Vintage

Country Strong (2011) should be titled Country Wrong.  I don't buy this sappy stitch-together one bit.  It is cliched, campy, and frankly, boring.  It is not a terrible flick.  It was filmed in a competent manner.  It has likable stars, even real country stars like Tim McGraw, but there is not much country in Country Strong.  Instead there is campy.  Hell, the music is as good as half the country crap you will hear today (this is coming from a John Cash fan - not a country music hater). 

The plot involves Gweneth Paltrow as an alcoholic singer who is perhaps in the sunset of her career.  There is an up and coming starlet that tags along with them and throw into the mix a young stud who will eventually have the hots for both of them.  Tim McGraw is the Patlrow's stage manager who obviously has feelings for her, but pushes her for the glory of the road show.

So what were the flicks biggest transgressions?  Too vanilla.  Boring.  Too nice.  Even the assholes were good people.

You want to see a better country strong movie I would suggest Walk The Line (2005) and Crazy Heart (2009).  Going back in time, check out Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) or Tender Mercies (1983).  This flick wants to be mentioned in the same breath of those but only will succeed when mentioned in terms of how it doesn't even come close to any of them. I deal it a Jack.