Review of Country Strong (2010) by Aline C — 05 Jan 2013

A few disclaimers: 1.) I do not like country music; 2.) I am not from the South 3.) I didn't actually watch the entire movie all at once, straight through -- saw parts of it (but eventually the whole thing) at different times.

That being said, I saw previews for this & had a guilty desire to see it. I generally do not like these Lifetime channel type films, but it looked like it might be satisfyingly dramatic. And I like Gwyneth Paltrow.

I knew the reviews were bad, so my expectations were low. And yeah . . . so it's flawed. But I still kind of like this! It's definitely popcorn Lifetime movie level, but definitely better than tv. And definitely better than a lot of movies that have very cheesy & predictable elements but yet have gotten less criticism. That terrible Anne Hathaway film, "Love and Other Drugs," comes to mind as the perfect counter example: much cheesier dialogue; WE channel plotline; much worse acting; predictable outcome . . . so why didn't that get panned and "Country Strong" did?

Anyway, I actually kind of liked the music here, and I got sucked into the drama. I felt empathy for the characters, and I didn't predict the ending. The acting, I thought, was actually really good. The emotions depicted are more complex and complicated than you might expect.

If you're a guy, you probably won't have much tolerance for this unless you just like watching Gwyneth Paltrow. No, it's not a happily-ever-after story, necessarily, so if you're a girl and you only like fairy tale endings, then this won't work for you. But I've seen much worse films and if you just feel like a little escapism and some emotional catharsis, give this a try. It doesn't deserve any Oscars, certainly, but neither do I think it deserves all the negative reviews, either. Kick back with some wine & ice cream & bring some tissues & enjoy a little drama and pathos with a country twang.