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SYNOPSIS:
Soon after a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Gwyneth Paltrow), the pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (Tim McGraw) and featuring a beauty queen-turned-singer (Leighton Meester). Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.
MOVIE
REVIEW:
If all else fails, sing.
That’s the advice we have for all actors who feel that they should do something with their failing career. Not that all actors switch to singing to save their careers, but it’s amazing what singing in a movie can do – look at Jamie Foxx (Dreamgirls), Eddie Murphy (Shrek), Amy Adams (Enchanted) and lo and behold, Zac Efron (High School Musical). Need we say more? Here, we have Academy Award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) starring in a movie as a country singer. Does she belt a few tunes here? You bet she does!
The country drama film’s protagonist is a fallen star (Paltrow) who hits it off with a rising country music songwriter. Together, they create sparks and as he gains his place in the industry, she sees a potential comeback. What they did not expect are the complications involving her husband cum manager and a beauty queen turned singer.
Some have regarded Paltrow as a fallen star herself, especially after her Oscar win in 1998 (Shallow Hal, anyone?). Hence, her portrayal here almost seems uncanny. You can call it a form of recognition that the Academy once again recognised her efforts by nominating “Coming Home”, a song from the movie performed by the 38 year old actress. Although the original composition did not win the Oscar eventually, Paltrow did get to perform “live” at the awards show, which we suppose is gratifying for any artiste.
So can Paltrow sing? Oh yes she can. Besides “Coming Home”, she also performs other tunes in the movie. One can expect nice spotlights and bright stage lights in place during these scenes. In terms of character portrayal, Paltrow is often seen to be downcast and depressed, given the emotionally unstable personality of her character. She does a decent job here, but it is really nothing we haven’t seen before.
Paltrow’s co stars include American country singer Tim McGraw who plays her long suffering husband manager, Garrett “Sam Flynn” Hedlund as the up and coming musician who has a fling with her, and Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester who plays the obligatory sweet young thing. These credited actors play their parts well, but their performances are nothing spectacular to speak of.
The screenplay isn’t anything to shout about, either. Every plot development is predictable here, and one can already guess the fates of the four characters one quarter into the movie. It also seems somewhat overlong, with its 117 minute runtime. Fortunately, the song performances are rather enjoyable, which helped to make the viewing experience a little less dreary.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The Code 3 DVD includes four minutes of four Deleted Scenes, a three minute Original Ending which shifts its attention back to Paltrow’s character via an emotional voiceover, Music Videos for “Country Strong” and “A Little Bit Stronger” featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Sara Evans, as well as a “Shake That Thing” Extended Performance with Gwyneth Paltrow. Trailers from Sony productions like Burlesque, The Tourist and How Do You Know round up the platter.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The movie’s visual transfer is acceptable, and you can watch the feature in either English, Portuguese, Spanish or Thai 5.1 audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 13 May 2011
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