also directed such films as The Paper Chase, Mike’s Murder, Perfect and Bright Lights, Big City. Upon release, the film garnered mostly positive reception from critics and still holds a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you’re a fan of John Travolta, country music, and throwbacks on both accounts — the perfect trifecta — then this is the blast from the past for you. Make sure to add Urban Cowboy to your watch list when it begins streaming on Netflix at the top of the month for a trip down ’80s country lane.