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The movie was inconsistant and a little confusing the entire time

posted 14 years ago by LovesConfusingJoy
18 replies | jump to latest

I just saw the movie last night and I'm a huge fan of Gwenyth Paltrow and loved the singing but the movie was really inconsistant and a little disappointing. Did her husband care about her or not? He seemed to not care about whether or not she really felt well enough to leave rehab, it was just decided for her and she went along with it. And then he kept flirting with Leighton Meester and made it seem like they had something going on. But then he would say the sweetest things to her wife (Kelly Canter) about their past and how much she meant to him. Its was just inconsistant. And then another thing that was confusing was how Beau and Chilies all of sudden liked each other. He would make fun of her for being a "country barbie" and acting like she had no talent and didn't know why she would possibly be on tour with them. And then all of sudden their sleeping together and then their in love in a matter of days, because remember this movie is only the course of a couple of shows and some how Chilies has an entire album worth of songs and is sleeping with her "enemy"? Maybe I'm completely missing something. I honestly think that very few people really cared for Kelly. She was five months pregnant and then drunkly falls of stage killing her baby and forcing her into rehab? Did i have that right? I just think her husband and her fans should care more about her than they did in the movie. And her husband is flirting with some young thing well shes adjusting to being out of rehab and everyones calling her crazy and then he pushes the responsibly of making sure she doesnt drink onto her "sponser" which is really her lover. I don't know maybe I missed something watching it but it just wasnt consistant to me and didnt see to have a lot of heart until it was getting toward the end. It had a really slow start too. I dont think it was terrible but it couldve been a little adjusted in some areas to make it a great movie. Sorry this is really long but i just wanted to say that I'm gunna have to rewatch it. But I will leave with this, it was good acting and I did enjoy the songs. The only person I wasnt crazy about was Beau.

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 14 years ago

I hope to hear what you think after watching it a 2nd time. I've watched it three times now. Rather poor editing caused some apparant inconsistency. James' feeling toward his wife was a bit difficult to guage. He did seem to be more interested in getting her back on the road and making money off of her than in her for herself. He must have originally loved her and then became repulsed by her alcoholism and the loss of their child. He does appear to be regaining his love, possibly after his socking Beau.

Anyway, let us know your thoughts after seeing it again.

I'm the kind of guy, when I move - watch my smoke. But I'm gonna need some good clothes though.

[–] LovesConfusingJoy 14 years ago

Okay I rewatched it and actually paid very good attention this time and understand it way better. I do agree that James was sick of dealing with her problems. She was very self destructive and watching it again made me almost hate her character, she is very selfish. I do think James loved her but didnt know how to deal with everything because he kept saying how strong she was and how she was "tough as nails". I bet she just didnt seem the same to him anymore and he didnt know what to do and thought it was best for her to be on stage because she was such a successful country singer. The one part I still dont understand was the part when they are at the make a wish and they are dancing together and she starts crying and then he walks out and starts crying himself. And then at the end when she performing and she doing really well, its such a change from how she was the first show, I forget what happened so suddenly. Shes so happy and killing it and then she kills herself. I feel like she knew all along what her plan was because when James is talking to her about how much he loves her, she starts tearing up and tells him they should just get through the night and see what happens. And then at the end of her performance she says to Chiles "thats how it's done sweetheart" so that much mean something, almost like leaving a legency with her, especially after their talk which i really enjoyed.

And with Beau and Chiles I guess they did just have sexual tension from the beginning, but stiil they feel in love in a matter of days.

as a side note I think people should just appreciate the movie for what it is and not compare it to Crazy Heart or any of the other movies, it is a great idea and watching it again it was executed pretty well, it could have been edited better. And it reminded of the movie Walk the Line, I'm not comparing the two but it had sort of an old time country story feel to it.

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 14 years ago

One scene which should have been meaningful is one towards the end when James calls Kelly "Dove", and she shows a bit of a reaction. One of the deleted scenes brought out the fact that he used to call her that, but no longer did, so his calling her that again did touch her.

Anyway, I'm glad you did enjoy it more the 2nd time around.

