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Review

Ruby (Bassett) owns a juke joint in the Louisiana bayou, Ruby's Bucket of Blood. She's got a philandering husband and a sexually curious teenage daughter to control. With the film set in 1960, it's pretty amazing that a woman owns this hopping bar - but I believe the story is autobiographical, and that the writer is the teenage girl. When the bar opens, Ruby is truly at home - as she serves up the local, black only, crowd their beers and listens to the house band headed by Johnny Beaugh (Plummer). They play blues and some cajun - and there is plenty of cajun language thrown in for authenticity. Johnny is homosexual and deep in the closet - his lover wants them to move to New Orleans where they can come out, but Johnny likes things just the way they are. When Johnny replaces the lead singer with a new white guy, Billy Dupree (Anderson) all hell breaks loose. The crowd, wary at first, warms to him as does Ruby, who wants him in the sack.

The performances are all first-rate, the sets excellent and the camera and sound standard high-grade cable work. Angela Bassett is outstanding in her lead performance and her singing is terrific (if it isn't dubbed!) The real star here is the music, great swaying Southern blues. Our only reservation is the slim gay sub-plot. It appears to have been edited down as there is fairly sexy gay photo on the showtime website from a scene not in the film. Because there are so few movies with black gay characters, this is a good addition to the site, we just wish there were more of a gay story here.

Scott Cranin