Payday

For the most part this is an accurate and observant movie about a country and western singer on the road. Doubts about the commercial viability of such a project are reflected in the introduction of overly dramatic elements into the script (a manslaughter and a last-scene death). But it remains one of those welcome movies made by people with genuine knowledge of their subject, on the assumption that their audience is going to be reasonably knowledgeable and interested in the first place. Rip Torn makes a credible middle-weight country star... petulant, arrogant and vulnerable; and the support players are well cast (particularly Gwynne as the band's manager, whose job involves immediately converting every incident into commercial terms). Not a total success, but anyone in any way fascinated by the music business should be stimulated.