Country Strong

Did you know that Country Strong was strongly inspired by country-girl Britney Spears? Yeah...

Oh boy, I really like that movie! I'm not even American and I'm even less into country music, but somehow this movie gets me every time I watch it.

Gwyneth Paltrow plays fallen country-superstar Kelly who lost her child after drunkenly falling down 10 feet off her stage in Dallas. The film starts with her being in rehab where her secret lover sponsor, Beau, who happens to be a quite decent country-singer himself meets here husband/manager James, who decided to get Kelly out of rehab early to start her comeback "Encore"-tour.
Beau and former Miss Dallas Chiles are set to headline and the two of them become friends.
Of course, Kelly was far from ok, so she relapses several times, misses two of her three concerts and has a few dozen meltdowns throughout the movie.

What I really like about the movie is the ensemble and the characters. EVERY single one of the actors does a superb job, Paltrow is incredible in this quite challenging roll and all of the characters really play their parts in such a genuinely believable way - it's a rare sight in Hollywood.

The soundtrack is absolutely flawless as well. The mostly original songs find their way into the viewers ears immidiately and they're here to stay. Prepare yourself humming titles like "A Little Bit Stronger" or "Country Strong" for days and days after watching the movie. The soundtrack is available on iTunes, too, so if you can't get enough of it, download it now.

Apparently the movie was based on the lives of real popstars such as Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, and it is quite sad to see, what the industry, the press and media and their own team of greedy managers can do to a human being that's supposed to be strong and glamorous, just because he or she happens to be a superstar.

In conclusion, I highly recommend watching Country Strong - and not only for people who are interested in country music or pop culture. In the end it's just a really tragic story about a woman who wasn't heard, even though she was belting in a microphone in front of thousands of people.