For all the hoopla - not so great

Rating: 6/10 (7 April 2010)

For all the hype, this should be a fantastic movie – it isn't. It's an OK movie, even a pretty good movie, but not fantastic. What makes it watchable is Jeff Bridges. Its fun to see a movie star drop his gut into a role and let the wrinkles show. Bridges lets everything hang as he plays a charming country star sliding down the ladder of success. The problem is that everything else is completely predictable. He's a great guy, drinks too much, has some bad breaks, drinks too much, still gets the girl, drinks too much, loses the girl, drinks too much, makes amends, stops drinking and becomes a success again. That's the storyline of every other movie out there. That Bridges breathes some life into it makes it worth watching.
Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn't have much to work with and doesn't find anything to add. She's too put together to really fall for Bad Blake – he's so obviously a loser. Her clothes are all designer chic (except for that hideous tube top – if you see the movie you'll know which one I mean) and she has a nice home and adorable kid. If she's a struggling single Mom, wow, sign me up.
Jack Nation as Buddy is freaking adorable as the 5 year old. Bridges and Nation together are far more interesting than Bridges and Gyllenhaal. The character roles – old time fans, bartenders, women on the make – are all well done, keeping the thing moving along since it would otherwise die due to lack of action. And it certainly sounds like Bridges and maybe Ryan Bingham as Tony are doing their own songs up on stage and that's fun too, though not great music. So go see it, be glad you're not Bad, and move on to something else.