Crazy you would be, to skip this one....Jeff Bridges is incredible!

Rating: 9/10 (15 February 2010)

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is an aging, hard-living, boozing country music singer. Once a bonafide star and an excellent song writer, he has fallen on hard times. This is mostly due to his alcoholism, as it makes him unreliable to deliver a worthy concert performance. Now booked at bowling alleys, he is one testy character, for he knows what a truly great singer he really is. Bad is particularly annoyed that another singer he befriended and introduced, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), is currently doing far better than he, Bad, is. Also noteworthy among his failures are Bad's four marriages, which ended in divorces, and his many, many one-night stands. Now, however, he meets a young reporter, Joan (Maggie Gyllenhaal) when she corners him after a gig in New Mexico. She is pretty and spunky and is a single mother to a preschool boy. Although unexpected and unlikely, the older singer begins a relationship with the lovely writer. But, can it last? Also, Bad accepts an offer to open for Tommy at a concert in Phoenix, although Blake is definitely upset that his headlining days are gone. However, will it result in a career resurgence? This is an excellent film, despite some similarities to other movies. The reason is Bridges, for his performance is stellar and so is his singing. He truly "loses" himself in the role so that the viewer sees only Blake, not the actor giving him life. Also, the supporting cast is quite wonderful, with Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Farrell (his role is small but, hey, he can sing, too!), and the rest doing great work. Then, too, the settings, costumes, story, direction, production values, and, especially, the music are topnotch. In short, you would be "crazy" indeed to skip this one. Its a heck-of-a-story and a heck-of-a-performance from Bridges, too.