Movie Review: Crazy Heart

While visiting my family in Missouri we decided to see a movie. Possibilities were: "Dear John" (not this time), "From Paris with Love" (not in this lifetime!), and "Crazy Heart".

"Crazy Heart" has been cleaning up in the award circles for best music, with a lot of nominations too. And Jeff Bridges has won several awards: the Screen Actors Guild awards for best leading male, LA Film Critics best actor, Golden Globe for best actor in motion picture drama - to name a few. And he's been nominated for an Oscar.

With this kind of notice, we decided to see "Crazy Heart".

Good choice.

Jeff Bridges plays the lead roll of "Bad Blake", a country music performer/writer living on past glory in a downward spiral of hard drinking and hard living. His prodigy Tom Sweet (played surprisingly well by Colin Farrell) has hit the big time - a fact that adds to Bad's resentment of the world. But when Bad meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her young son, he begins to see his situation is due to his choices... and that he can chose to change.

The music of "Crazy Heart" is fantastic (as the multiple awards and nominations attest). I'm sure Nashville is prepping for a resurgence of interest in country music. Bridge's "Bad Blake" had a definite feel (and look) of Waylon Jennings, which isn't surprising since The Outlaw could have been an inspiration for the character. Both Bridges and Farrell did their own vocals and did a very nice job with them.

I like a movie that doesn't leave you feeling depressed and hopeless. If I wanted to feel cruddy, I'd just turn on CNN. I want to feel better when I leave the theater...not worse. I want a movie that moves along. A movie that I can't tell you how it's going to end after seeing the first 15 minutes. "Crazy Heart" covered all those bases.

When it comes out on DVD... I'll be buying it!

BTW - I hope that Jeff Bridges gets the Oscar for this one. He deserves it. Smashing performance!