Country Strong is not what it may seem. The way the movie was marketed may have led some to believe it was a story of a country star triumphing over her personal demons and fending off a younger rival. That sounds like it could be a pretty fun movie. But that's not what this movie really is. Country Strong is much more about those personal demons than it is about any fun. That makes it a much more downbeat, at times outright depressing, movie than you might have expected. That doesn't mean it is a bad movie, just a surprising one. How you react to those surprises will influence how you ultimately feel about the movie.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kelly Canter, the troubled country star. She's an alcoholic, she's popping pills, she's depressed, she's got anxiety issues and she's consumed by guilt over her role in a recent tragic event. She's certainly in no condition to be out on tour. But her husband James, who doubles as her manager, prematurely checks her out of rehab and puts her out on the road. Suffice to say the tour does not go smoothly. Kelly desperately needs someone to look after her and she insists that young Beau Hutton be on the tour as her opening act. Beau was an orderly at Kelly's rehab facility and he and Kelly became close. Really, really close if you catch my drift. Beau is a guy perfectly happy to play his music in dive bars in front of a few dozen people. But now he's the opening act for a superstar. Well one of the opening acts anyway. Kelly's husband has plucked young Chiles Stanton, a living, breathing country Barbie doll, from obscurity and brought her out on tour. His interest in her is clearly more than professional. So it's a very tangled web and that's even before the seemingly inevitable hooking up of Beau and Chiles. This tour is a mess on stage and off.
Country Strong has a pretty simple story but the melodrama is laid on pretty thick. It is a bit much at times. But whatever failings the story may have are mostly redeemed by a very good cast. Paltrow does an excellent job portraying a woman who is spiraling out of control. Your heart aches for Kelly as she is pushed into a spotlight she is not equipped to handle. Since it is James doing the pushing he is not going to come across as a very sympathetic character. But while you might not like the guy he is playing Tim McGraw does a very credible job in the part. Leighton Meester is very good as the ambitious, but rather naive, Chiles. As Chiles grows in confidence as the tour goes on we see a star blossoming before our eyes. But while the movie sets her up as Kelly's potential rival there is still a sweetness to Chiles even as she finds more success. Credit to Meester for creating such an embraceable character. The biggest standout in the cast is Garrett Hedlund playing Beau. The relationships Beau has with Kelly, with James, with Chiles are complicated to say the least. And in playing the role Hedlund weaves his way through those entanglements expertly. Beau is a guy who is so good at heart and as the movie goes on you realize it is really his story being told more than Kelly's. That makes Hedlund's performance critical and he meets the challenge.
The story is rather bleak but Country Strong does have its fun moments. The songs aren't irresistibly catchy but most of them are good enough, and lively enough, to bring a smile to your face. With Paltrow's character in such dire straits, and with country superstar McGraw playing a guy who doesn't actually sing, it is left mostly to Hedlund and Meester to carry the musical side of the movie. And they hold up very well. They never look or sound out of place up on stage. And Paltrow does get a moment or two. She maintains a prim, proper image, you don't really expect Gwyneth Paltrow to have a lot of honky-tonk in her. Can she cut loose and have some fun? Yes she can. Her most energetic number is entitled Shake That Thing and Paltrow indeed shakes that thing. So there is some fun to be had. But overall County Strong has a much more serious edge to it than you might expect. If you're looking for lighthearted fun you have definitely come to the wrong place. But ultimately the film succeeds, just maybe not in the way you expected it to. Its story is more powerful than you would have imagined, country strong indeed.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kelly Canter, the troubled country star. She's an alcoholic, she's popping pills, she's depressed, she's got anxiety issues and she's consumed by guilt over her role in a recent tragic event. She's certainly in no condition to be out on tour. But her husband James, who doubles as her manager, prematurely checks her out of rehab and puts her out on the road. Suffice to say the tour does not go smoothly. Kelly desperately needs someone to look after her and she insists that young Beau Hutton be on the tour as her opening act. Beau was an orderly at Kelly's rehab facility and he and Kelly became close. Really, really close if you catch my drift. Beau is a guy perfectly happy to play his music in dive bars in front of a few dozen people. But now he's the opening act for a superstar. Well one of the opening acts anyway. Kelly's husband has plucked young Chiles Stanton, a living, breathing country Barbie doll, from obscurity and brought her out on tour. His interest in her is clearly more than professional. So it's a very tangled web and that's even before the seemingly inevitable hooking up of Beau and Chiles. This tour is a mess on stage and off.
Country Strong has a pretty simple story but the melodrama is laid on pretty thick. It is a bit much at times. But whatever failings the story may have are mostly redeemed by a very good cast. Paltrow does an excellent job portraying a woman who is spiraling out of control. Your heart aches for Kelly as she is pushed into a spotlight she is not equipped to handle. Since it is James doing the pushing he is not going to come across as a very sympathetic character. But while you might not like the guy he is playing Tim McGraw does a very credible job in the part. Leighton Meester is very good as the ambitious, but rather naive, Chiles. As Chiles grows in confidence as the tour goes on we see a star blossoming before our eyes. But while the movie sets her up as Kelly's potential rival there is still a sweetness to Chiles even as she finds more success. Credit to Meester for creating such an embraceable character. The biggest standout in the cast is Garrett Hedlund playing Beau. The relationships Beau has with Kelly, with James, with Chiles are complicated to say the least. And in playing the role Hedlund weaves his way through those entanglements expertly. Beau is a guy who is so good at heart and as the movie goes on you realize it is really his story being told more than Kelly's. That makes Hedlund's performance critical and he meets the challenge.
The story is rather bleak but Country Strong does have its fun moments. The songs aren't irresistibly catchy but most of them are good enough, and lively enough, to bring a smile to your face. With Paltrow's character in such dire straits, and with country superstar McGraw playing a guy who doesn't actually sing, it is left mostly to Hedlund and Meester to carry the musical side of the movie. And they hold up very well. They never look or sound out of place up on stage. And Paltrow does get a moment or two. She maintains a prim, proper image, you don't really expect Gwyneth Paltrow to have a lot of honky-tonk in her. Can she cut loose and have some fun? Yes she can. Her most energetic number is entitled Shake That Thing and Paltrow indeed shakes that thing. So there is some fun to be had. But overall County Strong has a much more serious edge to it than you might expect. If you're looking for lighthearted fun you have definitely come to the wrong place. But ultimately the film succeeds, just maybe not in the way you expected it to. Its story is more powerful than you would have imagined, country strong indeed.