I'm the kind of guy, when I move - watch my smoke. But I'm gonna need some good clothes though.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lamont-hard 13 years ago

When James tells her how he feels it overwhelms her because of her loosing there child and what she put him through with sleeping with Beau. I feel a lot of people got it wrong, I think she knew all along how he felt, and needed to hear him say it for the both of them, that is why she sounded so good on her last performance and decided to give the young couple some advice. She had put career over him and her child with reckless behavior, and when he still loved her afterwords it was all she needed in life, she was done...Hearing she was still loved by James and helping her lover and his new gal with advice on how to make it.....Another point I felt that was overlooked and well hidden was maybe James brought the starlet on board for Beau, and it worked. This fits better than what some of what i have read. ONE last point, Posters consistently keep saying James did not care, witch to me is a bit unfair, he was hurt by death of there child and was drowning himself with what appeared to me as keeping busy by trying to get his wife back on stage where he knew once she hit her groove there were none better. Loosing a child is a lot for some grievers to get past. So he did the best he could under the conditions. It is not uncommon for spouses to blame the other for the lost of a child, he was getting past it towards the end. All the he did not care about her and pushing her back too soon falls under a lost man grieving not hatred for his wife.

[–] jeanniemotherof3 13 years ago

It in no way came CLOSE to being as good as Walk The Line, or Crazy Heart, LovesConfusingJoy! It was not done near as well by any means either. He walks out at the make a wish because He Wants to feel the way he once did, and is just beginning to after he watches her interact and sing to Travis. But then dancing he looks plagued with the bad memories, and just does not want to let go of the wall he has put up just yet. I love the first few minutes of the movie so much and was really shocked at how quickly it went from bad to worse. I really thought it was going to be dynamite! They were in the bedroom singing, great opening! Before that Garrett opening at the bar singing, then it just seemed to get so cheesy! I think this had great potential, and could have been an awesome movie, I also loved the music, But it was just done so poorly in almost every aspect, They just took what could have been terrific and just somehow really ruined it, just saying, for me anyway.

[–] LovesConfusingJoy 13 years ago

I liked it alot and I was saying that it was similar to Walk the Line because of the country feel to it. I've never seen Crazy Heart, so I could never compare it.

Don't be afraid to fall in love. It's the only thing that matters in life

[–] jeanniemotherof3 13 years ago

LovesConfusingJoy, I re watched the movie last night and can't tell you how much I really enjoyed it. I picked up on what I thought were inconsistancey's, and they really weren't, and there was nothing confusing about it, it all comes together to make a beautiful movie, I loved it!! The acting and music are both superb.

[–] Ash-lee 13 years ago

I think with the Make a Wish scene, she and her husband were able to let go and be themselves (their old selves) for just a few seconds and then they both remembered all the obstacles between them. They were able to catch a fleeting moment and remember how much they loved each other, but it can't possibly last and I think her husband was finally grieving for her and their relationship. Just my take on it.

I think it was obvious that she was going to kill herself. She gives Chiles the advice that she's been begging for and there was closure between her and Beau, but her husband was left up in the air. In all respects - we didn't even see him after the funeral scene. It's possible she didn't give him a kind of goodbye because she didn't want to say goodbye to him, or it's possible he would've recognized what she intended or maybe nothing more was said because there was just too much to say and it was best to say nothing at all.

[–] IDream_ofJoaquin 14 years ago

You pretty much described how I felt about the movie - I told my husband the exact thing I was so confused and felt like it was totally inconsistent. I don't think it's something I have to watch 2 or 3 times though to feel differently I just think the storyline was a mess.

[–] LadyDi4476 13 years ago

I agree completely. It felt very disjointed the entire time. Right off the bat I was confused and didn't get a good grasp as to what I was looking at. The motivations and feelings of the characters were all over the place. No consistency what so ever. Very poorly edited, paced, and executed. The songs were great though.

-Di

[–] danagolightly 13 years ago

Did you finish watching?:)

Team Spidermonkey

[–] mollyrt76 13 years ago

What exactly is so confusing and inconsistent?
Once upon a time Kelly and James were very young, very much in love newlyweds living in a small town. They made the decision to try for a music career and she became famous and he became more manager then husband. She became desperate for her husband and love he used to have for her and turned herself into a doormat which turned him off even more. Kelly turned to alcohol and pills and other men to fill the hole and then loses her child and that just makes everything worse between them. Their marriage becomes a business arrangement so he treats her as an employee but some of the love for the woman Kelly used to be is still there and it comes through every so often making Kelly even more desperate for how things were before fame.

