Dixie Chicks – Shut Up and Sing (2006)
90%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Though ostensibly an intimate look at the Dixie Chicks after their 2003 anti-Bush remark, the film achieves broader relevance by exploring how media, politics, and celebrities intertwine.
Shut Up and Sing is a documentary that follows the Dixie Chicks as they navigate the fallout from lead singer Natalie Maines’ controversial comments about then-President George W. Bush. While some critics found the film to be superficial or lacking in substance, others praised it for its portrayal of the band’s resilience and loyalty to one another. As a non-critic, I have to say that watching the Chicks stand up for what they believe in was pretty inspiring. Plus, who doesn’t love a good underdog story? So if you’re looking for a documentary that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even start a revolution, Shut Up and Sing is definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Otto Preminger Films,
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2006
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:NA
-
Runtime:1h 39m
-
Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2006 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 20, 2007
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Dixie Chicks, anti-Bush, controversy, media, politics, celebrities, Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck, David Cassidy, box office, Weinstein Co., R rating, English, 1h 39m, reviewed by David Ansen, Roger Ebert, Anthony Quinn, Tim Robey, Peter Bradshaw, Wendy Ide, David Walsh, Sarah Manvel, Cole Smithey, Natalie Maines, Emily Robinson, Martie Maguire, producer, director, writer, MPAA rating, budget, audience score, critic score, limited release, streaming, rent/buy, photos, genre, consequences, remark, Republican, fan rage, freedom of speech, image-rebuilding, politicization, threats, hypocrisy, patriotism, comeback, media frenzy, minority, Land of the free, soft rock, documentary style, heavy metal, Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage, Anvil the story of Anvil
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Cecilia Peck – Director
David Cassidy – Producer
Barbara Kopple – Producer
Cecilia Peck – Producer
Claude Davies – Co-Producer
Director(s)
Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (125) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (14)
Masterfully edited, the film combines footage the band made for its Web site and footage shot by Kopple and Peck over the last two years. The filmmakers are clearly in awe of the Chicks’ fighting spirit.
February 6, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Shut Up and Sing tells the story of three young women whose belief in America is bred in the bone, and it shames their critics.
October 19, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
I came round to them by the end, but it’s not a great introduction.
June 29, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This a frank, and slightly scary film about one of America’s most cherished democratic privileges – freedom of speech – and how you’re more than welcome to it as long as you don’t say anything controversial. Then you’re off the air.
June 29, 2007
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A gold statue of the Dixie Chicks should be erected in Maines’ hometown of Lubbock, Texas.
June 29, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
It was a throwaway scrap of a comment tossed to an audience baying with appreciation.
June 29, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The result is somewhat superficial. Shut Up and Sing strikes only a glancing blow, when it could have done more.
February 14, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
As a documentary that magnificently demonstrates how actions have unintended consequences and how politics impact our personal choices.
August 7, 2018
Sarah Manvel
Cinemattraction
There is ample material to pick from, but it is often the quieter, more befuddled moments, when all the band’s bluster tapers off, and the women just look confused and scared, that the truth of the film emerges.
August 23, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
The thrust of the movie lies in the trenchant mix of image-rebuilding strategies and genuine politicization the Chicks undergo
August 28, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
The Dixie Chicks spoke their minds, and that’s what America is all about. Shut up and deal with it.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
The most inspiring element of the film is the genuine fortitude and loyalty that Maines and her bandmates Emily Robinson and Martie Maguire exhibit outwardly and to one another.
April 24, 2009 | Rating: C
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com…
Plot
Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the Dixie Chicks and the controversy that followed after lead singer Natalie Maines made a negative comment about President George W. Bush in 2003.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing goofy, funny, or odd is mentioned about the film or anyone in the cast.
Barbara-Kopple.jpg
