It ain't no "Ray"

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2005)

I know this won't be popular, but "Walk the Line" has to be compared to "Ray". And, sorry to say, it finishes a distant second. There are so many similarities to "Ray", that there's not enough room here to list them all. From the accidental death of his brother, to his Southern/religious/country roots, to his drug addiction, and then to his marital betrayals, Johnny Cash's life absolutely paralleled Ray Charles'. But Ray had something Johnny didn't. Ray rose to the top of the music industry after overcoming physical disabilities and racial discrimination. What was Johnny's big problem? Many people mistakenly sympathized with Johnny for returning to prison to perform and entertain the inmates. The only problem is, Johnny wasn't returning. He was never a convict. He got away with using drugs, while Ray was arrested and embarrassed by the negative publicity. We can sympathize with Ray's problems and misbehavior a lot more than Johnny Cash's. And Jamie Foxx was much more convincing in his portrayal than Joaquin Phoenix. Reese Witherspoon did do an outstanding job as June Carter and saved the movie with her lively personality and excellent singing voice.