Let me say that most people who have reviewed "The Nights The Lights Went Out In Georgia" have never seen it (The person who said the entire movie can be summed up in 3 minutes, by listening to either the Vicki Lawrence or Reba versions is dead wrong). First off, it is a hard to find film (Not out on DVD). Next, the character that is the Big Brother in the song is named Andy and that is NOT the character here. In fact, the only thing that it has in common with the song is Big Brother dies, and Little Sister has a big gun (More on that later). Two questions: Does Little Sister (Amanda), kill anyone like she does in the song? Equally important is why does Big Brother die? I will not tell, but it is NOT the same as in the song. Watch the film (If you can find it) and learn why. On to the film itself: Lets start with what it has: The ultra-rare version of Tanya Tucker singing the title track, a great Dennis Quaid (Travis Child) performance, and seeing Kristy McNichol (Amanda), actually looking good for a change. It is about a brother and sister who are heading through rural Georgia, on their way to Nashville. Travis is the one with the talent, and Amanda with the brains and desire to get him to the top. Travis's problem is he likes whiskey and women too much, and Amanda is always getting him out of messes. There are three other main characters in this film: Melody (Sunny Johnson), who Travis falls hard for, Seth Ames (Don Stroud), a psychotic Sheriff, and Trooper Conrad ( Mark Hamill), who is the film's moral compass, who sees the direction that Travis is heading to (Self Destruction), and wants to save Amanda from the same fate (And ends up falling in love with her). Spoilers: There is a key moment in the film where Amanda got an audition for Travis with a Nashville Record Producer (He did not show because he was drunk), and instead, Amanda took his place, and was a hit, and the Producer said if she is in Nashville, look him up. Amanda was not happy that Travis did not show, but he explained that "This is your dream, it was never mine." (He would rather be with Melody). It was the last time she saw her brother alive. After she buried him, she packed up her dog and her few things and drove her pickup truck for Nashville. However, Trooper Conrad flagged her down, and she had no idea why. He comes out in boxer shorts and his hat, and says to her "I am not letting you go." And explained he actually hid a bag in her truck, and they headed off to start a new life together. The ending is interesting because it is a similar ending to another film I reviewed "Corvette Summer" where straight laced Hamill does the same thing he does here.... Abandons a comfort zone life, to head off into the unknown with a woman. I prefer this film, because it is good from start to finish, the beginning of "Corvette Summer" was not great (Although I prefer the character of Vanessa (Annie Potts) to Amanda(Looks and acting)), the performances of Quaid (See him sing "Amanda") and Stroud stand out, as does Tanya's title track, and one particular line from Conrad to Amanda I really like: "We belong together, we even shoot the same gun (44 Magnum)." Basically this rarity is much better than most people think. 10/10 Stars
