Movie Review: Country Strong

I delayed seeing this film, because the trailer made it look cheesy and ridiculous. On a whim I watched it, and it was shockingly good. The film follows the career of Kelly Canter, a country music superstar, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s been to rehab multiple times, and her husband, James Canter (Tim McGraw), takes her out of rehab early so she can continue her tour. Garrett Hedlund plays her “sponsor,” and he objects to Canter’s early release, partly because she isn’t ready and partly because they’ve been carrying on an affair in rehab, and he doesn’t want her to leave. Canter wants him close, so she tells her husband she wants him as her opening act on tour. Her husband complies, but only if he shares the stage with Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester), a very pretty and talented aspiring country music star. Though I was impressed with all the actors in the film, I was particularly impressed with Tim McGraw, who I couldn’t decide whether to love or hate throughout the entire film. It’s clear much he loves his wife, despite the way he mistreats her.  It’s also clear how much Beau loves his wife, so it’s impossible to predict the end result.  Until the last twenty minutes, I had no idea who the characters would end up with.  It’s the least predictable romantic movie I’ve ever seen.

Why Can The CW Pick Actors But Not Shows?

Leighton Meester is getting a lot of attention for her new film with Gwenyth Paltrow, Country Strong, and I can’t help but wonder if the people at The CW are happy.  Gossip Girl is Meester’s career launching role, and it gets a lot of media buzz, but no ratings.  That’s always baffled me, especially considering that I religiously watch Gossip Girl, despite falling outside their target tweenie demographic.  But Meester isn’t the only actress from The CW to become extremely successful.  What about Blake Lively?  She also began on Gossip Girl, and she’s now had three major movie roles (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Town, and The Green Hornet).  And let’s not forget Kristen Bell.  Bell’s career began on Veronica Mars, which also got press attention but failed in the ratings.  Like Meester and Lively, Bell has now moved on to major movie roles.  So what’s the problem?  Is it a CW marketing problem?  Perhaps.  When ratings don’t correspond with the quality of your show, you have to question marketing and promotion.  Plus, you’d think if your that good at picking talent, you’d be equally as good at running your network as a whole.

Naturally Blond Actresses that Go Brown — Who Are They?

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again — the prettiest brunette will always be prettier than the prettiest blond. Am I biased? — Sure, but I’m the Dishmaster, and I’ll be biased if I want. To prove my point, I’ve compiled a list of actresses that were born blond, but decided to die their hair brown instead. Why? — Because they look better, of course. Enjoy!

SOFIA VERGARA — People often ask me who my girl crushes are, and Sofia is at the top of my list. She’s beautiful with a twist of sass. She confessed that she had trouble getting roles when she moved to the United States from Columbia, and she blamed it on her blond hair.  Once she went brown, she began to book jobs, and the rest is history.

LEIGHTON MEESTER — Just to contradict myself, I’ll admit that Leighton Meester actually looks better as a blond. She died her hair for Gossip Girl, presumably because the producers already had the blond Blake Lively to play Serena, and they saw Leighton’s character as a brunette. She actually died her hair before the audition. I’m posting two pictures of her below, so that you can see the difference and judge for yourself.

JULIA ROBERTS — For much of Julia Roberts’ career I’ve wondered if she was a natural red-head or brunette. It turns out she’s neither. Her natural hair color is actually dirty blond, but she prefers to keep it brown. Personally, I’d like her to keep her red Pretty Woman hair forever, but I don’t suppose she wants to be play the same part for the rest of her life.

AUDRINA PATRIDGE — When I watched Audrina on The Hills, I noticed something strange about her appearance. She didn’t quite look right, and when my friend told me she’s a natural blond, it clicked. Like Leighton, she looks better as a blond. It’s a shame too, because I so badly wanted this post to be about how brunettes rule the world. But you can’t have everything, I guess. To see her with blond hair, click here.

ASHLEE SIMPSON — When Ashlee first broke into the business, she tried very hard to separate herself from Jessica Simpson. That included dying her hair brown, and dressing like a grunge rocker. It didn’t quite work, and she has since changed her image about 500 times. She recently went back to blond, so I’ve posted her with both hair colors. See what you think.

In closing, I’d like to confess that I took some liberties with the word “actress” in the title of this post.  Please forgive me.