Songwriter

A film whose time has come. Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson essentially play themselves as a songwriter and a cock-of-the-walk country god, and do it perfectly. The plot concerns Willie's character, Doc Jenkins, attempting to liberate himself from a contract he committed to when he was younger, drunker and a little less immortal. The supporting players are top of the line aces, including a surly Rip Torn and the always-great Melinda Dillon. Lesley Ann Warren is the new singer who Doc hitches his stars to, and she's convincing enough. The dialogue is fast, funny and, I suspect, captures the inside angle of the Music Business to a tee. One of the most unheralded great, little movies of all time. A better version of all those other syrupy, sentimental inside music movies.

"Songwriter" never fails to hit the spot. This may sound weird but watching this movie feels like hanging out with old friends. There's a lot of great dialogue and a lot of laughs. There's a lot of good music, too. "Songwriter" is filled with great characters and has a terrific villain. Everybody in the cast delivers a solid performance. "Honeysuckle Rose" may be a better movie but "Songwriter" is more fun to watch. Honorable mention: Rip Torn.

"He Lost Everything...Now Its Time To Get Even." Kick back and enjoy Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson as a pair of hard-living Texans in this funny, original and very real look at the country music business. It's Willie and Kris, on the road again, sharing music and raising hell! Melinda Dillon and Rip Torn give a great performance. This movie was pretty good to watch on VHS. I don't know if this movie has come out on DVD or not. The acting wasn't too well performed...but the music was. It's an "ok" movie to enjoy watching. A friend of mine, Tommy McClure, R. I. P., had told me to watch this movie. He was in the "Roarers Band" in this movie.

In Hollywood vernacular this would be the quintessential sleeper: a small gem straight out of left field forced to look after itself in a market geared more toward largely impersonal blockbusters. It isn't necessary to be a fan of country-western music to enjoy the film: a disarming comic fable about one man's clever attempt to buck the system, represented here by the music industry. The movie works (in part) because of its oblique, slightly skewed narrative style, courtesy of Bud Shrake's elliptical screenplay and director Alan Rudolph's eye for offhand detail. Some of the Southern accents are thick enough to almost require subtitles, but the film is a true original, with a photogenic performance by Willie Nelson as the roguish title character.

Willie Nelson turns in a surprisingly effective performance as Doc Jenkins, a travelling singer/songwriter whose dreams of greater success (primarily in financial terms) collide with his lack of business sense in Alan Rudolph's entertaining Songwriter. It's up to his friends, fellow performer, Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson) and rising star, Gilda (Lesley Ann Warren) to help him out of a bad deal made with Rodeo Rocky, played by Richard C. Sarafian.

I was delighted to see how effortlessly Nelson threw himself into the role of Doc. Did his inspiration come from the real life financial troubles he faced a while back? You decide. It's just a pleasure to see him using that golden voice and interacting with old pal, Kristofferson. I also enjoyed the trip that Rudolph takes us on the road and behind the stage of the country music scene.

Setbacks include the discovery of Gilda. Although possessed with a fine voice, I had trouble believing that she had enough talent to sweep Blackie and Doc off their feet. Showing a newcomer as "gifted" in film is always tough. The voice has to be right and the songs interesting. I just don't think it worked here. I also didn't agree with Rocky's character who came off as a little too slimy, although we are talking about the record industry.

I enjoyed it overall. The story keeps you watching and Nelson with his guitar is worth the price of the rental alone. Watching this songwriter was a pleasure.