Until yesterday, I hadn’t heard of Country Strong, a film that’s being released on December 22. It’s written and directed by Shana Feste, produced by Tobey Maguire (!), and stars Gwyneth Paltrow as a washed-up country singer who’s trying to reboot her career.
I didn’t hear about this movie because I saw a trailer online or read an article about it in a magazine. I heard about it because Gwyneth Paltrow has released a single called “Country Strong” to country radio. (You can listen here.)
This tidbit provoked a couple of reactions in me:
(1) The song is pretty good.
Paltrow gives a perfectly good performance, and though it’s not reinventing the musical wheel, the track has a pleasant, Linda Rondstadt-from-the-70s vibe that sounds good in my earphones as I’m thinking about other things. It gains credibility because it features Vince Gill and my beloved Patty Griffin on background vocals and because it was written by Jennifer Hanson, Tony Martin, and Mark Nesler, who collectively have penned a lot of country hits.
(2) This reminds me how much I liked Gwyneth Paltrow’s duet with Huey Lewis.
Remember? She and Huey Huey re-recorded “Cruisin’,” the old Smokey Robinson and the Miracles song, for the soundtrack to the movie Duets. It was a pretty big hit, especially at adult contemporary radio, despite the fact that no one on the planet has ever seen the movie Duets, including the people who made it. (And if you’re telling me that you have seen it, then I am telling you that you’re a liar. And liars make the baby Jesus cry.)
(3) I’m ready to like Gwyneth Paltrow again
I mean, right? Remember the mid-90s, when she was an underground-cool actress who was so good in Flesh and Bone and who made Emma the Jane Austen adaptation you absolutely had to see after you saw Sense and Sensibility? And remember how luminous she was in Shakespeare in Love? Luminous, I tells ya’! I probably would’ve voted for Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth, but I’m totally fine with Paltrow’s Oscar win for this performance.
And sure, sure… the moment she won the Oscar was the moment things started going to hell. Both personally and professionally, Paltrow seemed to fall out of favor almost immediately after she won the prize.
Personally, she started coming across like a spoiled little rich girl. Up there on that Oscar podium, for instance, she cried and cried and cried in a way that said “I’m so fabulous” instead of “I’m so grateful.” And then she got all that unwarranted press about being a “fashion icon.” That’s not really her fault, but it didn’t help her image. And then she married Chris “Coldplay” Martin, named her baby Apple, and started a pretentious eco-focused website. That’s the kind of stuff that convinces the world you are not accessible, and that’s not what the world wants in a movie star.
Meanwhile, with the exceptions of The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Royal Tenenbaums, Paltrow’s résumé between 1999 and 2008 was chock full of egregious flops (View from the Top, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), mediocre indies (Sylvia, Proof), and offensive comedies about fat people (Shallow Hal.) It was like she won the Oscar and then fell down Kim Basinger’s rabbit hole.
But then came Iron Man and Paltrow’s feisty turn as Pepper Potts. That movie reminded me how much I enjoy a good Gwyneth Paltrow performance, much like Star Trek reminded me how much I miss Winona Ryder.
And now “Country Strong” reminds me that Gwyneth Paltrow is not only an actress, but also a singer I enjoy. And who am I to turn my back on a talented singer-actress? I’d say her profile has lowered enough to make it easy for me to ignore her annoying website and start focusing again on the reasons I liked her back in 1996. So I say, “Bring on Country Strong. My heart and mind are open.”
12 responses so far ↓
1 Jthan // Jul 28, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Okay, get the Baby Jesus a box of Kleenex. I totally have seen “Duets” more than once. It’s cheesier than a Velveeta factory, no doubt, but is one of those ‘okay to watch while folding laundry’ kind of films. Sorry, Baby J!
2 ferretrick // Jul 28, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Wait, wait…so in the movie she’s playing Huey Lewis’ daughter? And they are singing this song about “cruisin’” (read: having sex) and its not a one night stand and all? That’s fucked up.
3 Betsy // Jul 28, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Heard a radio commercial for Estee Lauder the other day and when she tried to come across all warm and palsy-walsy, my first reaction was “Don’t you know no one likes you anymore?” I don’t know if I can give her another chance. I just don’t know if I can open my heart up again.
4 Melissa // Jul 29, 2010 at 12:14 am
I have seen it! In the theater, even. And yes, ferretrick, I have always thought it was totally bizarre that Gwyneth and Huey were singing about “I can just stay there inside you and love you forever” when they were supposed to be father and daughter. Singing it to each other! All croony-like! Gross. But I did like the song.
5 Alice // Jul 29, 2010 at 8:35 am
Ha! I saw it in the theatre too! I’m pretty sure I’ve blocked out the whole experience, but I did pay money to see Duets.
6 Kaitlyn // Jul 29, 2010 at 10:12 am
I, too, have seen Duets. What can I say, I’m a sucker for Ben from Felicity!
7 Mark Blankenship // Jul 29, 2010 at 10:25 am
Wow… maybe I’m the one who’s make Baby J cry (to borrow Jthan’s nickname.) Maybe He’s upset because I haven’t seen Duets! I’m genuinely surprised that so many of you have seen it because I don’t think I’ve ever even passed by it on TBS. Live and learn!
Also, I didn’t realize Huey and Gwyneth were playing father and daughter until I watched the clip I embedded into this post. It really is creepy, right? It reminds me of that scene from Arrested Development where Michael and Maebbe do a karaoke duet on “Afternoon Delight,” only M&M have the good sense to feel weird about it.
8 SarahE // Jul 29, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Paltrow was in Sliding Doors, so she’ll always be okay by me.
Of course, I am not about to start reading GOOP, because I’m afraid that would make me hate her.
9 Doug Strassler // Jul 29, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Well I don’t mean to make Baby J cry, but I did see Duets. When it first played on Starz. I actually think a separate storyline was my favorite, involving Andre Braugher and Paul Giamatti. And I also like the film since it was directed by Bruce Paltrow two years before he passed away. (Does that make anyone cry?)
10 Lauren // Jul 30, 2010 at 12:02 pm
This is almost awesome. Not exactly Dolly or Reba (who is), but she does donkey kick it out at the end. I just love that someone as WASPy as Gwyneth is tapping into some dirty Southern energy. I like her. No one can take SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE away from me. Thanks for alerting me to this, Mark – Great article!
11 Jessica // Jul 31, 2010 at 2:47 am
Yeah I’ve seen ‘Duets’ multiple times.
12 allaboutwarmovies // Aug 6, 2010 at 6:10 am
I would love to like Gwyneth again. Also did miss Winona Ryder but am still trying to recover from her appearance in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
(I can’t understand those all-star casts anymore anyway.)
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