Crazy Heat on DVD!

I had first heard of the movie “Crazy Heart” sometime in the winter when it had first come out and was gaining some recognition. On a random weekend evening I happened to catch Conan, and Jeff Bridges was on to promote the movie. Being the great Bridges fan that I am, I bounced up and down in my seat like a kid at an amusement park. Conan convinced Jeff to sing a part of the song “I Don’t Know” from the movie, and I was in love. The next available opportunity, my husband and I went to the Jane Pickens Theatre here in town to see “Crazy Heart”, and I am still gushing about how wonderful this movie is.

As I mentioned, I absolutely adore Jeff Bridges, from “White Squall”, to “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People” to “The Big Lebowski”, I would pretty much pay to watch him read the back of a cereal box. His performance as Bad Blake, the aging, alcoholic musician was nothing short of phenomenal and moving, and he more than earned his Oscar in my eye. Putting him opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal with a little Robert Duvall thrown in, and it is cinematic bliss. The story is powerful and gritty and will sit with you long after the credits roll. If you didn’t catch this in the theatre, do yourself a favor and rent it tonight, you won’t be sorry.

As if the film could get any better, the music and accompanying soundtrack knocks it out of the park. Between Bridges’ exceptional (and unknown, at least to me!) singing, the use of classic country and western tunes, and the movie’s theme song “The Weary Kind”, I can’t get enough of it. If I had this on vinyl, I surely would have worn it thin by now.

I’ve grown so tired of Hollywood re-making and re-engineering old movies and recycling dull plot lines, and “Crazy Heart” was like a breath of fresh air. Well acted, powerful, at times humorous, and above all a beautiful work of film. I would like to personally thank Jeff Bridges for his outstanding performance, and tell all those up-and-coming actors that this is how the old boys do it, so you better step up your game.