Nashville Girl (1976)

A naïve girl goes to Nashville to make it in the country music biz

No doubt inspired by the success of Altman’s “Nashville” from the year prior, this is a stripped-down version by Corman’s company that focuses on the single storyline of an almost-17 years-old girl wanting to become a country star. She’s played by winsome Monica Gayle whose known for the gang leader in “Switchblade Sisters” a year earlier. Monica’s reminiscent of Sissy Spacek, just with a prettier face. I bring that up because this flick obviously influenced “Coal Miner’s Daughter” four years later.

Whilst “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is the superior film with its blockbuster budget, this is worth checking out if you’re interested. Despite its modest budget, it’s better than “The Rose” from 1979, which tackled similar terrain, focusing on the uglier side of making it in the music biz as a young woman. I’m talking rapes, staying at dubious locations, staving off the manipulations of men (and women), the challenges of bus touring, performing live, motel rooms, rivalry with other artists, and so on.

Obviously, there’s a cost to pay. Is the protagonist up for it?

Other comparable movies include Joaquin Phoenix’s “Walk the Line” and “I Can Only Imagine. Just be forewarned, this is the hardest R-rated one of all of the films cited.

It runs 1h 31m and was shot in Nashville, Tennessee.

GRADE: B