Only the uber talented, Gwyneth Paltrow could tackle the role of a six-time-Grammy-winning-country-star with real life country singer Tim McGraw playing husband. Remember, Paltrow can really sing. She was amazing years ago opposite Huey Lewis in Duets. So this story opens in a rehab center where Kelly Canter (Paltrow) is busy testing her vocals with a cute orderly named Beau (Garrett Hedlund) who aspires to be a professional singer himself. He looks up to this Carrie Underwood beauty with her drawl gentleness and Ivory natural looks. Enter Kelly’s manager and husband, James (Tim McGraw) who is more interested in her career (or so it seems…it’s about to get confusing) so he pulls her out of rehab earlier even though he knows she had a scandalous drunken fall off stage in Dallas. This caused her to miscarry the baby she was carrying. If this is sounding a little too “Country Soap Opera” you’re right. And besides, if she’s been through this type of drama and turns to booze, why would he plunge her into a tour? Beyond that, she’s competing with the new chippy, Chiles (Leighton Meester) with her big hair and a bigger voice, busy flirting with both James and Beau simultaneously. And Beau – who we love as the hunky crooner from TRON: Legacy – seems to be torn between the two women, so we’re not sure if we should trust him. More soap opera… In the end, there’s a great concert scene and the lovely Paltrow shines as ever, but all along she’s weighed down by lack of coping skills and constantly smeared mascara. Two and a half tiaras