As for Chiles and Beau, this was not their first meeting. It was obvious to me in their first scene together that there was attraction, interest and sexual tension already present. Beau didn't like Chiles country pop style instead of "real country" so he fought against the attraction by being an a*s and Chiles defended herself so there was animosity between them right along with the attraction. Given close proximity on the tour the interest and attraction overcame the animosity. Many romance/love stories in movies and books start out with the couple hating each other. This was no different.

[–] LadyDi4476 13 years ago

I finished watching it and it got better, but over all the movie was meh. The music was good, but it was just a weak and an over done story.

-Di

[–] daimposter 13 years ago

You basically hit on just about all the things I found off or confusing about this movie. This movie is just pure inconsistencies as if the script was only half written. It appears that the husband (Tim McGraw) was supposed to be in love with his wife (Paltrow) but it never felt like it. Was there anything every going on between McGraw and Meester?

The whole Beau and Chilies story is a joke. There was no chemistry between the characters and if just felt like they forced it on us.

Are we supposed to care about any of these characters? The movie never made feel like I cared about Paltrow's character or felt like she deserved to be forgiven. She was cheating on her husband in rehab, cheated with him as he (appeared to) tried to connect with her and fall in lover with her, and she even cheated on Beau. There is not one character in this movie you feel sorry for or feel emotionally attached to.

For me as well, the only thing I did enjoy the were the songs and some good acting. The plot and screenplay just plain sucked!

[–] LovesConfusingJoy 13 years ago

I did end up liking it the second time around because I reall paid attention to the characters upon my second viewing. My favorite scene was with GP and LM in the dressing room before the last show; I wish that scene was longer. But I also didnt think Chilies character had a hidden past; they could have hinted at that a little better.

And yes I though the Chilies and Beau thing was like WTH? They were arch enemies. I still didnt really see the sexual tension all that much; maybe a little bit but it still seemed forced because the entire movie takes place within a matter of days.

But I do love some of the lines from the movie, they have some of the best quotes; such as my signature.

Don't be afraid to fall in love. It's the only thing that matters in life

[–] chiek_dipietrantonio 13 years ago

I just have to say to all the people confused over the Chiles and Beau relationship, and how it came out of nowhere.... have any of you seen Pride & Prejudice? Now I'm not comparing this movie to a master work by Austen, but think about it. Austen's theme of hate being a confused form of love/passion is a very common and consistent theme in films.

[–] gremma 13 years ago

SPOILER!! SPOILER!!!!! You don't understand alcoholism, hope you never have to; living in the disease, in the problem, alcoholics either have to be the best or the worst, nothing in the middle. She should never have been taken out of rehab early, nor should aids been allowed to have personal contact, but that's another discussion. She had to grieve the loss of her baby and the loss of her crutch, alcohol, and then deal with how she dealt with life, people, situations, and her husband. She killed herself to stop the Merry-Go-Round, not for pity, not because she was a coward; it was just always going to be the same unless she went to rehab and changed everything. If her husband was always going to cut short her true needs to keep her on the road, nothing would ever change. A love-hate relationship is very hard to live with day in and day out. She did love her fans, she didn't love herself. Whoever wrote this has been there, lived through it, the insanity was all there; thinking her husband was more interested in the "Prom Queen" pushing her to drink, accidentally hitting him and then being willing to do anything he wanted to make him happy to make up for it. Having a much wanted moment with her husband at the Make A Wish function where they connected, but then he remembered it would not last he pulled away for fear of being hurt which helped her decide what she believed was the only way out of it all. The people that that understand this movie will because they've been there, some of them may not like it because it reminds us we're all one drink away from that Merry-Go-Round again, others will see it as a "But For the Grace of Gog Go I" moment, like a meeting. Alcoholism isn't a disease that affects just the drinking person, it affects everyone who cares about them. The alcoholic needs to get sober, examine their life patterns, get rid of those that don't work, replace them with new working ones, and live every day one day at a time. Living life on life's terms just isn't easy for all of us, some do it better than others; for many the only way they can try is to be fortified with a drink or a drug to take the pain a way.