Crazy Heart (2009) ****

There's a line in Crazy Heart where Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) asks Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) who is "real" country with Bad only listing his protege who has had to adapt to the changing times and watering down of country music to survive in a recording industry ran by suits. Not that country music is the only genre that's being hit with an identity problem. Look at rock n' roll. Now let's be honest with ourselves- does anyone see an album from the last fifteen years that even comes close to being a Led Zeppelin IV, an Abbey Road, a Dark Side of the Moon, or a Sticky Fingers?

I grew up in a household that thrived on Conway Twitty (sleazy bedroom music), Lorretta Lynn, George Jones, and Johnny Cash. What does Jean mean when she says "real country"? My answer is do you see Johnny Cash having his own brand of cologne and being a GQ model? Didn't think so.

That's what Bad Blake represents. He's the last of the old guard, a performer that thrives on hits two decades gone and the fans that still come out to see him. He's the last stereotypical country star, driving to gigs in a 1978 Suburban and getting drunk on stage. That's real country.

Crazy Heart follows the basic structure of The Wrestler with Bridges delivering a performance that is beyond belief. He is immersed in the role of Bad, letting us forget that he was The Dude. He's the rug that pulls the film together. If for no other reason in the world, see this film for Bridges' performance.

The problem with following The Wrestler storyline is that you get the feeling that you've seen it all before and it becomes a bit cliched. There's the disinterested love interest. The long, lost child. The one chance for the comeback. it's all in there, but as I said- even if the story is a bit so-so Jeff Bridges molds the film into something much, much more than it would have been otherwise.

So I guess what I'm saying is that "real country" is a drunken, puking, dirty old guy driving to gigs in a 1978 Suburban. Of course you're going to get better tunes from the guy drinking whiskey in a Suburban than a prima dona drinking Perrier on a tour bus.