Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, and Martie Maguire are an American country group. It's 2003 London. The group had just sang the anthem at the Superbowl and reaching new highs. The American government is rallying to invade Iraq. At the concert, Natalie utters her anti-war message, "And we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." This sets off a fire storm back at home. The girls continue their overseas tour, slow to realize the power of her off-handed jokey comment. With boycotts and audience revolt, their sales plummet and there's even a death threat. In 2005, the girls record their new album. They go on tour trying to rediscover their audience but they're not ready to make nice.This is a compelling story and not a simple political diatribe. It has the overarching political story of the Iraq war but it is very much a personal story of the three ladies. If anything, it would be more compelling to have them talk it out during the heat of the incident. Sometimes, it does feel like they are holding back their toughest arguments behind closed door. Although, I have no insights into their relationship other than what's on the screen. There is one emotional scene at the end which answers part of that question. There may be nothing there and therefore nothing to show. There's also a year or so in between the tours where Emily and Martie seem more interested in their families. A deeper documentary could have dug harder into their mindsets.

This is a sad story of a music group that had it all and threw it away because of an arrogant misplaced sense of pride and self importance. Although this was a completely biased view of the issue from the "chicks" point-of-view it really does show the arrogance that these people have, especially Maines, toward people that support and believe in their country and the concept that it's wrong and unpatriotic to go overseas and make provocative statements about their own country and its leadership at a time of war whether you agree with a current policy or not.Now I'm no Bush fan but I would never do what they did and even as they acknowledged that it was a mistake their actions afterward, all the way up to present times, really show how they don't care about the concepts of being patriotically tactful. Of course there are other people that have this same blissful arrogance, as the name Jimmy Carter comes to mind, but what's amazing is that they seem to be oblivious to why their fans are mad at them. Their F.U attitude to their fans for something they did wrong is just amazing to me.Although this documentary ends prior to their Grammy awards in 2007 and their top charting album release I fear that they may take their 2007 success as some indication that they are back on their own terms and can continue to shove their noses at country music fans.When I look at their 2007 Grammy awards all I see is a Hollywood industry that simply wanted to make an anti-Bush statement which was a weak gesture and quite frankly unfair to the other artists that worked hard that year only to have their work go unrecognized due to what was essentially a Hollywood protest vote against the War. And although they had their 2007 Album top the chart for a short time it's still clear that they had major tour ticket sales issues and short lived record sales.In the end it looks like the "chicks" are at the decline of their careers and it's sad that they couldn't be a little more humble about their mistake and the fallout from it. If they were just a bit less selfish they might have been able to get their careers back on track. A lot of people were counting on them to provide a living for their families and because of this arrogance it's all gone now. It's truly sad.

The Dixie Chicks are extremely talented musicians. They are also extremely not understanding of the way politics work, as this movie proves. It's a documentary about the (admittedly, sometimes extreme) reaction America had when lead singer Natalie Maines said to a very anti-war London audience that she was "ashamed that the US president was from Texas." What the Dixie Chicks apparently didn't realize was that they were making a very political statement, and that has consequences.This film certainly did not make me an anti-Bush fanatic; it didn't really change my political standing at all. The Dixie Chicks had every right to say what they said- that's freedom of speech. But America had every right to react the way it did- that's freedom of speech too. The Dixie Chicks never really could understand this. They seemed to think that the reaction to their statement was "like, totally not fair." But it was very fair.I suppose you do have to give them points for sticking by what they said. "Taking the Long Way" as they called it in their songs. And I think that's what this movie was trying to do. They were brave for sticking together and not taking an easy way out which would have been easy to do. There's even one or two truly emotional scenes as they talk about the pain this has caused each of them personally. And by then end, you do nod your head in approval- even though they never should have said what they said in the first place. But, like I said, it was their right, and it always will be.Speaking strictly of film-making, it is a very well-shot and well-put together movie, if you can even say that about a documentary. I've always had trouble watching things like this anyway because I've never quite understood how they work. Are "scenes" re-shot? How much is scripted dialogue? We'll never know those things, unfortunately, which means we'll never know how much of any documentary is real. But oh well...Shut Up and Sing is interesting for sure, and definitely worth a view. I personally found it more laughable watching these three think they were being so mistreated. That may not be your feelings. Watch it for yourself and find out. 6/10 stars...Jay Addison

The old first amendment doesn't mean much to a lot of Americans, it seems. Hard to believe that a country that has seen thousands of its young people needlessly killed by war, suddenly turn on a band because of a few misplaced words. I think the greatest thing about this movie is that it has negatively immortalized the "Proud Americans" who had such unkind words for the Dixie Chicks. In a world that is marred by terror, isn't it rewarding that we have such a talented group of women who offer us hope? This movie makes a statement. I hope the American people hear it. I live in Canada, which offered the Dixie Chicks our biggest welcome, from coast to coast. I saw the band in my city and have never witnessed the level of appreciation by a concert audience that I experienced that night. America should be very proud to be the home of the Dixie Chicks!