"Wish Me Away" didn't really surprise me much.
Wait. One thing did surprise me a little. Though she was one of Time magazine's top 50 sexy people and had scored loads of hits and country music awards, I'd never heard of country superstar Chely Wright before I pressed play on Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf's documentary about the singer's coming out.
The film screens three times during the Milwaukee Film Festival: Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ridge Cinema; Thursday, Sept. 29 at 9:30 p.m. at the North Shore Cinema; and Saturday, Oct. 1 at 9:45 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre.
The fact that a girl growing up in small-town America, who relocates to Nashville to become a country star, feels she needs to repress her sexuality is, sadly, no shock at all. That her fellow country music biz folks bristle at rumors that she's gay, doesn't seem very surprising, either.
That some key people close to her are unequivocally accepting of her is a testament to their humanity.
The film traces the final month before Wright will come out publicly (and privately – even her mom doesn't know) on the "Today" show. Looking back over Wright's life and her career, the filmmakers tell of a girl who knew since the third grade that she was different.
But, Wright told herself, she would use music to help her deny her sexuality. Later, she realized this wasn't tenable.
So, she recalls in the film, she told herself that after she had a hit, she would come out. Once she had that hit ("Shut Up and Drive"), she decided to wait until she had a chart-topper. But when that came, she was still too afraid.
Now, she's written a memoir for Random House and made an introspective record with Rodney Crowell about her sexuality and her inner turmoil and it was time to tell the world.
But she's afraid. She knows how being gay is treated in country music (it isn't) and in the Bible Belt (cue the brimstone and fire) and she knows that she risks being ostracized and losing her career success (at least in Nashville).
Though the super smooth country pop music – with some exceptions – grates on me, Wright seems like a good person who has suffered long and hard and feels compelled to "live honestly" and come out.
So, even though you suspect – rather, you know – that her decision is a career-killer in the conservative country music world, you're rooting for her to finally get the courage to come out. In part, because you suspect that she will thrive once she gets the weight off her shoulders.
What happens when she does? I'm not telling you. You've got to go see for yourself.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
