We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout... [UPDATED]

I have that song stuck in my head today. I was singing it in the car on my way to work. I loved these guys, who didn't? Who could NOT love them?

I think I'm going to go see "Walk the Line" finally. I know nobody but nobody could really play either one of them, but I think I want to see it anyway.


UPDATE:

So we went to see Walk the Line last night. I liked it! I had this mental block about the movie because I said to myself: "nobody can play them", but then it dawned on me:"Well, *duh*, so what? Get over it." So I did.

I think Joaquin Phoenix really did a very good job. He was actually better than I expected him to be. Dave didn't like the movie and said he thought that Phoenix overacted and "chewed up the scenery" throughout the movie. This is kind of true in a way, yet it somehow worked for me. Yes, he did a little too much brooding, snarling and lip curling, yes he swaggers and poses a bit too much... but he kind of had to, in a way.

It's ironic, since I associate Johnny Cash with a kind of understatement and substance-over-style... yet he was also so naturally charismatic that in order to give him that large presence that most people just don't have, Phoenix had to overdo it. Does that make sense?

And, as Rusty points out in the comments below, Cash was a performer, and I'm sure at least some of his own gestures and mannerisms were studied. It's just that he was subtle enough in doing it that it seemed utterly convincing. Phoenix may fall short at times, but I think he does as good a job as any actor could do in that role.

Those are big shoes to fill, and a big voice too. As for the singing, Phoenix's voice isn't as deep as Johnnys, so he has to reach for it. He missed a few notes, but he does a decent job. At points, it's great!

Now, I'm biased, since I hold her in even higher regard, but I was a little disappointed in the choice of Reese Witherspoon to play June. I know the critics loved her. I think she's a really good actress, she obviously gave it her all, she had tremendous energy, skillful timing and even sang like June.

The thing is, Witherspoon is just too cute to play June. She doesn't have that slightly goofy-amazing-grace that June had. I kind of wish they had picked some unknown actress who had that quality instead.

June, (even more than Johnny, and that's saying a lot!) personified that quality of wabi-sabi that I love. She was both hillbilly-homely and radiantly beautiful at the same time. She was so unapologetically herself that she embodied the essence of "cool" to me, whatever that is.

I think Witherspoon made June seem too perfect, a little too calculating. Watching Walk the Line, it's obvious that he is crazy about her, but not that she is equally crazy about him. They do have chemistry on screen, but it mostly seems to flow from him to her. He comes across and a psycho-drug-mess, and she as an hard-headed angel. I know that's part of their mythology, but I think they could have tried to show a little more than that.

If you listen to the lyrics of "Ring of Fire", you know she was totally madly in love with this man who was married. It was an inner moral struggle. I think she really feared going to hell. The movie gives me the impression that she was just afraid of public disapproval for being perceived as a "homewrecker". I think that sells her short. I also think Vivian, Johnny's first wife, is shown in a poor light.

Still, overall, Walk the Line was enjoyable. There are some great moments in it, it's funny and touching and and the music is rocking. It's T-Bone Burnett just as much as it is Johnny Cash, but it's still good.

Of course, nobody could really be like Johnny and June, they were each so unique and so authentically themselves. But I've decided that's ok with me. I see the movie as sort of a tribute to them, and I'm glad there is one.