“Country Strong” is the debut of Gwyneth Paltrow’s singing career. Paltrow portrays a fallen country star, Kelly Canter, who is recovering from a alcohol addiction. Canter leaves rehab to go back on tour and make her big comeback.
Chiles Stanton (Meester) and Beau Hutton (Hedlund) are two talented country-music singer/songwriters who appear as Canter’s opening act. Hutton sparks a budding romance with Canter that causes romantic complications with Canter’s husband/manager (McGraw).
The biggest problem I found with this movie is that the previews are very misleading. The trailers make it appear that Stanton and Hutton are the ones with the romance on the rise. There are many scenes where it seems that they will fall in love but throughout the movie Hutton goes back and forth from Stanton and Canter.
I also found myself hating Paltrow’s character. Canter is a lying adulterer who has problems she needs to fix. Canter likes to play the role of the victim, yet she is the one who is stupid enough to get herself into bad situations.
The music selection is a big part of what makes the movie. The songs Paltrow sings are very appropriate for her character and it is fun to watch her sing. The movie is entertaining and worth the $4 I spent.