While Jeff Bridges scored with his Oscar-winning portrayal of a troubled, alcoholic country music singer in Crazy Heart, Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't pack as much of a wallop in this distaff version, as she channels her inner Patsy Cline, guitar in hand. Self-destructive Kelly Canter (Paltrow) is a successful Nashville star, but she's just out of rehab and emotionally unstable. Married to her manager James (real-life country superstar Tim McGraw), Kelly becomes involved in a romantic relationship with singer/songwriter Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), whom James has hired to be her opening act for a Texas comeback tour of Austin, Houston, and Dallas, where several months earlier she took a tipsy tumble and suffered a miscarriage. To complicate matters, Kelly is resentful of sensitive James' interest in up-and-coming crooner Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester), a sassy, wide-eyed former beauty queen. Sob. Choke. Suffer. Sing. Repeat. Written and directed by Shana Feste—who acknowledges that the meandering story was inspired by Britney Spears' media/fame woes—Country Strong is a sudsy, melodramatic soap opera with far too many clichéd and contrived coincidences. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (5 min.), an extended performance of “Shake that Thing” (4 min.), an original ending (3 min.), a “Country Strong” music video by star Gwyneth Paltrow, “A Little Bit Stronger” music video by Sara Evans, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Friends in High Places: The Cast of Country Strong,” “Putting the Words in Their Mouths: The Songwriters,” and “A Little Bit Country: The Costumes” (30 min. total). Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)
Country Strong
Sony, 117 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.99, Blu-ray: $34.99, Apr. 12 Volume 26, Issue 3
Country Strong
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