Movie Review: 'Country Strong'

The love triangle. It’s been done time and time again. COUNTRY STRONG, however, decides to take it to the next level: a sex square. To even call it a “love square” would be a violation of the word. So any romance the movie’s trying to sell aside, if you’re looking for a heavy dose of melodrama combined with some memorable performances, then you will be hugely entertained by COUNTRY STRONG. I’ve heard COUNTRY STRONG referred to as CRAZY HEART with a chick. I think it’s more like the country singer version of Lindsay Lohan’s life. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kelly Canter, a once big-time country music singer, who, after an incident in which she fell off-stage (losing the baby she was pregnant with) during a drunken performance she gave in Dallas, finds herself in rehab. The film begins when her husband James (Tim McGraw) pulls her out from rehab a month early to start her on a 3-state trial tour, bringing rising stars Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund) and Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) along as show openers.

To call this a plot would be giving the premise too much credit. The movie is much more about the interactions between the four characters rather than any inspirational story about a washed up star looking to make a comeback–that’s just the veil the film uses to throw in scenes of infidelity, drunken tantrums, and lots of sexual propositioning – but, hey, sex and drama sells, right?

What really sets COUNTRY STRONG apart from just a country western soap opera are the all-around earnest performances. Leighton Meester, who’s best known from starring on the hit TV show Gossip Girl, shines in the film as the typical “country barbie”. She has that pageant smile permanently plastered on her face, and wears girly, puffy dresses bigger than her perfectly curled hair. In one scene, she’s asked who her role models are. Her answer? “Kelly Canter… and Jesus Christ”. You feel like you know her already, don’t you? Her melodious voice didn’t hurt much either, especially when combined with Hedlund’s. Hedlund has that laid-back, country swagger down to a tee, and his talent and charm are so present that you never once question why Chiles or Kelly are into him.

Paltrow’s performance in particular could have been taken to the next level if her character was flushed out a little more, given more back story and less dramatic moments involving her crying over a smashed bottle of booze. She was undeniably fantastic – when she was flaunting her stuff I not only totally bought her as a country singer, but as a country singer who could easily sell out shows. But while watching COUNTRY STRONG, it was more than unclear what the overall point was. The film ends approximately 3 times. Each time one of the “endings” came, I started to stretch my legs out, getting ready to leave the theater, and then realized the movie was still going. It waits until the last 20 minutes to try and jam a moral down our throats, when I’m sure everyone would have much preferred another musical treat for our ears. If you’re a fan of country music, then you’ll most definitely find yourself downloading the album off ITunes as soon as you get home, which is really, truly great (especially the song “Give In To Me”). And if you’re not a fan of country music, then why torture yourself by seeing a movie called COUNTRY STRONG?

Rating: B-