Nothing that hasn't been done (better) before

Rating: 4/10 (15 February 2010)

So far, only two other IMDb users (Casablanca and M2b) saw the same movie I saw when we went to see Crazy Heart. I was tricked into seeing the movie by falling for the Oscar buzz surrounding Jeff Bridges, who plays Bad Blake. And even though we all knew this was going to be The Wrestler with music, my friends and I went to see what the critics promised: Jeff Bridges transcend an obviously formulaic plot with an amazing performance. Bridges performance was spot on as a disgusting, burnt out, drunkard, who, like Randy 'The Ram' Robinson has to settle for humiliating gigs in no-name towns, just to keep himself in booze and cigarettes. Good performance. Not amazing. But the rest of the movie goes nowhere and none of us could buy the romance between "Bad" and Jean, played by Maggie Gyllenhal. Maggie's never looked better, but instead of channeling Marisa Tomei and looking a little down and out or rough around the edges, we are supposed to believe that this perky single mom with an adorable son and neat-as-a-pin house would fall in love with an overweight, sloppy drunk who drinks 'till he pukes, chain smokes and spends his days watching porn. No back story on Jean and why she would be so vulnerable that she'd fall in love with him during an interview.... Mommy was a country music groupie with a crush on "Bad"? .... Daddy was an alcoholic who ran off on her? .....all we know is that she's made "bad choices". Robert Duval plays himself, basically. The character actors are believable, but not engaging. The one subtle but surprising performance was turned in by Colin Farrell who impresses me more each time I see him. I know I ask a lot of my $12 movie ticket. Next time I'll trust my instincts.