Country Strong

My wife & I went to the screening of this movie (7/15/10)not knowing a lot about it. We just knew it had country music in it. Not being country music fans we were not sure how we would like it. We both thought it was a great movie. The acting, story & music was excellent.I am not able to go into too much detail abut the movie yet. But will when the trailers are released. I believe you will enjoy this movie greatly! It is hard to compare it with other movies I have seen but I guess you would call it a Drama / romance movie. I think it will appeal to people in their 20's and up. Maybe a date movie? This movie is NOT just for people that like Country Music. As I stated I am not a Country music fan but came out thinking I would not mind owning the soundtrack. It is a must see when it comes out in Dec. You will not be disappointed

"Country Strong", a surprisingly good film (even if you live in California and don't happen to like country music). Starring Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man), Tim McGraw (The Blind Side), Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), "Country Strong" succeeds in doing exactly what it sets out to do; that is make a dramatic film about country music that is also entertaining. I know a lot of critics will not agree with me, but in the midst of the awards season this is the one film, not nominated for a big time award, that is worth spending your money on. Side Note: Oh, and if you're only reading this review to find out if Gwyneth Paltrow can sing, the answer is yes she can. But if you had seen "Duets", then you already knew that she could. Synopsis: A story that follows fallen country music superstar Kelly Canter (Paltrow) as she is released from rehab and attempts a comeback concert. There is also another, and all around better, storyline that follows the rise of two up and coming country music artists Beau Hutton and Chiles Stanton (Hedlund and Meester), as they try to find out what path to take through the harsh and unforgiving world of the country music industry. Yes, "Country Strong" may seem a bit to predictable for some and yes, it does lag a bit in the middle of the film (mostly pertaining to Paltrow's scenes), but it does redeem itself with a vengeance in the final 30 minutes of the film. The storyline is really well thought out, the character development here is potent and the acting (including the singing), for the most part, is excellent. Unequivocally the one actor to take note of in this film is Hedlund, who steals the show with his performance of a country boy/country music purist. His chemistry on screen with just about everyone including the microphone is so authentic, that whenever he is on-screen he literally makes the movie better. Any and all issues I have with this film surprisingly fall directly on the performance of Paltrow. She plays an aging alcoholic Country superstar with as much heart as she can muster, but overall she is sadly uninteresting to watch for most of the film. Final Thought: "Country Strong" is currently getting raked through the mud by critics for its simplistic storyline, but let me tell you this: anyone (and I mean anyone) who is a fan of Country music will undoubtedly love this film. And even if the Country twang is not your bang, this is a strong enough drama to keep you in your seat. This is no "Crazy Heart" (so no nominations to be found here), but "Country Strong" is still entertaining enough for me to strongly recommend.

Since I'm fond of good country music I thought I'd give this a try, despite not being very keen on Gwyneth Paltrow. However, in this movie she gives a storming performance as a famous country singer, gradually falling apart with depression and alcohol - and she has a great voice! Yes that really is Gwyneth singing in the film.

The good news doesn't end there because the supporting cast are just as good, Garret Hedlund and Leighton Meester were fantastic and so good as country singers that I immediately looked for their albums, but apart from the Country Strong Soundtrack, there aren't any! These are just great actors with great voices. Add in a strong performance from Tim McGraw (Oh why cant you just love your woman? - that's all she needs!!).

With fine, layered performances from all and a storming soundtrack, this is definitely unmissable for any country music lover. I'm still humming the tunes days later.

By the way, be careful if buying the soundtrack album. There are two! The first has other artists covering many of the film's songs and though it's a good album, isn't strictly from the soundtrack in every case. The second album, with the same name, seems to have original performances from the film, but was out of stock and I have it on back order. I think this is the more popular one.

Anyway, if, like me, you don't watch films that score less than about 6 on IMDb, make this one an exception. You wont regret it!

This film is about an alcoholic country singer going on a come-back tour, along with two talented support singers.

"Country Strong" could have been a captivating drama, but sadly is not. Surely the music is very good, even if I am not a fan of country music, I still enjoyed it a lot. I think the problem lies with poor plot development. Kelly Canter's marriage problems, her reasons for soaking herself up with alcohol and her career downfall are not well explained. Strangely, the lives of the supporting characters Beau and Chiles are better explained and engagingly told. As a romance film, there is an over-reliance on sex scenes and not enough sweet romance. At one point I thought it was making wholesome characters less than decent. The ending could have had a greater impact, but it is shrouded in confusion due to character underdevelopment and underwhelming story telling. Something's wrong with "Country Strong", which is quite a pity.

This is a decent movie but not one that I loved. The singing in the movie is top notch except for 1 or 2 of Paltrow's songs which were just okay. These are some seriously talented people. Huge surprise that Leighton Meester is a terrific singer. You might know her from Gossip Girl.

You probably already know the synopsis -- alcoholic singer goes back on the road to try and reclaim her past star status pushed along by her manager/husband. She bonds with a young male singer/guitar player who she brings along on her mini-tour who, despite the best of intentions, can't quite pull her out of her addictive cycle. Leighton Meester plays a very sympathetic and likable character who is just trying to live her dream...she's brought along on the tour by the husband/manager.

Overall, it was a depressing movie....to see someone battling addiction and how it eventually wears down the people around them to the point where they look like they are nasty (poor McGraw) when in reality they are just tired of the cycle of self-destruction.

What was entertaining and enjoyable about the movie was the songs and the concert scenes. It was a nice movie to go see on a snowy night....doubtful that I would rent it once it became available or buy it on DVD...which is kind of the benchmark for me on what is a good movie.

You won't waste your money seeing it but you'll probably wish you'd seen it at a reduced price or at the matinée if you paid full price.