hbo has been showing walk the line and ray, two biographical movies that had some really startling similarities. "walk..." is a movie about singer johnny cash - someone i didn't know much about and always thought of as a country singer. the film was most excellent, and joaquin phoenix provided a fabulous performance. "ray" is based on the life of ray charles robinson, who was popularly known as ray charles. jamie foxx knocked his portrayal of the singer out of the park!
the similarities in the lives of these two men are eerie, though on the outside, they appeared as different as night and day. check it out:
- they both had brothers who met with tragic deaths in childhood
- they both dealt with the pain by using drugs for years
- they both did time in jail
- they both kicked drugs cold turkey, voluntarily
- their careers took off, drug-free, for about 35 years
- they both had families, and were not faithful to them
- they both had sons, who were named after them
i suppose you could argue that it is pretty common for "stars" to use drugs and have lots of sex with groupies, but does that make these facts not commonalities? no? i didn't think so!
we also saw mini's first time, which is a rather dark flick, but very entertaining. where else can you hear alec baldwin say, "you're a sick little twist"?
5 comments:
I love both movies and noticed the similarities, too. I love Johnny Cash and knew more about him than Ray (and still do). I'm not sure how Ray kicked drugs cold turkey but Johnny had June and also became a deeply religious man. Interesting... I think I liked him more than the average person my age because he physically reminds me of my dad. Go figure.
All the similarities you bring home ring true .. I liked both films quite a bit, but if I only had to choose one it would be Walk the Line .. I think I liked it better because it focused on a tighter period of time and a more specific subject, the love of Johnny and June
I enjoyed "Walk the Line" as well. Didn't see the other two. Hotel vacation weekends are fun, aren't they?
I enjoyed "Walk the Line" more, too. I suppose the draw of the romance tipped it in my favor. Ray seemed like a jerk for a while - but I guess that's what happens when you're on heroin.
Yes, Creechman, hotel vacations definitely ROCK. We just need to do it more often.
I just saw Ray for the first time today - had no idea of the similarities..kinda cool.
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