TV Reviews : Nelson and Kristofferson Draw a ‘Pair of Aces’

Gritty Willie Nelson and flinty Kris Kristofferson are the entitled “Pair of Aces” in the CBS Sunday movie (8-10 p.m.). But the story is so lame and languid that only staunch fans of the stars will find reason to keep tuned.

Nelson’s down-home con man and Kristofferson’s sturdy Texas Ranger are reluctant comrades in the manhunt for a serial killer of high school cheerleaders. That may sound lurid, but don’t be deceived. The biggest thrill in this show is watching Nelson slip out of handcuffs.

As a team hitched together like a ball and chain, the stars do rub off well together, rumbling around the scenic woods and farmlands outside Austin, where the film was shot. But the only excuse for this movie is the gnarly byplay between ol’ Willie and Kris. The plot lacks any other redeeming quality, and that includes supporting actor Rip Torn, in a throwaway parody of a crusty retired Ranger that Torn phones in.

Cliches in the script by Bud Shrake and Gary Cartwright abound: among them, a couple of cackling yahoos in a pickup, a pool hall full of rough bikers, a corruptible D.A., a rebellious daughter--even, in the movie’s most dismaying moment, a bunch of rangers at an outdoor barbecue sitting around singing songs in the twilight, like an outtake from an Autry Western.

One moment, however, is indeed genuine. It occurs when the grizzled Nelson takes Kristofferson’s older, troubled daughter (Jane Cameron) and endearingly whirls her around the room to a dance record. Director Aaron Lipstadt earns at least half a stripe right there.