Country Strong

By Author: mspaul
Total Articles: 209
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Every country music fan knows that the best country songs are never too serious. If you believed the emotion in some of them you'd want to throw yourself off the nearest bridge. There's something good natured about most country songs.
Unfortunately, new movie release, Country Strong, written and directed by Shana Feste, a melodrama about country music singers, is way too serious about itself. Feste has pulled this and that out of lots of country music lyrics and has come up with a story about show business and a boisterous star who is on the road to crashing and taking her self-serving entourage with her.
Country music star Tim McGraw, who doesn't sing in this movie at all, is oddly paired with Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow. This couple may initially bring in box office dollars but this new movie is undoubtedly going to crash and burn within a few weeks itself. The really good parts of the film are Gwyneth Paltrow's fine singing (no surprise since she also sang in Duets and Infamous) and performances by Garrett Hedlund, lately of Tron:Legacy, and Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl.
Paltrow looks amazing in the ...
... film. McGraw, oddly, is cranky, anal, and full of self pity.
This movie is chockfull of every country music cliché possible. There's a drunken singer trying to get her game back, betrayals, heartbreak, a sick child, some punches, some pickup trucks - and more.
McGraw plays Paltrow's husband. She's a country superstar who's in rehab. McGraw gets her out of rehab too early so that she can stage a comeback to stardom. While she's in rehab she's managed to have an affair with a singer on his way up who works at the rehab center. McGraw signs him up to be Paltrow's opening act and includes his protégé, played by Meester. What was a romantic triangle soon turns into a foursome.
To top things off, Paltrow's character has saved a baby bird that's fallen from its nest. She takes it with her everywhere. It serves as a symbol for a baby she lost in a miscarriage in an onstage fall while drunk.
This is not an easy movie to talk about. Whatever one says makes the movie sound worse than it is. There are quite a few good musical performances and near the end of the movie, Paltrow's singing really shines. It's unfortunate that it's left until the end of the movie.
Hedlund and Meester also exhibit some strange dynamics. While Hedlund is being faithful to Paltrow, he rushes to help out Meester whenever she needs help and stares at her adoringly.
There are some other odd behaviors on Hedlund's part in this one of the holiday season's new movie releases as well. As soon as he becomes an overnight hit he decides to give up stardom and play in honky-tonks and clubs.
This film needs a rewrite. Not much deep thought seems to have been put into relationships or ideas. It's hard to figure out what anybody's motivation is and characters seem to give up what's best for themselves.
Unfortunately, Feste never gives the audience any reason to care about these four characters. The glamour of showbiz and a soap opera sensibility isn't enough to carry this show. It won't be one of this year's top 10 movies.

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