VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Steineded How sad is this?

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

ckmfox I watched this movie yesterday not knowing anything about it. The lead actor was unknown to me but there was some great support from the late great Michael Clarke Duncan, Luke Perry, and the gorgeous Kiele Sanchez. The story follows a failed musician and his search for his confidence to perform live on stage again, however, his drinking is seriously hampering any chances. As a result of his struggles he gets into debt with Luke Perry, and to add insult to injury he also sleeps with Perry's wife. Just as things are getting really bad in walks MCD with hope of an inheritance. Thus the road to redemption begins in a blues heavy trip across America, visiting many clubs along the way and including many blues tunes too. Much of the movie is about the trip, but when they arrive at their destination the true redemption is achieved, and the last third of the movie is very enjoyable indeed. I think most rock and blues fans will enjoy this movie of one man's struggle with his own demons, and the lead actor, who I have never seen before really carried this role off well. Luke Perry and Kiele Sanchez both had good support roles in the movie too, and Perry was underused in my opinion.

moderniste My dad is a huge blues fan, and when I was a very affected mod/new wave teenager in the 1980s, he would sneak me into his favorite haunts to see what I now know was some pretty legendary stuff. So when I ran across the opening credits whilst cruising Showtime, I was immediately hooked by the first of many searingly authentic blues club scenes. Obviously, the key people attached to this movie really gave a shite about this hard-to-pin-down genre of music.All throughout the film, it was the excellence of those key people that really made the movie so great. Morgan Simpson, co-writer, producer, and central actor brings a lot to this movie, and he managed to attract some heavy hitters like just about every other actor, especially Tom Skerritt and Michael Clark Duncan, and the criminally undersung Mario Van Peebles as director. There must have been a huge amount of synergy between Van Peebles and Simpson, because their movie is very fully realized, artfully shot, and brings alive the characters with amazing depth of emotion. Yes, I too cried.My favorite movies are made by guys like Polanski, Scorcese and P.T. Anderson, who totally commit to every aspect of their project, and this movie has that passion. I can see where some might find the storyline and ending, and some of the "fortune cookie" platitudes a bit trite, but I understand: this is an unabashedly sentimental film refreshingly absent of the jadedness/irony/ennui in which many indie directors overindulge.I read a review in an Austin paper in which the reviewer really savages Morgan Simpson's acting performance. She could not be more wrong. I had never seen this actor before, but after being very affected by the depth of his performance, I looked up the movie on IMDb, and saw that he was very key to the overall production of the film, which impressed me even more. And after looking at his fresh-faced photo on his bio page, I got the sense that he really inhabited his character, because he was quite physically transformed into a rather crusty, shady guy whom you really don't want to like, but end up shedding tears for.All in all, a surprising big film that also feels very dark horse. Love it.

John Raymond Peterson After I watched the trailers, I knew I had to see this movie. I had not yet seen a Mario Van Peebles directed movie I liked until now. It helped that Michael Clarke Duncan, who has 90 movies under his belt, has a face and build that gets immediate recognition (Oscar nominated for supporting role in The Green Mile), was the co-star to Morgan Simpson. Duncan delivers a good performance. Also helpful was the supporting role by Tom Skerritt who has 150 movies under his belt and has equal face recognition. As for Morgan Simpson, who has the lead in this movie, he was completely unknown to me but I was sold on his performance. He wrote the story so he had the benefit of knowing exactly what his character was suppose to feel and why.The story has a few weak spots but they don't deter the viewer from keeping focused on all the good points. To use the film's own expression, Duncan delivers some fortune cookie wisdom, but it is no less valuable wisdom as far as I'm concerned. Even the music delivers wisdom to those who pay attention. The four IMDb users who wrote reviews (there were only 4 before mine) gave the movie pretty good ratings and their reviews all have one thing in common which I wholeheartedly agree with: The music in the movie is really good, unless you hate the blues and country styles (especially the blues). The story has in the first 75% to 80% of the movie a well planned set-up for a surprise you don't see coming and which may bring tears to some viewers with kinder hearts; one other fellow reviewer admitted experiencing just that. Thankfully, Skerritt's character made a point in the movie that you need to cry sometimes to purge the sadness that will otherwise weigh you down…and it feels better after. We all know that to be true.If you consider yourself a movie lover or one that has discriminating taste, I hesitate not in recommending it.

bev-12-635025 The gritty parts didn't pull any punches...this would be a good movie for recovering addicts. Many movies show the characters drinking heavily, but few show the consequences as vividly as in the beginning scenes. The character of Jefferson Bailey was flawed and almost disgusting, but his end of the road status was necessary to propel the plot forward. Maybe the story was too neatly tied together(finding someone and something important at the pawn shop)but I liked the characters enough to go along with the plot. I cried at the end. I cared about the characters, wanted them to overcome their pain and grow. The music was great, sets seemed like places I've been and it was good to see Michael Clarke Duncan, along with Tom Skerritt and the large cast of newer or unknown actors.