I recently sat down and watched the movie for which Jeff Bridges finally "won his Oscar" just a few months back, Crazy Heart. He stars as a washed-out country singer, once a major success, now playing bars and bowling alleys in the southwest. The film also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a struggling journalist seeking to interview him (and then falling into a relationship with him), and features Colin Farrell as a performer who has become even bigger than the main character, his former mentor. (Because who else would you get to play a major country superstar besides the incredibly Irish Colin Farrell?)All three are actually quite credible in their roles, and the two men perform their own songs. But I have to say that as far as Jeff Bridges is concerned, this is definitely a case where he was awarded a "lifetime achievement award in the form of a Best Actor Oscar." His work is capable, but not exceptional. The script doesn't ask anything of him that transcends work he's done before, nor does it ask anything that countless other actors haven't also portrayed in other movies.
Washed up alcoholic is a character that's shown up in plenty of films, and that's the real problem with this one. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing going on in Crazy Heart that warrants one more movie like this. The plot is conventional, the characters stock, the pace glacial, the message predictable, and the dialogue mediocre. It was just boring from beginning to end, punctuated only a couple of good song performances from the cast. (Even those I couldn't enjoy much, not really being a fan of country music.)
I give Crazy Heart a D-. It's a movie whose sole purpose is to say to Jeff Bridges, "we're sorry we didn't honor you for The Contender, Starman, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, or The Last Picture Show." That's not remotely reason enough for anyone to see it.
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