Broken Bridges

Bobby Delton's death in a military exercise brings his family back home. His sister Angela Delton (Kelly Preston) has been estranged since getting pregnant. She returns with her rebellious teen daughter Dixie (Lindsey Haun). Her mother (Tess Harper) tries to stay positive but her father Jake (Burt Reynolds) still holds resentments. Angela is shocked to find Dixie's father, fading country singer Bo Price (Toby Keith), has also returned.

Toby Keith is a stiff actor. I'm trying to accept that for this character. He's a piece of stone stuck in the middle of the screen. Kelly Preston is no great catch either. It's more interesting to see Burt again. The girl shows different sides and out performs everybody else. The music is pretty good and that helps a lot. Otherwise, it's a relatively unimaginative melodrama.

Had the chance to see an advance showing. Looking for a movie professional reviewers will ooh and ah over? Forget it! There are no real surprises, twists or turns ... no artsy-fartsy foreign director trying to impress the Hollywood types and hoping for some directing award. This movie comes only with some solid actors portraying what could easily happen in real life. Looking for high speed chases or Tom Cruise-like stunts? Don't bother with this film. Just bring your heart if you want to glean anything from this one.

Filmed in the real town of Senoia, Georgia, one 'Chicago Sun-Times' reviewer describes the fictional town of Armour Springs as "... one of those Southern towns that exist primarily in the minds of screenwriters". Apparently he's never been south of the Mason-Dixon line and we personally don't care for his type down here anyway. Senoia is only one of many small towns that do exist and have retained remnants of the America that was once innocent ... where kids could be kids and adults acted like adults. The same reviewer seemed impressed with Kelly Preston as giving the only "solid" performance. She did good but she wasn't at the top of her game. If you score her in comparison to the performance of the "rookies" (Toby Keith and Lindsey Haun) Preston wasn't that great.

While I loved the movie there are a few disappointments. The character of Anna Maria Horsford should have been expanded. She is an excellent actress and could have been given more exposure. A "situation" involving Dixie (Haun) and some guy seems to be left hanging. The movie could easily have been a television series by expanding both characters and plots within this quiet little town.

The movie has rich characters, a good story, and is very well paced. Many times when a movie has great music it is to hide a dull script, not here, this music simply makes it a must see!

Excellent character portrayal by Tobey Keith, Kelly Preston, and Lindsey Haun, who is a show stealer. Tess Harper is always just a joy to watch in almost anything she does and she doesn't disappoint here. The story follows Bo Price (Toby Keith,) a Country Singer, on his way down, who is called home when his brother, and 4 other boys from his hometown are killed in a training exercise in the Army. One of the boys is the brother of Bo's high school sweetheart, Angela (Kelly Preston) who was pregnant when he ran out on her. The funerals in the hometown bring the long lost lovers together and introduce father, Bo, to his daughter Dixie (Lindsey Haun), who is also a musician. Their stories are interesting and believable. Entertaining and love the music.

I applaud Toby for this daring endeavor. He is a talent for sure, along with most of the cast. It was a good message movie, good music, with some humor, tears and leaves you with thinking about broken bridges in your own life. There were many broken up parts of the movie and I would have also liked to see more detail of a relationship mending between Bo & Angel. Lindsay was a shining star for sure; I hope she goes far.

All in all, I liked it but was not totally in love & I do not mean that bad, so fans, do not get all in an uproar. I am glad I saw it cause I am an avid Toby fan; but that does not mean I need to agree with all he does and I am entitled to my thoughts. It is not award winning material and no offense; but I will be surprised if it is picked up by many theaters with a long run. It was a feel good movie that I was glad to see away from all the violence that is out there. Keep up the good work Toby and I am sure you will only get better with more projects.

I really enjoyed the story line and the messages in the movie, and the sound track is awesome. Toby Keith's talent was very evident throughout the story, not only as a singer, but also as an actor. Kelly Preston was able to show her inward pain and disappointment for the way her high school boyfriend had treated her earlier in their lives. Lindsey Haun was a real surprise and has a nice singing voice. Of course the "old timers" were a very important part of the story also, as is true of actual Southern families. This is a good "Southern" story filmed from several small towns in Georgia near here. The scenery was very representative of the area. It was especially interesting to see the final movie after knowing a lot of the local extras and watching the filming last year.