A good movie about a great story

I’ve always been a big Johnny Cash fan — my IPod has 5 complete albums of Johnny Cash music, plus some singles from other albums.

So when I heard that the story of Johnny Cash’s life was being made into a movie, Walk the Line, I was a little concerned that they wouldn’t be able to do the Man in Black justice. And when I heard that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were playing the lead roles of Johnny and June Carter Cash, I was even more skeptical. But when I heard that Joaquin and Reese were doing all of their own actual singing — no lip synching —, I was convinced that the movie would be a disaster.

But then I saw some trailers and read some good reviews, and I thought that I should go check it out for myself.

So last night, my lovely wife and I went to the Alamo Draft House (for those of you not from Austin, Houston, and now San Antonio, the Alamo Draft House is the best movie theatre concept in America — rows of seats are separated by a table-rail in front of every row of seats. You order drinks and food from a full menu, and waiters bring your drinks to your seat, before and during the movie. We shared two buckets of beer, a pulled-pork sandwhich, chicken strips, and fried pickles during the movie).

For the first several scenes with Joaquin, and especially when he sang the first Johnny Cash song of the movie (Folsom Prison Blues), I still didn’t see Joaquin as the young Johnny Cash. But by the end of the movie, I was sold.

The movie is at it’s best, though, when Reese Witherspoon is in a scene — the chemistry between her and Joaquin and their duets allowed me to suspend my doubts and to see them as Johnny and June Carter.

You don’t have to be a fan of Johnny Cash’s music go to enjoy this movie — but if you are Johnny Cash fan, they you’ll love the movie.