Show Bus

Willie is one of our National treasures in my opinion. I suppose some people would disagree, and that's o.k., you have every right to be wrong.

The best part of this film, I felt, was the fairly much realistic portrayal of what life is like on the road for entertainers. Or, more accurately what is was like back when this film was made. Who better to play the lead than one who's probably logged a million or so miles out there between the ditches? I also loved Slim Pickens performance, and the camaraderie between Willie and Slim was hilarious and heartwarming.

I can't imagine anyone in the world who hasn't seen this film. It should be required viewing for any new converts to Country Music. I gave this film a rating of 9 - shaving off one point for the aggrandizement of boozing/pill popping and womanizing. But you gotta love Willie et al in spite of it. Maybe because of it, who knows?

Despite what I wrote above in my summary line, I did not hate or dislike "Honeysuckle Rose". There were some things about it that I genuinely enjoyed. With Willie Nelson headlining the movie, there is of course a lot of opportunity for him to sing, which I found very enjoyable despite the fact that country music in normally not my thing. Nelson isn't a great actor - he's only adequate here - but in his defence he doesn't try to be something he's not, and his relaxed and easygoing manner is palatable. Speaking of relaxed and easygoing, director Jerry Schatzberg films the movie in that style, in a way that gives many of the scenes an almost documentary feel, making them surprisingly realistic. However, eventually this slow and steady attitude starts to backfire. The movie is extremely drawn out; there's not a heck of a lot of story here, and what there is could have been told at a length much shorter than the 119 minutes this movie takes. All the same, the movie does have its charms, and I can see some people really enjoying it despite its shortcomings.

Willie Nelson stars in this movie depicting the life of a country western singer not unlike Willie Nelson. He's married to Dyan Cannon and they have a son Joey Floyd. To raise said child Cannon who used to perform with him retired from the business to become a full time mom.

Another retirement, that of Slim Pickens his long time guitar accompaniest sets the stage for our drama. Pickens's daughter Amy Irving whom he has taught the instrument goes on the road in his stead. Nelson who is a hedonist by habit on the road takes his pleasures where he finds them. When Irving admits she's had a thing for him, the rest is just another case of infidelity.

The best thing about Honeysuckle Rose is the great country western score that mostly Willie Nelson sings. Before he was a performer Nelson wrote songs for other performers. One of his songs On The Road Again received an Oscar nomination for Best Song.

Nelson and the rest of the cast perform well. Further down in the credits take note of Mickey Rooney, Jr. as a prominent country western star and Lane Smith his unctuous manager. Smith is into merchandising and promotion but doesn't know real talent if it sung in his good ear. Nelson and Rooney's joint appearance proves a disaster.

If you're into country music and especially Willie Nelson, Honeysuckle Rose is not to be missed.

Whoever write this movie must have been a big fan of Willie Nelson and Texas Country music. The plot is right out of a Willie Nelson song, he wrote many tear-jerkers, and you see many cameos of Willie's musician friends and fellow Texas musicians like Emmylou Harris, Jeanne Sealey, the Gimbles and on and on. Willie basically plays himself, his look is the same and he sings his own hits and travels with his own tour band. Hearing him called "Buck Bonham" will seem a little jarring to his fans, but just go with it. Dyan Cannon is beautiful as his long-suffering wife, Slim Pickens (one of the strangest stage names in Hollywood..) is great as the father of the love interest and an old musician friend of "Buck". Amy Irving is the love interest and one can imagine an old tired out country singr falling for this sweet young girl. If you like Willie you have probaby seen this movie and don't need my two cents, if you don't care for Willie or country music, you might want to steer clear. This is a country music lovers movie. I would imagine this is why it didn't do better in the box office at first run but seems to have done better on cable.

Great news!!! After years of waiting, this is finally on DVD, but for some strange reason only as the B-side of "Pure Country"! Don't know why they did this, but the picture and sound quality are both great.

Either way, it's a movie worth watching again and again: decent story line and fine acting (especially Willie and Slim Pickens!), but the musical performances are the real stars. Unlike many other music related films, there are dozens of songs, in full-length live performances (eg: unlike The Buddy Holly Story, which has dozens of lip-synced snippets of the same song) Also, the band members are authentic and likable characters, remarkably natural actors. The soundtrack album is also excellent, and available on-line as a three-for-price-of-one with two other Willie records. Enjoy!!!