One of my biggest pet peeves with my friends and others that I talk to about movies is when they love a movie based solely on a great ending. They'll rave about some major twist, some great final sequence, but totally forget a bunch of stupid stuff prior. That being said, I am attempting not to be the complete opposite type of person while applying my same overall principle - because my instinct wants to completely pan Country Strong for what is certainly one of the worst movie endings I've seen in quite some time...maybe ever. I need to judge the film as a whole, so let's get to it then...
Country Strong is the story of three country singers. One, Kelly Cantor (Gwenyth Paltrow), is a seasoned singer whose part Faith Hill and part Lindsay Lohan. The movie begins with her leaving rehab (for alcohol abuse), forced to leave early by her angry husband/manager (Tim McGraw) who seemingly wants to see her back on the road making money. While in rehab, she met an up-and-coming star who worked in the facility, who coincidentally also knows another up-and-coming star who coincidentally Cantor's husband is looking into to be a new opening act, coincidentally. Coincidentally. Coincidentally. My word the beginning of this movie was almost as bad as the end. There is so much cooking here, and almost none of it is believable.
In the middle though, once we forgive all of the coincidences, the story hits it's stride and becomes, dare I say it, immensely entertaining. The music wasn't half bad for the amount of original material they made for the film. I actually began really liking the characters - the acting was very good, and I thought I might end up liking the overall experience. And then the last five minutes happen. My word. So terrible. I'm sorry, this review is not eloquent, but it's just that bad. The screenwriter/director, Shana Feste, should be utterly ashamed how she betrayed the overall message of the movie in the last few scenes. This was supposed to be a movie about redemption, not some bad soap opera. So I will give the beginning a 0, the middle a 7, and the ending a -2 for a final score of 5 out of 10. You may not hate the movie, but I will lose respect for you if you don't hate the ending.
Parental Take: Drugs, sex, and alcohol are themes, but never explicit. It probably wouldn't interest anyone under the age of 13.
If You Like Country Strong Try: Last year's Crazy Heart is so much better - it has a great beginning, middle, and end.
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