COUNTRY STRONG — ★1/2 — Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw; PG-13 (alcohol, sexual content); in general release
"Country Strong," a film about a famous country singer drinking her way to the bottom — novel concept — is at heart a mystery.
As in: Who stole the plot?
Alas, that question goes unanswered in the movie, written and directed by Shana Feste. Several good performances are left adrift, as the characters roam from scene to scene, singing (quite well) as they go. Even as a sort of long-form music video, it's disjointed.
Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Kelly Canter, a huge country star who is in rehab when we meet her, sobering up after falling during a concert while drunk and losing the baby she was pregnant with. She's tended to by Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), who works at the rehab center but is at heart a country singer. He writes songs with her, until the day her husband James (Tim McGraw) decides she's better, it's time to go on tour. Kelly is unsure, and Beau is adamantly against it — she's clearly not healthy enough. But money talks, the fans demand it and off they go — with Beau as the opening act. This is especially complicated because he and Kelly obviously have feelings for each other, which James seems aware of but, for whatever reason, chooses to ignore. He's busy worrying about Dallas, the big show they're working toward — and the place where Kelly lost her baby.
They're also joined by Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester), a beauty-queen type with stage fright who, like seemingly everyone else in the film, writes songs at the drop of a (10-gallon) hat. She seems to have some past with Beau, but it's never really explained. They spar, but it's obvious where things are leading. At one point, a back-up musician yells, "Why don't you just sleep with her, already?" When a minor character has to suggest obvious plot points, you've got problems.
Speaking of problems, Kelly's got them, too, though they're presented in broad strokes. When you hear a line like, "The only problem with the pills is if she mixes them with alcohol" in a movie like this, you don't expect to be surprised. James and Kelly toting around a bird she's found in a box isn't exactly subtle, either.
Too bad, because the songs are good, as is the singing. Paltrow makes a believable country star when sober enough to perform, even more so when too drunk to. McGraw is fine, but his character suffers the most from missing-development syndrome. Meester's character is built on even more cliches than the rest, but she can belt out the songs. Hedlund is the best of the lot; happily, the story is told more from his perspective than anyone else's.
Still, despite some good acting, with a story this weak, you're better off sticking with the soundtrack.
"Country Strong" is rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving alcohol abuse and some sexual content; running time: 112 minutes.