Am I Missing Something?

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

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The final fifteen minute segment gives the film at least some depth. But getting there is something of a chore. In this Kristy McNichol vehicle, a young country/western singer named Travis (Dennis Quaid) and his kid sister Amanda (McNichol) travel around the South playing honky-tonk joints, en route to Nashville, where they dream of making it big. Apart from the Southern setting, the plot has almost nothing in common with the title song, first recorded by Vicki Lawrence.Most of the plot consists of bar room talk, with no fewer than three fights; country music with a couple of pretty good songs; and a rakish Travis chasing attractive females, much to the chagrin of the business oriented Amanda and jealous local rednecks. Until near the end, the story just repeats these three basic themes.I didn't believe for a second that Amanda, as a 16-year-old, was capable either of deal making with record producers or performing professionally in front of an audience. Kristy McNichol is not convincing as a Southerner and neither is Mark Hamill. Dennis Quaid fares better in the role he plays.Visuals, editing, costumes, and sets are okay but nothing special. The misleading title gives the impression of a hastily put together script to take financial advantage of the success of the Vicki Lawrence song. A thirty-minute short could have covered the same story ground and been less tedious to sit through.

After 1980's "Little Darlings" grossed some $40 million at the box office, everyone credited scene-stealer Kristy McNichol with its success; the teen actress then had the opportunity to do anything she wanted...and she chose this comedy-drama with country music. Why? Because she gets to sing, act sexy and tough, be soft, and do a drunk routine (which doesn't come off--she's one of the most unconvincing drunks ever). McNichol plays business-minded sis to brother Dennis Quaid, a hell-raising, skirt-chasing musician, but his scrapes with the law make Kristy turn to cop Mark Hamill for help. That's the whole plot, really. The picture is such a mess from a director's standpoint, I can imagine the editor (Anne Goursand) sitting at her cutting machine surrounded by reels of film going out of her mind. Pieces of it are energetic, McNichol is engaging, but the guys are colorless, the writing is pedestrian, and the ending is dopey instead of moving. The rather ungainly title is lifted from a 1972 hit song, which has been rewritten completely and rerecorded here. Why did they bother using it at all? ** from ****

I guess what makes this flick so unique for me is the fact that it was filmed almost entirely on location in my hometown....of Trenton, Georgia...which is a smalltown(Population app. 1,500) in the Northwest Georgia Mountains....the backdrop wasn't changed at all...and now I can watch this film and see my hometown 22 years ago(even though it was released in 1981...it was filmed during the summer months of 1980)....The script is lacking indeed..I'll give you that...but, it does have my favorite actor of all time(Dennis Quaid) starring in it...I've often thought if they'd made the movie based strictly on the lyrics to the well known Vicki Lawrence song..it would have been much better....But, as it is...if you aren't from the Chattanooga,Tn./Trenton,Ga. area it would probably be a major dissapointment for you....But, if you like Dennis Quaid or Don Stroud you'll enjoy it...worth watching...Dennis Quaid surprised me...He really can sing!!!

Yeah, it's cheesy. Dennis Quaid and Kristy McNichol sing, or try to. That just about says it all. But, I grew up watching this movie. It seems like it came on every summer, along with Kristy's other flicks: "Only When I Laugh" and "Little Darlings." I went to great lengths recently to buy the out-of-print video. Seeing it just takes me back. Great cinema? Uh, no. But good for a little nostalgia and fun cheesiness? Definitely.