Fascinating documentary pulls back the curtain on Branson
We Always Lie to Strangers
DVD $19.95 (Virgil Films)
The tourism Mecca of Branson, Mo., with a visitor-to-resident ratio of nearly 900 to 1, is a conservative town with widespread traditional, patriotic, evangelical Christian values often reflected in its many “hillbilly” entertainment offerings. That’s what makes this eye-opening documentary, a film festival favorite five years in the making, so engrossing, as it peels back the curtain on a central cast of characters—performers, the city’s female mayor, and others—whose diversity (and humanity) reveal a town that defies easy local-yokel stereotypes. (And the title, if you’re wondering, comes from an age-old Ozarks expression about tall tales.)
—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine
The Media Tourist 