It’s not that Country Strong is a terrible film. It is just not a very good film. The talents of Gwyneth Paltrow are wasted in this derivative and formulaic film in the milieu of country music. The music is pleasant enough, the story is momentarily diverting and the performances are pretty good. But in the category of films about music, Country Strong is not even close to as much fun as Burlesque or as good as Crazy Heart.

Country superstar Kelly Canter(Gwyneth Paltrow) is starting her first tour since leaving rehab, but her battle with alcoholism continues. Husband/manager James (Tim McGraw) is pushing her hard, but their marriage is in trouble. Along on the tour is Kelly’s friend, singer/songwriter Beau (Garrett Hedlund) and pageant queen and singer Chiles Stanton, who wants to be star. The obligatory concert scenes are peppered throughout the film, as well as the usual romantic entanglements. As expected, Kelly, the seasoned performer and Chiles, the young upstart compete for fame and men.  Will Kelly give one more big concert or will Chiles become a star?

Writer/director Shana Feste directs without an ounce of subtlety here, although her predictable script does not help her. Most of the film has a music video look to it, with some overwrought scenes in between the musical numbers. Kelly melts down during a performance, falls off the wagon and fights with her husband. Chiles argues/flirts with Beau, overcomes her fears and charms the press. In between, there is lots of country music. It is interesting that real country crooner Tim McGraw is the only one of the four leads whose character does not sing in the film.  The strongest scenes in Country Strong are the smaller scenes between the four main characters, but there are not enough of them to really develop these characters in a meaningful way. Credit the four leads for injecting life and enthusiasm into this film.

Gwyneth Paltrow gives a believable performance as country star Kelly, especially in the concert scenes. Her ever present charm helps to sell the music scenes, and the slight county accent she affects is convincing, but not over the top. I always enjoy watching Paltrow and she does a good job of making the out of control Kelly a sympathetic character. Beautiful Leighton Meester (fans of television’s Gossip Girl will recognize her as the conniving Blair) imbues Chiles with a complexity and vulnerability, and she makes the film more interesting. She also does a good job with the more humorous scenes. When preparing to go onstage, Chiles ask Beau how she looks. Wanting to insult her Beau replies, “Like a country Barbie.”  “Thanks,” Chiles replies sincerely.  When Chiles says that “I am not what I seem,” Meester shows us this in her performance. I enjoyed all of her scenes, especially the scenes with Paltrow, and wish the film had further developed these characters. Garrett Hedlund is likeable enough as Beau, and Tim McGraw is especially good as James. McGraw keeps us guessing as to the character’s intentions, suggesting he is something more than a bad husband. Paltrow, Meester and Hedlund obviously worked hard on their singing and all three of them do a nice job .But they are not singers, and this is a bit of a weakness in this film. Characters in the film keep talking about their great performances, but the actors cannot really deliver musically the way Cher or Christine Aguilera did in Burlesque.

While the performances are strong, and the film contains some nice moments, Country Strong is  forgettable. It would be pleasant enough to watch on cable, but the film is not anything we have not seen before.

Country Strong. Directed by Shana Feste. Gwyneth Paltrow(Kelly Canter), Tim McGraw ( James Canter), Garrett Hedlund (Beau Hutton) and Leighton Meester (Chiles Stanton). Screen Gems, 2010.

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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