Post by StevePulaski on Nov 15, 2012 18:36:13 GMT -5
Toby Keith is down and out in Broken Bridges.
Rating: ★
Broken Bridges is a film that comes billed and equipped with three specific agendas; to be an openly patriotic film, to boast and share its Christian beliefs, and a film to try and serve as a wholesome parable for Americans facing similar issues. All three agendas are fine by me, if they were taken seriously and made competently into a watchable film, but this is a depressingly mundane trudge through the genre I call "American cinema," one of the weakest genres thus far in film. You may have come across a film or two in this genre; they're films that seemingly exist in their own dull world with dull characters and stiff dialog. At least that's how I've seen them. Another example would include Seven Days in Utopia, a film I regarded as a huge missed opportunity not long ago, but after seeing Broken Bridges, I recall that film as a breath of cleaner, fresher air.
All the hell begins with the ham-fisted, morally devout, incredibly obnoxious story that spells out things so incredulous and far-fetched they are cringe worthy. Bo Price is a hack country singer (he's played by Toby Keith, so try and believe that) who once had a fling with a Miami news reporter named Angela Delton (Kelly Preston), which resulted in a pregnancy. After that, Bo fled responsibility and stuck Angela with a newborn baby girl. Sixteen years later, after a helicopter crash in the military kills Bo's brother and Angela's brother, when they fly back home for the funerals, they are unexpectedly reunited with one another and contention flies.
The movie's main goal is to show how Bo begins to connect with the child he unexpectedly father named Dixie (Lindsey Haun), who has gone on to be a rather unremarkable teenager, who just so happens to have a heavenly voice. What it fails at is generating any fulfilling substance to these bland, unsatisfying, uninteresting archetypes.
Broken Bridges is directly aimed at the crowd who crave films with relatable characters, country music, traditional living, characters "paying dues," and age-old values where there's a heavy dependence on morality and spirituality; I have no problem with any of those things. I was reminded of how surprisingly pleased I was with the Kendrick brothers' film Courageous, which offers the same sort of material, surrounding four policemen with complex homelifes who need to prioritize their jobs and their families. The film had a smooth, if heavy-handed script, seriously complex issues taken believably, and well-developed characters portrayed by capable actors. With this picture, all that is trade for wooden acting, contrived plot-points, tedious fighting between characters, an exhausted concept, and a seriously lazy setup punctuated by some decent but forgettable musical numbers, both solo performances and duets. Arguably the best scene in the film is when Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and BeBe Winans get on stage to perform "Uncloudy Day," an engaging ballad. Sadly, it's brief and one of two blink-and-you-miss-it cameos for Willie Nelson.
On a final note, take one more look at the title and I'll be damned if you can't guess its meaning. The title represents how our protagonist must make amends with those he has hurt and repair connections, hence the metaphoric "broken bridge." The title is about as convincing and as original as the material the film provides.
Starring: Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, Lauren Haun, Burt Reynolds, and Willie Nelson. Directed by: Steven Goldmann.
