How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I saw this in a New York independent film theater when it was first released. I knew Bill Wither's hit songs of era but knew nothing of his private life. He comes across in this doc as a laid back southern gentleman. He left the music business, seemingly by choice. He is content to spend time with his family and occasionally dabble in making music when the mood hits him. Some of the best moments show him visiting his old home town in West Virginia and reminiscing with a childhood friend. A funny scene shows him talking about his job making toilets for 747s, which he speaks about with as much pride as he did his songwriting. What is refreshing about this is that he seems to be saying take pride in your work no matter what. There is an encounter with Dr Cornell West and Tavis Smiley, two black commentators and activists. They try to get Withers to talk about not "selling out", but Bill will have none of that, he just says even if you own a furniture store, the best sign you can have is "Sold Out". Withers also mentions that women did not find him handsome until he became famous, he wasn't able to get women while making 3 dollars a hour! Withers reveals he was a stutterer when he was young, and there is a moving sequence where he speaks to children with the same problem. There is later a wonderful scene where his daughter sings a hypnotic blues song she composed herself, she clearly inherited his musical talent and has a lovely voice. By this time, we are wondering if we will get to hear Withers himself sing again, and the last scenes finally show him on stage at a tribute where he gives us his classic "Grandma's Hands"Definitely a must see for anyone interested in 70's music and if you want to see a nice guy not finish last for once.

My first introduction to the music of Bill Withers was the song "Lean On Me". I would not exactly say that it was my all time favorite song but the song in itself struck a chord with me. I had no idea who the mastermind behind the song until certain years later. I only first came to know of the name Bill Withers as a result of having become a hardcore soul fan since 2002. It was only through my soul music journey that I decided to buy his 1981 Greatest Hits CD over 10 years ago.I am proud to say that I still have the CD to this very day. It was then that I could perhaps say that I was formally introduced to the singer that sang and wrote songs such as "Ain't No Sunshine", "Lovely Day" and so forth.Although the documentary may have come out eight years ago, I did not think much about it until recently. I am not certain as to what drove me to watch the documentary yesterday evening but it allowed me to gain a glimpse of who this man really was and how did not give into the system. I would not wish to say that Bill Withers is a pop star in the true sense of the word but he did not put fame above his principles. That is why I believe God has blessed this man with so many years. May God continue to bless him as his nearing 80. There are not many of his caliber that can actually stand up for what they believe in. I wish that the current crop of musicians can learn from this wonderful man.If there is perhaps one thing that "Still Bill" has taught me is to be true to myself. I do not have to owe anyone any apology to the principles for which I stand. Of course, this is not to say that Mr. Withers was a perfect man in any sense of the term. He also did make mistakes along the way but this should not detract from the fact that the morale behind this 78-minute film is we need to know who we are, where we come from and what we stand for. Mr. Withers exemplified these virtues mentioned here. I specifically recommend it to anyone who may have not heard the name Bill Withers before. It gives you a perspective of the man behind the songs that we often sing in our showers, kitchens, cars, churches or even when we walk alone in the street. It is never a documentary you would simply want to watch once and forget about it. I am actually going to watch it again after this review. There is a lot we can learn from the one of the last living soul legends of the 20th century.

Still Bill (2009) *** (out of 4) Candid documentary about soul singer Bill Weather's who is best known today for the classics "Lean on Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine" but just as his career was taking off he decided to leave the business and take care of his family. This is a pretty fascinating documentary on many levels but the biggest is probably just the fact that everyone knows a song like "Lean on Me" yet they might not realize who sings it or whatever happened to him. This documentary runs 78-minutes and it really tries to explain what Withers has been up to in the twenty-three years since his last album. Withers discusses why he walked away from the business, the issues he had being popular and we also learn some darker things including his work with stuttering children, which he was one of when he was younger. In the film's most touching moment Withers is being honored for his work with stuttering kids and he finally breakdowns, which is extremely heartfelt and especially his message for the kids. We also deal with his music as he explains what he has been up to all these years and we also hear from his daughter who herself was trying to get into music. The cameras are also there as Withers plans on getting back in the studio for a Spanish song. Fans of Withers are certainly going to enjoy seeing this look at his life because you really do get a great idea of who the man is and it's clear that he has a certain integrity that would be hard to find in the business. The way he just walked away from the money and spotlight because he didn't have anything to say can be greatly admired as is the work he does for those who suffered as he did as a child. We get clips from live performances, TV shows as well as a tribute concert. STILL BILL still leaves a few questions unanswered and at times it goes slightly off the rails but this is still an impressive film worth watching.

There is plenty of sunshine when this film is on. We have all heard his music, no matter what age you are, and sing along to his songs. This film is about the life of 70's musician, Bill Withers. I really loved this film because it gives a history of this mans life. In other words, its not all about his music. But more about the after math of a successful music career gone limp after a few years. The film captures Bill as he is now and then takes you back to when he was most famous. Sting makes a guest appearance in the film. Sting is always nice to see. I really liked the archival footage. I felt like the images really took me back to the moments of the 70's/80's. I mostly liked watching the way Bill interacted with his daughter who, by the way, is a talented singer like her dad. Still Bill is clean fun and such an important film to see because singers from his time will not be around forever.