I got into a heated debate the other night with a man who had a mustache that had long ago crept into his mouth.

His contention was that Johnny Cash's music could not be categorized as simply Country Gospel. Now, I had no dog in the fight and was just spectating the argument. But after watching Walk the Line last night, I realized that the mustache in the mouth man was right.

Johnny Cash was his own thing, the real deal.

And when he sings the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" on the Unearthed boxed set, you know this man is singing from the deepest pit of the darkest part of his heart. And by the way, the best song on that fantastic boxed set is Cash's rendition of Tom Petty's "Southern Accents" which never fails to make me blue and sappy know matter who sings it but even more so when Cash does..

As for the movie, I'll tell you first off that I don't like Joaqin Phoenix or Reese Witherspoon all that much. So it should have even more impact when I tell you that these two had superb performances in this movie. It took me a good twenty minutes to "feel" that Phoenix actually was The Man in Black but it did happen.

His singing was pretty much on par and he definitely had the look down.

As for the storyline, it was taken right out of Cash's life from a twelve-year old boy where his brother (the "good son") died from an unfortunate accident with a table saw up to and a little past the live Folsom Prison performance. We're talking about a love story here, about a man who lost everything and gambled a little more on the love he knew would save him and what's more American than a story like that?

I absolutely recommend every one watch this movie and I hope it wins a truckload of all the gay awards in Hollywood. Johnny Cash wasn't a brand or a legend or a legacy. Johnny Cash was a slice out of the pie of American life in the 20th Century and its' a damned shame that the man is gone but a treasure to be able to slap on "Cry, Cry, Cry" or "Delia's Gone" and be right back there in that train rolling wail that rips your heart apart.

Watch this movie. Buy the Unearthed box set. Take a bite of the J.R. Cash pie.

TAGS:
Johnny Cash, Walk the Line, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Petty, Southern Accents, Delia's Gone, Hurt, Nine Inch Nails,