The Ridiculous

In the Old West, Tommy, known as White Knife by the Indigenous people who raised him after his mother was murdered, is arranged to marry a tribe member named Smoking Fox, a plan set by his adoptive father Chief Screaming Eagle. This peaceful arrangement is shaken after a run-in with Will Patch and his Left-Eye Gang, who claim to have removed their right eye, and with a one-eyed food proprietor named Clem. Soon after, a bank robber named Frank Stockburn arrives with a startling claim: he is Tommy’s biological father and he’s dying of consumption. Frank says he has $50,000 buried in a meadow, and he offers it to Tommy and his tribe in exchange for their safety and aid.

The next day, a band of ruthless outlaws led by Cicero descends on the village with a simple demand: hand over the money, or never see Tommy or the Native community again. Frank is kidnapped by the gang so he can lead them to the stash hidden at a place called the Singing Windmill. In exchange for the implied safety of the tribe, Frank negotiates a deal that would spare them from a bloody confrontation. When the meadow yields no sign of the cash, Tommy realizes that he must undertake a dangerous journey to steal the funds and rescue his father.

On this path, Tommy discovers a remarkable truth: he has five half-brothers, each with a colorful backstory that connects to Frank’s past. There is Ramon, a Mexican burro rider whose innkeeper mother had a fling with Frank; Lil’ Pete, who is mentally sharp in his own unique way and whose sturdy neck makes him immune to hanging; Herm, a mountain man who speaks in strange phrases and who once helped his mother sell moonshine; Danny, a drunkard who was once Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard and who carries guilt for inadvertently guiding John Wilkes Booth toward Lincoln; and Chico, an African-American pianist who admits he is half-White. Together, the brothers—often referred to as the Ridiculous 6—begin to understand the depth of Frank’s scheming and their own potential as a unlikely family.

Meanwhile, Clem betrays the group by joining the Left-Eye Gang, sacrificing her own remaining eye in the process, and aids in the kidnapping of Smoking Fox. Her blindness ultimately allows Smoking Fox to escape, and she begins a relentless search for Tommy and the brothers. The Ridiculous 6 cross paths with Chico and Danny, and soon they encounter Smiley Harris, a sociopathic saloon owner who used to be part of Frank’s gang until Frank stole his share of their biggest score and left him for dead at the windmill. Smiley’s attempt to kill the brothers backfires when Ramon unintentionally decapitates him.

As the tale unfolds, the Ridiculous 6 run into Abner Doubleday, who is developing baseball with a group of Chinese immigrants, adding a comically anachronistic layer to their expedition. The Left-Eye Gang catches up with the Ridiculous 6 while they rest by a pond, overpowering the brothers and robbing them of their loot. Using Herm’s ramblings, which Tommy translates, the group decides to raid a gambling game in Yuma run by Ezekiel Grant, an event attended by figures such as Mark Twain and General George Armstrong Custer. The plan succeeds, and the brothers move forward with the mission to ransom their father.

On their way to the ransom, the Ridiculous 6 encounter the Left-Eye Gang, who have been abandoned in the desert by Cicero. The brothers rescue the Left-Eye Gang and reclaim the $50,000. That evening, Tommy discovers a photograph carried by Danny that proves Cicero murdered his mother. This revelation drives Tommy to set off alone to confront Cicero, rescue his father, and end the threat to Smoking Fox.

After a tense confrontation, Tommy meets Cicero and secures the ransom, returning to the group with resolve to end his mother’s killer’s power. The Ridiculous 6, along with the Left-Eye Gang, reunite with their long-lost father. Frank reveals that he had orchestrated the entire abduction and that their total haul had swelled to $100,000. Yet Tommy is wary of Frank’s charm and plans something else: a hidden bomb inside the ransom bag. When the bomb detonates, chaos erupts, and Frank flees toward a mine with Smoking Fox as his hostage. Tommy gives chase, rescues Smoking Fox, and captures Frank, who finally admits he knew Cicero killed Tommy’s mother and is left to rot in the mine by the son who now wants justice.

Back in the Native Village, Tommy marries Smoking Fox, with the support of the Ridiculous 6 and the extended family he has found along the way. Screaming Eagle makes a final, generous decision to adopt all of the half-brothers as he did with Tommy, cementing a new blended family. The Left-Eye Gang confesses that their claim of removing their right eyes was a lie, which angers Clem even more and seals the moral complexity of the tale.

In the final post-credits moment, Abner Doubleday and his Chinese baseball team chant in a closing tribute to the Stockburns, a lighthearted coda that underscores the film’s oddball fusion of Western mythology and comic misadventure. The story ends with a sense of reconciliation and acceptance of a family forged through mischief, deception, and a shared pursuit of a better future, even as the community reflects on the lies told and the truths uncovered along the way.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:22