Small world ... I, too, shot a man in Reno just to watch him die: "Walk the Line"

You know people are good actors when you forget about the distracting things on their face.

You might think I'm talking about Joaquin Phoenix ("SpaceCamp") and his harelip scar (actually a birthmark). I am, but what about Reese Witherspoon ("S.F.W.")? Sure, she's super cute, but have you ever noticed her weird forehead? It's seems kind of dented to me.

Of course, since both of these actors can be really, really good, it doesn't much matter what's going on with their mugs. "Walk the Line" is the latest evidence, with both Joaquin and Reese doing everything they can to inhabit their roles as Johnny Cash and his singing partner/wife/true love, June Carter Cash.

While I think his songs are O.K., it's probably a stretch to call me a big Johnny Cash fan. (It's not like I weigh 300 lbs. or something. Pa dum dum.) The only CD I have is his greatest hits, and I can't remember if My Reason for Being or I brought that to our blessed union. When there was a revival of sorts for Cash in the 1990s, thanks to MTV looking for cult figures, I merely nodded my head and said, "Good for him." In short, I like "Ring of Fire" and "Folsom Prison Blues" as much as the next guy, but not any moreso.

Even so, I had heard good things about "Walk the Line," and unless you're really opposed to Cash and singer biopics in general, it's worth a look. Some people have noticed how this comes on the heels of "Ray," but that was all Jamie Foxx. Here we get a one-two punch in Phoenix and Witherspoon, with the latter probably getting the best of the former.

That's no slight to our man Joaquin. Since he doesn't look that much like Cash, it took a little time for him to grow on me. But once he made it big and was performing, especially on the bigger stages, it was clear Phoenix has studied Cash's moves and mannerisms. Along with perfecting the guitar across the back and the hunch while playing, Phoenix also unleashed a fairly decent voice. Not dead-on, but that's a pretty tall order given the Man in Black's distinctive bass.

Witherspoon, on the other hand, didn't have to worry as much about mimicing June Carter because most non-country music fans (like me) couldn't tell you if she sounded more like Patsy Cline or Porky Pig. She also gets the benefit of arriving on screen later in the movie, showing up with a flourish vs. growing into her character like Phoenix. That allowed Witherspoon to not only be a bundle of energy -- and pretty funny -- but also surprise me with her voice. The girl has some pipes.

These two performances compensate for a script and plot that seemed a bit standard -- poor boy makes it big, wrestles with demons and eventually gets his act together. Even with the demons, this seemed a bit glossed over. The Cash-Carter love affair was real enough, I guess, although the one hole in Witherspoon's performance may have been that she didn't 100% sell me on what she saw in Cash. It's nothing glaring, and it's possible she was meant to be too jaded to just fall for Cash, no questions asked. But the back and forth ... I wanted a bit more about why she agonized over him.

Meanwhile, Cash just got hooked on drugs and did the predictable bad-boy stuff, complete with crying "Daddy didn't love me." Still, it was fun to see him partying with other rising stars of the time -- Jerry Lee Lewis, Waylon Jennings and even the King, Elvis Presley. This results in the funniest line I've ever heard connected to Elvis. Let's just say it refers to Elvis's obsession with the ladies, with a reference to one of the aliases from "Fletch." You know, the Comanche Indian one.