Whenever I wrote about “Crazy Heart” back in December in an Oscar Moment, I lampooned it for its obvious similarities to last year’s “The Wrestler.” Turns out, I was right.
But “The Wrestler” was a killer movie. And so is “Crazy Heart.”
Sure, it loses some originality points, but that doesn’t make the character study any less effective or entertaining. It also doesn’t suffer because it adding elements of another great movie, “Walk the Line,” with its background in country music and some very catchy songs.
“Crazy Heart” follows washed-up country singer Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) trudging through an increasingly insignificance as a performer. He has gone from packing in crowds in Nashville to empty bowling alleys in Santa Fe. He certainly isn’t doing himself any favors with his raging alcoholism and his refusal to churn out any new material. But over the course of the film, he realizes, although somewhat reluctantly, Bad Blake begins to change his ways. The main impetus comes from a younger journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who looks beyond the singer for her interview.
Before the factoid, an off-topic tangent: It’s funny how inspiration comes from the strangest sources. I was struggling for today’s factoid. While thinking, I started listening to some songs from the “Walk The Line” soundtrack. With my face down in the pillow, I thought about that stretch of 4 months in late 2005 and early 2006 where I was completely obsessed with the movie. Then, it came to me.
Marshall and the Movies 
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