Product: Road to Nashville [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
The "Bumpy" Road To Nashville.
Watching this reasonable attempt at a movie begs the viewer to reflect just how far Nashville has come with it's entry into mainstream America. First the good news....no make that the GREAT news. The Stoneman family. I never knew Ronnie Stoneman and her luscious sister (is her name Donna) were so talented! They are the surprise of the movie and clearly the most entertaining segments even considering how dated their dance moves may seem. Then there's super hip Connie Smith in a Gold Spandex outfit years before anybody else contrasted by a very unhip Dottie West. Dottie must have seen Connie on the set and said "hot dam....now I get it"! Ralph Emory somewhere near the middle of the movie saves us from Doodles Weaver. In reflection you can see that the days of acts like Faron Young, Hank Snow, and some others presented here complete with covered wagon western motif outfits and insipid lyrics are numbered. Marty Robbins who uses this movie mainly as a vehicle for his crossover career does fairly well. Then there's a scary looking Johnny Cash. I say scary because at this time in his career he still exhibits that explosive volatile musical genius that almost seems caged in this movie. Let's say I would be afraid to take a parking space away from him at Wal-Mart and see him get out of his car and head towards me. Waylon looks and sounds great, Kitty Wells (surprisingly not so great) and most of the other acts are...well....sorry to say only fair at best. So why 5 stars? Because of the historical value of looking back in time for what passed as country music and the precursor of what was to come. It's all captured in this technically inferior but fascinating "Hootenanny" style extravaganza! Be prepared to do a lot of scanning with your remote!