''Honeysuckle Rose'' (also known as ''On the Road Again'') is a 1980 American romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Jerry Schatzberg, written by John Binder, Gustaf Molander,

Carol Sobieski Carol Sobieski (March 16, 1939 – November 4, 1990) was an American screenwriter whose work included the scripts for '' Annie'' (1982) and ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991). Early life Sobieski was born Carol O'Brien in Chicago, Illinois, in 193 ...

Gösta Stevens Gösta Stevens (1 February 1897 – 24 September 1964) was a Swedish screenwriter and film director. Biography Gösta Stevens began his career as a journalist, but soon began writing couplets for local revues. Stevens offered Karl-Ewert Chris ...

, and

William D. Wittliff William Dale Wittliff (January 21, 1940 – June 9, 2019), sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for '' The Perfect Storm'' (2000), ''Barbarosa'' (1982), ''Raggedy Ma ...

, and starring

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

, Dyan Cannon, and

Amy Irving Amy Davis Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress and singer, who worked in film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Obie Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Palo Alto, Ca ...

. It is a loose remake of the 1936 Swedish film '' Intermezzo''.

Plot

Buck Bonham is a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

singer, with a good family, struggling to find national fame. He juggles his music career with his responsibilities to his wife and son. He has everything going his way until the daughter of his former guitarist joins his tour. The road leads to temptation, which leads to his downfall.

Cast

Release

Critical reception

Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

called the film "sly and entertaining" yet ultimately predictable and disappointing:

The movie remains resolutely at the level of superficial cliché, resisting any temptation to make a serious statement about the character's hard-drinking, self-destructive lifestyle...''Honeysuckle Rose'' has the kind of problems that can be resolved with an onstage reconciliation in the last scene: Willie and Dyan singing a duet together and everybody knowing things will turn out all right.

Regarding

's performance,

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

wrote in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'':

Mr. Nelson doesn't entirely fit his role, any more than the other actors fit theirs. He seems too odd, too solitary, for all the intimacy forced upon him by the story line. But he brings tremendous authority to every gesture, and his character is the only thing in the movie about which the audience is bound to want to know more. Mr. Nelson accomplishes all this in a role with very little dialogue, which makes his sheer force of personality seem all the more impressive.

The film was screened out of competition at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. Wide Open Country music magazine ranked it the second best Willie Nelson film, behind ''

Red Headed Stranger ''Red Headed Stranger'' is the 18th studio album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson, released in 1975. Following the success of his recordings with Atlantic Records, coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager, Neil Reshen, N ...

''. ''Honeysuckle Rose'' holds a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews.

Box-office

''Honeysuckle Rose'' opened theatrically in 826 venues on July 18, 1980 and earned $2,189,966 in its first weekend, ranking third in the domestic box office. Ultimately, the film grossed $17,815,212.

Accolades

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "

On the Road Again On the Road Again may refer to: Albums * ''On the Road Again'', a 1976 D. J. Rogers album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1978 Rockets album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1979 Roy Wood album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1989 compilation album by Canned ...

" – Nominated

Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released by CBS in 1980.

Charts

References

External links

* * * * * {{Jerry Schatzberg 1980 films 1980s English-language films 1980 romantic drama films 1980s musical drama films American musical drama films American romantic drama films Country music films Films directed by Jerry Schatzberg Films shot in San Antonio Golden Raspberry Award winning films American remakes of Swedish films Warner Bros. films 1980s American films