This was one of my favorite country music movies-ranking up with Pure Country. It shows what can happen with the pressures of stardom with Gwyneth Paltrow's character as she disengrates with stardom and personal tragedy. I liked the blending of real-life stars Tim McGraw, Lisa Stewart, Lari White, and Ed Bruce, and my favorite scenes were the concert footage, the bar scenes, the bus scenes, and the room scene where they talked about "Miss America." It was also a good movie about relationships, getting started, and heading out in the right direction. The performances were good, and the cast's chemistry was excellent. If you like the stars and country music, you will love this movie.*** out of ****

First I want to disclose I'm not a good writer AT ALL, and I've never wrote a review before. I have no idea what I'm going to end up writing so if you've never seen the movie... Don't continue reading, just know the movie is... Amazing. I tried watching the movie three or four times and was never able to watch the entire movie. But watching parts of it three or four times, made me finally take time out of my crazy life to watch the entire movie. I have to say it lifted my heart. Gweneth's performance should have won her many awards! The song she sang, "Coming Home" truly made my heart lift, and gave me goose bumps. I'm not one of those people that is star struck... Movie "Stars" are just regular people, who go to work everyday like you and I. I've never really been a fan of anyone... But after watching this movie I must say I am a fan of Gweneth's. She showed that she can act any script that is given to her. Truly a great movie start to finish. I wish I was a better writer to convince you more. Just go watch it... You'll love it!

If you don't like the South or the country genre, watch this film simply for the versatility of its cast. It shows just how total-package Paltrow, Hedlund, Meester, and McGraw really are. I found Paltrow to be a very believable country personality and her accent was just right, not over-the-top and ridiculous like a lot of other non-southern actors who've acted in southern roles (think "Beans" from Rango). Gwyneth is slow to show her powerful vocals - you'll have to be patient while her character builds up, but it's well worth it. In addition to the actors' abilities, I really loved the "Kelly" (Paltrow) and "Beau" (Hedlund) characters. Kelly is very vulnerable and fragile. She is candid about what she feels and I respect that much more than being prideful and keeping your hurt inside as if you are rock solid (when you know you aren't). Beau is deep and serious, with all the pros and cons that come with being pensive and very caring of others. He feels everyone's fears and pain in addition to his own and it sort of wears him down and makes him moody and severe. Overall I found the film charming, the soundtrack is one you'll actually want to buy. "Give In To Me", "Home", "Me And Tennessee", and "Country Strong" are my favorites. They aren't fads, really I find these tracks timeless.

The performances song-wise are really good. Especially if you like Country music, you will find quite a lot, that you will enjoy about this movie. Unfortunately the stories don't seem to be as strong as they could be. It is decent all around and it flows with a nice pace. But that is just it, there are no highlights to speak of.Having said that, the young talent at hand (the guy from Tron Legacy and Ms Meester) do their best. It's Gwyneth Paltrow though who steals the show. It's a cautionary tale in the end and it depends, if you are willing to listen to it and watch it. And to what degree you will get involved with the characters.