By it's very nature, country music is made for the big screen. Heartfelt, sincere southern tales of tragic loss, inestimable lows, and dramatic comebacks are the nature of the beast. It's easy to understand why people fall so deeply in love with it. The words help put peoples' lives into proper perspective because, hey, nobody's life can be as bad as the sad sack crying into his guitar right now. Country Strong, which stars the very un-country Gwyneth Paltrow and a host of other oddball casting choices, could've been a real underdog champion if it wasn't for a lousy script that blunts some truly genuine performances.
If asked to cast a film about an alcoholic country singer looking to make a big comeback, Gwyneth Paltrow probably wouldn't be my first choice. Or my 20th. Jeff Bridges used the power of his own laid back cool to knock a similar role out of the park last year in Crazy Heart. Paltrow is a Hollywood gal through and through, but her consummate talent allows her to slip fairly comfortably into the role of Kelly Canter, a country music superforce with multiple awards and gold records to show for it. But she's also become something of a tabloid starlet after alcohol abuse begins to take over her life, leading to an epically disastrous show in Dallas. Ever since she's been in rehab, where she conveniently meets Beau Garrett(Garrett Hedlund), her sponsor and true as day musician. Beau is one of those guys who'd rather perform for an audience of three drunkards rather than sully his music with big crowds and record contracts, but he's gathered a pretty loyal following anyway. He's a good guy, but if you listened to him speak for too long you'd conclude that he was a flake. Kelly's husband, James Canter(real life country star Tim McGraw) busts her out of rehab early in order to get her back up and singing as quick as possible. For him, it's all about the celebrity and the big pay day. His relationship with Kelly is perceived as perfect by the media, but it hasn't been that way for a very long time. He wants the money, while Kelly...well, let's just say she has an eye for talent.
James' big idea is to make one big comeback tour through Texas, ending at the scene of Kelly's greatest failure in Dallas. He convinces Beau to tag along as the opening act and in-house sponsor for Kelly. As if deliberately poking a sharp stick at his wife, James also invites Chiles Stanton(Leighton Meester), an up 'n coming country-pop princess to join the show. Whether his eye is truly for her talent or for what's underneath her skirt is another question.
Shana Feste's amateurish script might as well be for a marathon of Nickelodeon's 'Hey Dude'. Maddeningly over dramatic to the point of soap opera clownishness, each of the four characters seem to have no recollection of anything they said or did just five minutes before. As Kelly and Beau's friendly relationship turns to lust, her attitude towards both him and her husband alternates hot and cold depending on what the story requires at that moment. Then again the same can be said for everyone involved. Feste attempts to draw an awkward parallel between the fading relationship(and careers) of Kelly and James with that of Beau and Chiles. However not nearly enough time is spent making those comparisons clear and valid for us to care. We're given very little authentic emotion to work with. Instead we get cheap gestures, like Kelly finding and taking care of a lost baby bird, pounding us over the head with symbolism. Kelly's mood can be immediately identified by the heaviness of her mascara, just waiting to run down her face in some crying jag. You know something has gone horribly wrong in the writing department when the audience is laughing at scenes clearly meant to be powerful and not at all humorous. Feste has clearly confused turmoil with sincerity.
In keeping with the forgetful nature of the script, that baby bird only shows up when necessary and ultimately adds no value to the story. It was last seen in a toilet stall. Never saw anybody feed it, either. Poor hungry chick.
Despite this not really appearing to be an ideal fit for Paltrow, she actually is quite convincing as a country star. Sure, her southern twang comes and goes, but with her big hair and surprisingly strong voice she more than nails the part. Hedlund, who we last saw in Tron Legacy just a couple weeks ago, has a ton of charisma and is a star in the making. It was obvious though that he was really trying hard to sound "country", to the point where he seemed to be mumbling his words. I don't know a thing about Leighton Meester(I'm assuming Gossip Girl?) but she had the giggly Taylor Swift bit down pat. How odd is it that McGraw is the only one not asked to sing? Weird. Not that it would've mattered since none of the songs are memorable.
In the film's best scene, Kelly attends a Make-a-Wish for a young fan with leukemia. She's just suffered another major setback and her career is again in shambles, but the sight of this young boy instantly fills her with joy and hope. She grabs her guitar, and sings the boy an impromptu song lifting his spirits. The look on her face, and his, lights up the room and one can clearly see how her fans are the ones who really give Kelly the strength to survive her hardships. And then in one fell swoop, the moment is utterly ruined because Feste
