Country Strong

“Country Strong” tells the story of Kelly Canter, a country music super-star who unfortunately suffers from addiction to alcohol and prescription medication. Kelly publicly displayed her addiction at a televised concert and was forced to go to rehab. At the time of her drunken display, she was 5 months pregnant and she lost the baby. She was let out of rehab a month early because her family and doctors convinced her she was “better.” She immediately began touring again, with disastrous results. Kelly drank so much before her first two concerts that she could not perform.   She pulled it together for her third concert, but, afterwards, succumbed to her addiction and committed suicide. I chose this movie because I thought it was a good depiction of the effects of an addiction and I genuinely like this movie.

There were several different reactions to Kelly’s addiction. Her husband/manager got her out of rehab early even though he knew her “legs were still shaky.” When she was back on tour and began drinking again, he ignored it. He thought her performing would solve her problems, not realizing that the pressure of performing was the cause of the addiction, not the solution. Kelly’s sponsor/boyfriend knew that Kelly needed help and tried to give it to her. However, he also had a tendency to baby her, wanting to be her savior. Kelly’s fans seemed to love her despite her problems. However, there were some who hated her and thought she was a “baby killer.”

Throughout the movie, I felt empathetic toward Kelly. She knew that she was not ready to leave rehab and perform again. She tried to tell her husband this, but he wanted everything to go back to the way it was. When she could not cope with the pressure, she began drinking again. When Kelly wasn’t drinking, you could catch a glimpse of the woman she used to be: a strong, fearless person with a good heart. The only time I was slightly mad was when I learned she drank while she was pregnant. It reminded me that people who suffer from addictions can have two very different personalities.

I think the movie did a good job in their portrayal addiction. It accurately displayed what her triggers were and that addicts can have good days and bad days. I think the movie also properly explained that recovery is a long road and that many people do not understand that. I think that this is the hardest and saddest part of addiction: it can take a lifetime to recover, but there are always people and things that will try to convince suffering people that they should be over it in a certain amount of time.

Addictions are partly caused by the person’s environment, or context. Kelly’s addiction developed because of the pressure that comes with stardom and the disappointments of a failing marriage. She turned back to her addiction after rehab because of the continued pressure and the inability to talk and reconnect with her husband. Kelly also suffered from low self-esteem. Millions of people adored her and her talents, yet she was always begging for approval and fishing for compliments. Alcohol and other drugs are often abused to escape from reality. In Kelly’s case, she turned to alcohol when she could not fix or control her environment.