Warning: sleep inducer. “Country Strong” is the lousy version of “Crazy Heart”. I couldn’t help but notice some similarities between the two, but lets be honest here: Gwyneth Paltrow is no Jeff Bridges, and the movie isn’t half as good as “Crazy Heart”. Paltrow plays a washed up country singer struggling to get back on her feet. Problem is: she never manages to convince the audience that she’s a mess. Her hair and wardrobe remain intact, and I never felt in any way connected to her character. I couldn’t care less about her, or anyone else around her for that matters. What’s more, the film feels awfully uneven and boring. There isn’t much continuity to the story, only a bunch of scenes thrown together. How do they expect us to feel sympathy for a character that we know nothing about? Aside from her singing the title song, there was nothing about her that was remotely strong. I suffered through the first half, which seemed to go overboard in portraying her flaws and failures, and wondered how much lower she can get before she turns things around. It never happened. There was absolutely no payoff at the end to make it all worthwhile. “Crazy Heart” had a fitting finale. Hell we suffered with Jeff Bridges for over 90 minutes, but it was worth it. I never felt the same way with “Country Strong”. The charisma just wasn’t there I guess. And it makes me wonder why Paltrow got herself mixed up with this in the first place. Bleh!
Rating: 1.5/4
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