Bridges is exactly what everyone says, and he lifts high an ordinary movie

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 2010)

Crazy Heart (2009)
The story of a country singer down on his luck is about as old and legendary as them thar hills out yonder and yet, once again, it works. Jeff Bridges is a perfect fit here, acting with such sincerity you forget he isn't who he pretends to be, the old school singer Bad Blake. He drinks too much, he has women like other men have donuts, he loses track of his life, and his family, and someone else's kid, and generally of decency until he is forced to confront himself. In the background is the charming, cute, suave Colin Farrell as the new breed of country star, clearly a corporate product, but loved by the crowds.
What the story lacks in originality (and it lacks this almost completely) it makes up for in archetypal American loner survivalism on the road and on the mend. It's an enjoyable ballad of a movie, mostly for Bridges. Even when it gets slow, which it does too often, it's a pleasure to be in the company of Bad Blake.
The music: it's just the icing. Bridges (and Farrell, in his briefer role) performed their own songs, and the soundtrack is a great introduction to a certain kind of Country Western.