I wanted to like "Country Strong."
I'm a sucker for backstage dramas, and "Coal Miner's Daughter" is one of my all-time favorite movies. I tried to ignore the early-January release date, otherwise known as a dumping ground for mediocrity. Hollywood doesn't always know what it's talking about in that respect.
Except in the case of "Country Strong."
As Kelly, a country-music diva prematurely sprung from rehab by James (Tim McGraw), her Svengali of a husband/manager, Gwyneth Paltrow operates in two modes: 1) stunningly beautiful; and 2) less beautiful but still really attractive. I wish I looked that lovely with smeared eyeliner and a bottle of vodka in my hands, but my friends tell me otherwise.
James is eager to stage an elaborate comeback tour that will culminate in the same city where Kelly had an onstage drunken breakdown the year before. The young-pup openers are guitarist Beau (Garrett Hedlund), who doubled as Kelly's rehab sponsor, and fresh-faced Chiles (Leighton Meester), a sweet singer with a Cupid's-bow mouth and a very unfortunate name.
Will Kelly successfully re-adapt to the rigors of fame while rekindling her relationship with James? Will Beau and Chiles find love and super-stardom?
I wanted to care about the answers to these questions.
I did not.
Three out of the four principal characters constantly committed loathsome acts with self-righteousness that I, the audience member, was supposed to find justifiable. Because they're good-looking? I'm still not sure. Never once did I believe Paltrow was addicted to anything harder than Crest Whitestrips. And a stupid baby-bird metaphor disappeared halfway through the film. If you're going to be heavy-handed, filmmakers, at least be consistent.
The film's few redeeming features lie in several decent songs, Hedlund's rich sexy baritone that almost got me to pay full price for "Tron: Legacy" and in Meester's charming performance. Meester has a gorgeous face and pleasant voice, and under her fussy beauty-queen exterior, Chiles just wants to rise above her humble roots and make a better life as a performer. Who can blame her? Oh that's right, every other character in the movie. Because in the music industry, ambition is wrong, even when the individual in question is the only kind and considerate one in the bunch. Or so "Country Strong" would have you believe.