Week 2: Country Strong

So this week was Country Strong. I really had mixed feelings going into this movie. First of all, I love love love Gwyneth Paltrow. She has been my favorite actress since around the time she was in Shakespeare in Love. She can basically do no wrong in my book. But, on the other hand, I was really having a hard time picturing her as a country singer. It just didn't fit. So I was having this internal debate before I even went into the theater. Turns out...she wasn't a believable country singer to me. *gasp* Did I just say that?? I swear I didn't mean it, Gwyneth.

But it wasn't just Gwyneth Paltrow not doing country well that didn't do it for me. It was the whole thing. I think Deb and I are probably going to have different opinions on this one.

Let me back up first. It sounds like I really disliked this movie but I didn't. It was entertaining and all the actors were generally good. Actually I think the supporting actors were the best. Leighton Meester who played the up and coming singer and Garret Hedlund who played the other guy really stole the show. Although I still think that the only actor, Tim McGraw, who could have obviously pulled off country didn't really have to "do" country which was a shame.

But when it comes down to it, overall I thought the story line was weak. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the relationships didn't really pull me in. It focused on four main characters who sort of had these intertwining relationships. The problem was I didn't believe any of them. The movie started in the middle of a story already in process so I felt like I couldn't really connect right off the bat. And when the characters switched from one person to another I didn't really feel any emotion towards it.

So, yeah, I was a little disappointed but that could have come from my own biases before the movie even started. I probably didn't give it a chance.

To sum this movie up: A little slow, a little detached and just okay.