oprlvr33 How wonderful to have a decent, hometown movie, pairing a Western film legend with his own son. Eastwood delivers fine presence in this forgotten classic (originally aired on HBO, in my area) .. While Kyle showed definite promise as a young actor. And brilliant of Eastwood to cast so many fine, talented familiar faces in the supportive and featured roles. Loved seeing Verna Bloom again, after High Plains Drifter. And Tracey Walter left me in stitches with his tasty quips.Perhaps it did poorly at the box-office because Eastwood fans got so accustomed to his signature gun-slinging, cuss-fighting, or bare-fisted films - none of which this one included. It was plain hometown family-style goodness, with some good country singing.

Chrysanthepop Clint Eastwood's 'Honkytonk Man' remains one of his most underrated works. Critics had rejected it. The film came out at a time when movies about glamour, adventure, boxing and organized crime took over Hollywood and as such, there was little place for a small film like 'Honkytonk Man'. This film is about wanting more than what life currently has to offer. It's about wanting to do something, to become something, that would actually make life worth living. This theme is also echoed in Eastwood's 'The Bridges of Madison County' where young housewife who had been living a monotonous life finds love and passion with a traveller.In a way, 'Honkytonk Man' is a road movie but not the conventional kind. Here the focus is not on the journey the characters make to Nashville but on Red's last chance to reach for the sky and on Hoss's growing up. The bond Red and his nephew is also depicted in an unconventional nature that is both endearing and even arguably abusive.On the technical side, the execution is minimal. The cinematography is adequate and music is efficiently used. The sets, especially the landscapes, are beautiful but they don't dominate or intrude on the scenes. Lighting is underused stressing on the darkness of the main theme.Eastwood sublimely plays one of his most vulnerable characters. He also shows a keen liking towards country music. Kyle Eastwood wonderfully downplays Hoss as the naive teenager who, seduced by his uncle's music and independence, finally sees an opportunity out of cotton picking. Alexa Kenin is vivacious as the talentless aspiring singer who seizes her ticket to independence.'Honyktonk Man' isn't without its share of flaws (the pacing is slow at times and many of the subplots appear contrived) but it works very well as a study of relationships, of characters and of growing up. In the end, it feels like a sad poem but not a hopeless one.

Bolesroor "Honkytonk Man" is like a dust sandwich... it's like being sucker-punched by a theme-park cowboy in Pioneer Town and lying on the ground while he pours Luke-warm Dr. Pepper on your face... it's like having to listen to a toothless old man with a guitar ramble on about days gone by, telling bold-faced lies and forgetting the lyrics to popular songs...Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but not by much. Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this coma-paced country/western daydream without any sense of plot, or urgency, or tension. Or humor.Clint plays Red Stovall, a country singer stricken with tuberculosis, except as usual, Clint is really just playing Clint, only this time he has a guitar. The movie floats from one vague encounter to another without any highs or lows or emotional significance. Clint plays a bad ass, then a balladeer, then a good ol' boy, then a bandit, without ever connecting any of the dots. The movie looks like it's stitched together from deleted scenes from Clint's other movies. That's not a compliment.The movie is a long, dry, musty road trip through the Depresson-Era dust bowl. And guess what?!? Grandpa's coming along for the ride! (That should liven things up.) I can't remember any movie ever seeming more LONELY... none of the actors elicit any kind of emotional response. Verna Bloom pops up to alert us that she's still lactating in her mid-forties, and Alexa Kenin is the bangable pubescent we'd all love to find in the trunk of our car.Other than that there's nothing going on here. I can't imagine what drove Clint to make this film, or how he could possibly justify its two hour-plus runtime. I'd prefer the sucker punch and Dr. Pepper.GRADE: D+

Javier Marin Despite almost every critic I've read, I think this is a real gem by Clint Eastwood. A honest, sensitive effort in the road movie tradition. The minor tone, the naive sequences soothe Red Stovall's journey to his fate. The movie also displays a touching view of the depression era in USA. Like animated Roy Emerson Stryker's pictures the photography is remarkable as well as the sound track. I've learned about lots of singers and musicians that recorded only to give a final testimony of their art. I guess stories like these deserved a movie like Honkytonk Man. Long life to Clint, one of the most underrated talents not only in Hollywood but in the rest of the world.