Country Hearts

This could have been a pretty good show, but it wasn't. The actors are not very good, but minimally okay. The guy who played the ex-con's singing made my ears hurt. And the film just kind of dragged along. In other words, there was no compelling reason to keep watching it because it was not very interesting.

On the positive side, the horse stables and surrounding fenced grazing areas were pleasant to view, and who doesn't like horses? If the script, directing, actors, and acting were as good as the location shots, the film would have been quite good.

I believe it was a great missed opportunity, and what a shame.

5.7 stars.

A former country music star owns stables and breeds horses. A thunderstorm comes and lightning hits the stables and some of it is destroyed by fire. His wife is absent, out and about taking care of her own affairs and agendas, probably for the benefit of the family. Their two daughters are part of a fledgling country band, which also includes various men. They are working hard to score a record deal. One man in the band has a crush on one sister, but she's more interested in a bar owner. The other sister is married to a man who owns a business and is planning on purchasing a winery. He wants her to focus more on business than the band and so they have marital problems. The plots jump back and forth between father and daughters and the band and mom and this and that. The theme is a Christian based one, as these people pray once in a while for God to lead them through their daily struggles. Meanwhile, where is mom, why is she hardly ever seen, will she return?

This is a jumbled mess of bad acting and half-hearted drivel. The strategy I'm detecting is the producers are leading the audience down a road to what appears to be a future tv series. I would not elect to watch this series, it does not interest me at all. Now I'm going to attempt to watch 'Country Hearts Christmas', and my aim is to quickly fast forward through most of it in order to clear space on my DVR.

A little slow at first, but once it got going we really enjoyed the show overall. The movie showed some very pretty countryside scenery, including the ranch - with a GORGEOUS horse barn and pretty horses too. Country music is my favorite, so I really enjoyed listening to the music too.

But, this movie leaves SO many unanswered questions. I certainly hope there is a sequel - and the sooner the better. Even a weekly series would be a good idea. I can see where, I think, a few of these storylines are leading - but I would REALLY like to know for sure.

I could have done without a couple of the characters, but I guess it takes all kinds to make a movie.