DVD Review: "Shut Up and Sing" (2007)

This documentary chronicles the travails of the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines stated that they were "ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" in London during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion.

"Shut Up and Sing" begins with the girls reading blogs, making fun of former fans interspersed with footage of Republican politicians stating unequivocally that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD. (Lest their be any doubt that the documentary is to be an even-handed affair, there isn't any footage of Kerry, Gore or either Clinton articulating the same, but I digress.)

The President himself makes an appearance, stating that the Dixie Chicks are free to say whatever they want, but should recognize that opens one up to being challenged and held accountable for one's views as "freedom is a two-way street". According to Maines, this makes the President a "dumb fuck".

Later on, the feud with registered Democrat Toby Keith is touched upon as the Chicks expressed their dislike of Keith's song "The Angry American", a tribute to his dead father. Then, Maines is targetted by an obviously mentally unbalanced individual who sends them a death threat concerning a show in Dallas. This leads Maines to consult her psychic.

Finally, we see talking head Terry McAuliffe along with a George Stephanopolous voiceover pronouncing that the President's popularity is in the tank, but the fact that both these authorities were Clinton-era Democrats isn't mentioned.

Things wrap up with the self-absorbed Natalie still "mad as hell" three years after the fact as shows in Boston, Chicago and Milwaukee, among other places, sell way below expectations, resulting in a re-routing through Canada. More on that here, something that should have been expected given fiddle player Martie Maguire's comments to Time Magazine, something which we don't see in the film but which even the ultra-liberal New York Times concludes was beyond foolish:

... Ms. Maines and her band mates seem to be going out of their way to prove their detractors right. Instead of fighting for their old fans, the Dixie Chicks seem to be dismissing them.

On "60 Minutes" Ms. Maguire told Steve Kroft that their concerts weren't typical country concerts. "When I looked out in the audience, I didn't see rednecks," she said. (Did her lip curl slightly as she pronounced the r-word?) "I saw a more progressive crowd."

And in a Time magazine cover story she said the group would rather have "a smaller following of really cool people who get it," as opposed to "people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith." (It would seem Ms. McEntire got her revenge.) Perhaps there's a difference between this attitude and simple snobbery, but you can't blame country fans if they don't much feel like splitting hairs.

As a documentary, "Shut Up and Sing" works well. If you were a Chicks fan who was disappointed by the way they carried on over the last few years and didn't buy their latest album, "Taking the Long Way" because of it, this flick won't make feel any pity for them but it might make you take a closer look next time you're at the used CD store because the tunes that are featured from it are very, very good. If you are already pre-disposed to liking the Chicks regardless of your feelings about country because of their political stance, this will bring out the "you go, girl" in you.

Where "Shut Up and Sing" is strongest is in the behind-the-stage look it provides into the inner workings of the music industry and the massive role that the PR machine plays into making an act successful or not. It's pretty amazing that the other two Chicks, especially mandolin player Emily Robison, didn't tire of Maines' bratty and immature antics - and I'm not just saying that because I believe the war was just given what the entire world thought they knew concerning Iraq at the time of her outburst. Less a story about the stifling and shutting down of debate in George Bush's America, this is more about a loudmouth celebrity who just didn't, and doesn't, know when to just leave well enough alone, and how she and everyone else around has to learn that even if you're famous, there are consequences in life, like it or not.

Overall rating: 7/10