The film is about the way hazards force artists to rethink careers and, in some cases, do better work.
Shut Up & Sing (2006)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Shut Up & Sing
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...
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.
When the focus is on the controversy, on how everything is political these days, the movie feels fresh and alive.
Shut Up & Sing isn't a particularly deep documentary, but it is a consistently engaging one.
Let's put it this way, you will believe the Dixie Chicks are Not Ready to Make Nice.
Despite death threats, boycotts and public vilification, the song has gone on for the Dixie Chicks. And that's not whistling Dixie.
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.
You would have thought they advocated the slaughter of helpless kittens.
If you weren't a Dixie Chicks fan before, watching the documentary Shut Up & Sing will likely turn you into one.
A fascinating look at the intersection of commerce, celebrity, and controversy.
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.
[Natalie Maines] makes it clear in this astonishingly candid, intimate film that she doesn't think she has anything to apologize for.
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.
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.
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.
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