Shut Up & Sing
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: October 27, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleJoel Selvin
Documentary filmmakers pray for something to happen to their subjects when the cameras are rolling, and two-time Academy Award-winning documentarian Kopple struck gold when Maines told a crowd on the opening night of the band's first European tour that she was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The Dixie Chicks may never regain their prolonged eminence on the country charts. However, the art and entertainment value of this movie (and of their latest album) is off the charts in the best way. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The film may be subtitled "Shut Up & Sing," but you can't sing with your mouth closed. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
While it's unlikely that her film will sway former fans who swore off the band for political reasons, that seems beside the point. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
For three years, the camera focuses on the Chicks as wives, mothers, entertainers and political flash points. Their fight to stay uncompromised is inspiring. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
A seriously entertaining highlight of the fall season. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck's film is a fascinating look at the intersection of commerce, celebrity, and controversy. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The documentary shows what a tight-knit group the Chicks are. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Through it all, Natalie Maines' decision to shirk humility, to stick by her guns, to the point that the group returns to that London concert venue in 2006 and she utters the same joke again, becomes a feisty and inspiring act of something there is only one word for: patriotism. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The filmmakers are clearly in awe of the Chicks' fighting spirit. If you think Maines's original Bush remark was disrespectful, wait till you hear what she calls him here. Maines is not ready to make nice, and neither is this riveting documentary. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
What a mind-bending odyssey ensues--a tale of good old-fashioned American free expression at war with good old-fashioned American capitalism. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The movie endorses the liberal conception of the Chicks as free-speech heroes, which doesn't quite wash: Maines shot her mouth off to a receptive overseas crowd, then issued an apology as soon as the backlash began back home. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Though the advertising plays up the film's Bush-bashing angle, it gives a false impression. This is really more of a backstage drama. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Maines' big mouth and winning candor got her into trouble, but Shut Up & Sing suffers from filmmakers who are intent on playing it safe. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
While there is a vague hint of a vanity project in a few extraneous scenes, directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck have fashioned a compelling and rousing film that will not only appeal to Chicks fans, but make fans of those who weren't before. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
As insightful as it is entertaining. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Sharper and far more entertaining than most political documentaries. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Both the Chicks and this doc are left to deal with the aftermath as best they can. The film chooses to pad with an occasional over-reliance on cutesy filler -- a pregnant Emily having an ultra-sound, giving birth, recuperating at her beloved ranch away from it all. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The fact that you might emerge from the theater eager to give their albums a listen is a testament to how effective this lively and stirring movie about freedom of speech really is. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Most importantly, Shut Up & Sing is about what happens in the music industry to people who won't. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The movie offers a revealing case study of the relationship between politics, celebrity and the media in today’s polarized social climate. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Kopple and Peck went on and off the road with the band for the three years of waffling, agonizing and defiance in between Maines’ mouth-offs. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
One of the excellent attributes of Shut Up & Sing is that it lets the cards fall where they may and really doesn't try to spin the Chicks themselves. It's quite possible, then, to watch the film and come to the conclusion that Maines has a big mouth. Spectacularly talented, the young singer is also a spectacular blowhard. Read full review
60
VarietyPhil Gallo
It's the rare thorough documentary on a musical act whose dilemmas are faced in the here and now, one that should win over fans of the Chicks on the fence and of music docus and perhaps create a little cultural stir as well. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufman
Sympathetic, engaging documentary.
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
An inspiring story of pluck, but its politics fall flat. Read full review
50
Village VoiceLuke Y. Thompson
The movie's not quite the Bush bashfest its publicity might lead you to believe; it's closer to the Metallica doc "Some Kind of Monster" than to "Fahrenheit 9/11." Read full review
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