Red Stovall (Clint Eastwood) is a Depression-era rascal whose fire-in-the-belly passion comes from the whiskey he slugs and the dream he chases: singing at the Grand Ole Opry.

He takes off on a drive from Oklahoma to audition in Nashville with nephew Whit (Clint’s son Kyle Eastwood) along to help keep the car on the road and Red on the straight and narrow.

The elder Eastwood also directs this funny, warmhearted film, which also serves up a beguiling country soundtrack featuring Marty Robbins, Ray Price, John Anderson, Frizzell and West, Linda Hopkins for a scorching touch of the blues - and Eastwood himself. Richly nostalgic and marvelously acted, Honkytonk Man hits all the right notes for solid entertainment.