Product Details

• Actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw
• Directors: Shana Feste
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony
• DVD Release Date: April 12, 2011
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003UESJ9M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,312 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Country Strong" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A Nashville superstar faces a crossroads in her life in the sweet, sentimental Country Strong. While in rehab, Gwyneth Paltrow's six-time Grammy Award winner Kelly Canter has a fling with an admiring orderly, Beau (Tron: Legacy's Garrett Hedlund). An aspiring singer/songwriter, Beau tells Kelly's manager and husband, James (Tim McGraw, Hedlund's Friday Night Lights father), that he's her "sponsor." Anxious to revitalize her career, James checks Kelly out early to send her back on tour. He may love his wife, but he doesn't know when to stop pushing. When he hears Beau's duet with former beauty queen Chiles (Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester), he adds them to the bill. En route from Tennessee to Texas, Beau discovers that Chiles is more talented and intelligent than he thought, but he remains devoted to his mentor, even though he knows they have no future. When Kelly starts drinking again, Beau gravitates towards his more stable tour mate. Writer-director Shana Feste (The Greatest) doesn't argue that love and work can't coexist, but rather that love and fame are incompatible. They certainly present a challenge, but it's a shaky thesis on which to build a film, especially when McGraw and Faith Hill, one of Paltrow's musical inspirations, serve as the exception that proves the rule. Consequently, the scenario falls apart by the final act, since someone has to suffer to illustrate Feste's point. Until then, the cast rises to the occasion, particularly Meester, who brings a breezy charm to an overly pessimistic premise. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly disjointed, but still enjoyable film January 9, 2011

By Jeff Wiley

Format:Blu-ray

Kelly Canter (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow) is one of the biggest country music stars on the planet, and she's also struggling with many demons. A year after a tragic (and very public) accident in Dallas derailed her career, Kelly has emerged from rehab, and is quickly sent back on the road by her husband-manager James (Tim McGraw). James, who is now more Kelly's manager than husband, recruits a singing beauty queen named Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) to join Kelly's "Encore" tour. Kelly, enamored during her rehab stint with a musically talented intern named Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), insists that he supports Kelly on the tour, as well. James agrees, but only on the condition that Beau's role is sponsor first, musician second. The complex layers of relationships among the main characters is the essence of 'Country Strong'.

All of the actors turn in very convincing performances, Hedlund's not the least among them. Hedlund's turn as a gifted musician more in love with music than with the idea of fame is second only to Paltrow's authentic depiction of the troubled superstar. McGraw gets better with every role that he receives, although his character range might be limited. Meester's interpretation of the "Country Barbie" has legs, and healthy ones at that. Her character was the most well developed in the film, start to finish.

As the writing goes, I found it to be a little sloppy. The emotional pendulum swings so quickly and frantically among the characters, that it becomes difficult to get invested in even one of them, let alone all of them. The story is not difficult to follow, but some instances of interaction are questionable, if not unbelievable. There are also elements surrounding the film that even make it feel a little dated. That said, I did find the pacing of the film to be solid and steady. I also found the victories and defeats that the characters experience I found to be a plus for the movie.

The true strength of 'Country Strong' is the music that is woven throughout the fabric of the story. The variety of country music sub-genres (from classic country to the current, dominant pop-style of country) are all great, and I consider myself a casual country music fan, at best. The real tragedy is that not all of the songs in the film are on the official soundtrack. Paltrow has at least three top-quality songs in the film, all of which she performs herself. She sounds like someone who has been performing country her entire life. Meester's "Words I Couldn't Say", which she also performs on her own, is potentially a #1 single for her. It's really that good. Overall, this might actually be an instance where the soundtrack will outlast the popularity of the movie it originates from.

'Country Strong' amounted to something of a predictable ending, but knowing the destination didn't make the journey any less worth taking for me. As I type this, Rotten Tomatoes critics have this film at 17%. I find this rating to be very unfair, and very harsh. This is an entertaining film that will satisfy the majority of those who spend their money to see it.

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a Good Movie About Country Music January 8, 2011

By Emgee

Format:DVD

I seem to be in a minority, but I thought this was a superb movie, a great start to 2011 (countering what Rebecca Murray said about the movie). Was it the greatest movie of all time? Not by a long shot, no. But it accomplished what it set out to do: it told a great story, showcased great performances both dramatically and musically.

While Paltrow may take first-billing, and while her musical numbers are phenomenal, to me it is Beau and Chiles (Hedlund and Meester) who this movie is really about.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this movie February 28, 2011

By Betty Stewart

Format:Blu-ray

I really loved this movie. I went back and watched it again with my daughter and she liked it to. The music is great but so was the movie. It was about all 4 main people and how their lives were changed because of each other. It's a movie I plan to buy. I bought the cd after watching the movie. The music is really great.