Quick Take: Country Strong features some great music and solid performances, but the movie can’t overcome a weak, inconsistent screenplay.
As the end credits rolled on Country Strong, the music industry melodrama starring Gwyneth Paltrow, I found myself more upset than I expected to be. Not because of how things wrapped up (I was probably supposed to be wiping my eyes instead of rolling them), but because the movie had the potential to be so much better than it is.
The trailers made it look like some studio exec watched Jeff Bridges’ remarkable performance in Crazy Heart and said, “Hey, let’s remake that, but with a chick!” Instead, writer/director Shana Feste attempts to craft a story set in the world of modern country music, where artists can cross over into pop simply by taking off the cowboy hat and exchanging a fiddle for an electric guitar.
Artists like Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline are long gone, replaced by acts like Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift. Musicianship, vocals and storytelling have taken a backseat to arenas, pyrotechnics and publicists. Talented individuals devoted to the craft are cast aside in favor of flavors of the week who will make labels a lot of money before disappearing forever.
It’s an environment rife with the drama and conflict that great movies are made of, and Feste comes tantalizingly close to making one. Instead, she trips herself up with a weak, inconsistent screenplay that doesn’t realize who its main characters should be. That’s a shame, considering the film boasts some great music and solid performances.
Paltrow plays Kelly Canter, a boozy country superstar (think Faith Hill meets Lindsay Lohan) whose career flatlined after she drunkenly fell off a concert stage and miscarried the baby she was five months pregnant with. Her husband/manager, James (Tim McGraw), thinks a comeback is possible, so he pulls her out of rehab a month early to start a new tour. She agrees to go, but only if Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund) can open for her.
Hutton is a talented singer/songwriter who moonlights as an orderly at Kelly’s rehab center, so they got to know each other pretty well (wink, wink). Her husband is understandably hesitant at first, especially since he’s already booked former beauty queen Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) as the opener. But after seeing the calming effect Hutton has on both Kelly and the unproven Chiles, James reluctantly asks him to tag along.
As the tour commences, the fragility of Kelly’s sobriety and mental state become clear. Who could’ve guessed that pulling someone out of rehab early is a horrendously bad idea?
The film’s major issue, which leads to all of the other problems, is a fragmented story in which every character’s personality and motivations change depending on what scene it is. Again, the fault lies with Feste’s screenplay and, I’m guessing, her directing style. The problem clearly isn’t with the actors, who do astounding work under the circumstances.
My initial assumption, based solely on the previews, was that Paltrow was severely miscast. She’s always been a good actress, so I figured she’d be good with the dramatic material but fumble the concert scenes. Turns out I had it backwards; she’s wonderful whenever she’s singing, but seems distant and indifferent whenever she’s not on a stage. That isn’t entirely her fault considering she’s the lead in a film where the supporting players are far more interesting.
Now let’s accentuate the positives, starting with the surprisingly impressive tunes. With some movies set in the music industry, audiences are forced to pretend certain songs are good when they’re clearly not. Fortunately, that’s not the case here; most of them sound like they could be playing on country radio right now.
I particularly appreciated how each character’s songs matched his or her persona. Instead of starting with a list of generic titles and splitting them evenly among everybody, it feels like Feste put some real thought into figuring out who was going to sing what.
Next, the performances (apart from Paltrow’s hit-or-miss work) are uniformly great. McGraw is becoming a better actor with each movie and clearly draws from his own experience as a country superstar. Meester proves adept at singing, mastering a southern accent and playing a bit more innocent than her “Gossip Girl” role would suggest.
Hedlund deserves the most praise. Contrary to what the poster says, he’s the true star of Country Strong and he plays the real main character. He clearly shows Hutton’s journey of growth and maturity, he demonstrates true musical talent and he has genuine chemistry with all of his co-stars, particularly Meester. The movie would’ve been a lot better if it had been solely about their characters.
Feste deserves credit for attempting to mine drama from an underexplored source. I just hate that she didn’t pull it off — especially since she came so darn close.
Country Strong is rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving alcohol abuse and some sexual content.
Grade: C
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