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Movies / Upcoming / Shut Up & Sing
Shut Up & Sing

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Shut Up & Sing (2006)

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Reviews Counted:117

Fresh:105

Rotten:12

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Though ostensibly an intimate look at the Dixie Chicks after their 2003 anti-Bush remark, the film achieves broader relevance by exploring how media, politics, and celebrities intertwine.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

US Box Office: $1,072,805

Synopsis: This documentary captures the female country-&-western group the Dixie Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003, singer Natalie... This documentary captures the female country-&-western group the Dixie Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003, singer Natalie Maines ignited a maelstrom of controversy and red-state outrage when she declared--from a London stage on the eve of the Iraqi conflict--that she was ashamed that President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. When a rabidly right-wing group picked up on it, the band found themselves in the center of controversy regarding the nature of patriotism, freedom of speech, feminism, and the split between pro- and anti-war Americans. Filmmaker Barbara Kopple brings us the fly-on-the-wall view of the next three years, capturing Haines and sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire in dressing rooms, on stage, and in recording studios, bonding with each other, their families, producer Rick Rubin, and their supportive manager, Simon Renshaw. Through the crises, they keep their sense of humor and sisterhood, not backing down from their liberal stance, and turning the backlash into a triumph. They also make some great music, and the film includes plenty of riveting, intense footage of the band in performance onstage and in the studio. Among the faces appearing in archival footage are President Bush, Bill Maher, and right-wing country star Toby Keith. [More]

Starring: Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Martie Maguire, Rick Rubin

Starring: Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Martie Maguire, Rick Rubin, George W. Bush, Adrian Pasdar

Director: Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck

Director: Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
Producer: David Cassidy, Claude Davies, Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for Shut Up & Sing

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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The film is about the way hazards force artists to rethink careers and, in some cases, do better work.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
12/01/06
Charlotte Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A testimonial to the viability and efficiency of the American marketplace of ideas, where Toby Keith, Natalie Maines, Bill O'Reilly and millions of other voices are free to annoy, heckle, praise, please and sing...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
12/01/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

These are very hot ladies -- as much for their looks as for their smart minds, values and talent. If you didn't admire and respect them before you see this film, I think you will, after.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/30/06
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

When the focus is on the controversy, on how everything is political these days, the movie feels fresh and alive.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
11/29/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
11/25/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film suffers from its non-linear approach to the subject.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/25/06
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Shut Up & Sing isn't a particularly deep documentary, but it is a consistently engaging one.

Full Review Source: Show Business Weekly | comment Comment
11/21/06
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Show Business Weekly

Let's put it this way, you will believe the Dixie Chicks are Not Ready to Make Nice.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
11/20/06
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

Despite death threats, boycotts and public vilification, the song has gone on for the Dixie Chicks. And that's not whistling Dixie.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
11/20/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

It is truly astounding that one off-the-cuff remark could cause such a commotion. And please, I don't care what your politics are --- this was downright disturbing.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
11/20/06
Jeanne Kaplan
Jeanne Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

You would have thought they advocated the slaughter of helpless kittens.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
11/20/06
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

If you weren't a Dixie Chicks fan before, watching the documentary Shut Up & Sing will likely turn you into one.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
11/18/06
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A superior rockumentary.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/18/06
Edward Lawrenson
Edward Lawrenson
Time Out

A fascinating look at the intersection of commerce, celebrity, and controversy.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/18/06
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Whatever you think of what Maines said, "Shut Up & Sing" is worth seeing as an illustration of the relationship between politics, art, free speech and responsibility.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
11/18/06
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

A thoughtful and enjoyable documentary from Barbara Kopple.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
11/17/06
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

[Natalie Maines] makes it clear in this astonishingly candid, intimate film that she doesn't think she has anything to apologize for.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/17/06
Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin
San Francisco Chronicle

The most fascinating aspect of the movie is the inside look at the image-management industry as it futilely works to rehabilitate the band's image among its red-state, country-radio base.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
11/17/06
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

Something the movie fails to consider: that it's possible to have a low opinion of both the Iraq war and Mains' actions in London.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
11/17/06
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

The fact that you might emerge from the theater eager to give their albums a listen is a testament to how effective this lively and stirring movie about freedom of speech really is.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
11/17/06
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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