[further explanation needed] While filming pro bullriders for a commercial at the national rodeo in the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Spike befriended two suburban teenagers who aspired to be cowboys.

[2][3] In 2009 Amarillo by Morning was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of a retrospective on Jonze's work.

[5] In the book ReFocus: The Films of Spike Jonze Laurel Westrup noted that the short "diverges substantially from the irreverent charm of his narrative ads and music videos.

However, it reveals some key thematic features and an emphasis on creative collaboration that carry into the Suburbs films.

"[6] The Village Voice has also praised the work, calling it "a perfect, unpretentious short doc tagging a crew of suburbanite Houston teens who get together to ride a homemade mechanical bull and dream of future rodeo glory.