Honeysuckle Rose (also known as On the Road Again) is a 1980 American romantic drama western film directed by Jerry Schatzberg, written by John Binder, Gustaf Molander, Carol Sobieski, Gösta Stevens, and William D. Wittliff, and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon, and Amy Irving. It is a loose remake of the 1936 Swedish film Intermezzo.
| Honeysuckle Rose | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jerry Schatzberg |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Intermezzo by Gösta Stevens Gustaf Molander |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robby Müller |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by |
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Production company | Major Studio Partners |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 119 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million[2] |
| Box office | $17.8 million[3] |
Plot
editBuck Bonham is a country singer, with a good family, struggling to find national fame. He juggles his music career with his responsibilities to his wife and son. He has everything going his way until the daughter of his former guitarist joins his tour. The road leads to temptation, which leads to his downfall.
Cast
edit- Willie Nelson as Buck Bonham
- Dyan Cannon as Viv Bonham
- Amy Irving as Lily Ramsey
- Slim Pickens as Garland Ramsey
- Joey Floyd as Jamie Bonham
- Charles Levin as Sid
- Mickey Rooney Jr. as Cotton Roberts
- Lane Smith as Brag, Cotton's manager
- Pepe Serna as Rooster
- Priscilla Pointer as Rosella Ramsey
- Diana Scarwid as Jeanne
- Jeannie Seely as Jeannie
- Emmylou Harris as herself
- Rex Ludwick as Tex
- Mickey Raphael as Kelly
- Grady Martin as himself
- Bee Spears as Bo
Release
editCritical reception
editFilm critic Roger Ebert called the film "sly and entertaining"[4] yet ultimately predictable and disappointing:
The movie remains resolutely at the level of superficial cliché, resisting any temptation to make a serious statement about the character's hard-drinking, self-destructive lifestyle...Honeysuckle Rose has the kind of problems that can be resolved with an onstage reconciliation in the last scene: Willie and Dyan singing a duet together and everybody knowing things will turn out all right.[4]
Regarding Willie Nelson's performance, Janet Maslin wrote in the New York Times:
Mr. Nelson doesn't entirely fit his role, any more than the other actors fit theirs. He seems too odd, too solitary, for all the intimacy forced upon him by the story line. But he brings tremendous authority to every gesture, and his character is the only thing in the movie about which the audience is bound to want to know more. Mr. Nelson accomplishes all this in a role with very little dialogue, which makes his sheer force of personality seem all the more impressive.[5]
The film was screened out of competition at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.[6]
Wide Open Country music magazine ranked it the second best Willie Nelson film, behind Red Headed Stranger.[7]
Honeysuckle Rose holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews.[8]
Box-office
editHoneysuckle Rose opened theatrically in 826 venues on July 18, 1980 and earned $2,189,966 in its first weekend, ranking third in the domestic box office. Ultimately, the film grossed $17,815,212.[3]
Accolades
edit| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[9] | Best Original Song | "On the Road Again" Music and Lyrics by Willie Nelson |
Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Supporting Actress | Amy Irving | Won |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Supporting Actress | Nominated |
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- "On the Road Again" – Nominated[10]
Soundtrack
editA soundtrack was released by CBS in 1980.
Charts
edit| Chart (1980) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] | 34 |
References
edit- ^ "HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (A)". British Board of Film Classification. July 28, 1980. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog".
- ^ a b "Honeysuckle Rose (1980)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (July 18, 1980). "Honeysuckle Rose (1980)". RogerEbert.com. Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (July 18, 1980). "Honeysuckle Rose". The New York Times.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Honeysuckle Rose". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ Sparkman, Darby (March 31, 2021). "Willie Nelson's Best Movies, Ranked". Wide Open Country. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ "Honeysuckle Rose". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.