Parents' Guide to Country Strong

Paltrow is believable as a superstar country singer who acts tough but is quite fragile. Her portrayal isn't a revelation like Sissy Spacek's unforgettable turn as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter, but between Paltrow's fantastic guest spot on Glee and this leading role, the Academy Award winner has been doing a great job of reminding audiences she can act and sing. A couple of scenes with McGraw feel more forced than intimate, and there are more than a few predictably maudlin monologues and conversations, but there's no denying that Paltrow is a powerful presence on-screen.

All of that said, the emotional core of COUNTRY STRONG is definitely Hedlund, who plays a young singer unwilling to sell out with an intensity and vulnerability that was lacking in his performance in TRON: Legacy. His is the movie's only truly redeeming character -- a man who sees Kelly for who she is and is actually worried about her in a way that her own husband can't muster. Even more surprising is that Hedlund sang his own songs, just like Paltrow. Meester, meanwhile, nails the sugary-sweet public persona that hides the desperate ambition of a young woman who wants a big career. Still, despite the impressive singing and strong performances, some of the dialogue and plot turns are too hammy to make this a four- or five-star film.