See Bridges, but rent 'Tender Mercies'
Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) crooning a country tune. (20th Century Fox)
Crazy Heart
Running time: 111 minutes
MPAA rating: R (harsh profanity, adult situations)
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Jeff Bridges channels the late Waylon Jennings and the still-great Merle Haggard in the country-rock-twanged "Crazy Heart."
The movie itself channels "Tender Mercies" (1983), a far superior woeful tale of a down-and-out country music road warrior who's seen a little success in his past and too many bottles of whiskey in his present.
Bridges ("Men Who Stare at Goats," "Iron Man'), a fine actor already named best actor at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and a slew of others, looks like a shoo-in for his fifth Academy Award nomination on Tuesday.
With the exception of some of the tunes by T Bone Burnett ("Walk the Line," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") and the late Stephen Bruton (Texans both), though, Bridges is the only real reason to see "Crazy Heart."
Officially based on Thomas Cobb's novel of the same title, "Crazy Heart" stars Bridges as road weary country-rock crooner Bad Blake. Maggie Gyllenhaal ("The Dark Knight") plays second fiddle as Jean, a local New Mexico journalist who falls for the Bad guy and tries to "fix him."
Gyllenhaal isn't awful as a single mom who can't resist the charm of an older fallen star. Nor is she exceptional.
Even though I generally really like anything Colin Farrell does on screen, I never believed the Irish actor as Bad Blake protégé-made-good Tommy Sweet for a second.
First-time director Scott Cooper, an actor who adapted the novel himself, might have made things a little easier on himself if, when Bad shows up at Jean's door to plead for a second chance, he didn't include a line like this:
Jean (after hearing that the troubled singer is finally clean and sober): "That's good, Bad."
No, that's just bad.
Like Don Quixote, who charged windmills in "Man of La Mancha" because they might be giants in disguise, I dream the impossible dream that once a classic movie is made, there should be no tampering, remaking or, in this case, re-imagining, whether it be in novel form, on screen or both.
The late Horton Foote won an Academy Award for his "Tender Mercies" screenplay. Foote might not turn over in his grave if he knew that Robert Duvall, who took Best Actor Oscar honors as the rascal-on-the-mend in "Tender Mercies," doesn't just appear in "Crazy Heart," but gets a producer credit as well.
But I can't help thinking that Foote would cringe a little.
See this one for Bridges' good, if not outstanding performance if you must. Just remember to stop off and rent a copy of "Tender Mercies" on the way home. You'll see how the masters worked an all-too similar story.
The movie itself channels "Tender Mercies" (1983), a far superior woeful tale of a down-and-out country music road warrior who's seen a little success in his past and too many bottles of whiskey in his present.
Bridges ("Men Who Stare at Goats," "Iron Man'), a fine actor already named best actor at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and a slew of others, looks like a shoo-in for his fifth Academy Award nomination on Tuesday.
With the exception of some of the tunes by T Bone Burnett ("Walk the Line," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") and the late Stephen Bruton (Texans both), though, Bridges is the only real reason to see "Crazy Heart."
Officially based on Thomas Cobb's novel of the same title, "Crazy Heart" stars Bridges as road weary country-rock crooner Bad Blake. Maggie Gyllenhaal ("The Dark Knight") plays second fiddle as Jean, a local New Mexico journalist who falls for the Bad guy and tries to "fix him."
Gyllenhaal isn't awful as a single mom who can't resist the charm of an older fallen star. Nor is she exceptional.
Even though I generally really like anything Colin Farrell does on screen, I never believed the Irish actor as Bad Blake protégé-made-good Tommy Sweet for a second.
First-time director Scott Cooper, an actor who adapted the novel himself, might have made things a little easier on himself if, when Bad shows up at Jean's door to plead for a second chance, he didn't include a line like this:
Jean (after hearing that the troubled singer is finally clean and sober): "That's good, Bad."
No, that's just bad.
Like Don Quixote, who charged windmills in "Man of La Mancha" because they might be giants in disguise, I dream the impossible dream that once a classic movie is made, there should be no tampering, remaking or, in this case, re-imagining, whether it be in novel form, on screen or both.
The late Horton Foote won an Academy Award for his "Tender Mercies" screenplay. Foote might not turn over in his grave if he knew that Robert Duvall, who took Best Actor Oscar honors as the rascal-on-the-mend in "Tender Mercies," doesn't just appear in "Crazy Heart," but gets a producer credit as well.
But I can't help thinking that Foote would cringe a little.
See this one for Bridges' good, if not outstanding performance if you must. Just remember to stop off and rent a copy of "Tender Mercies" on the way home. You'll see how the masters worked an all-too similar story.
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