Rock stars and movie stars often inspire crazy comic adventures—because they tend to have the wildest reputations. But in the indie road trip dramedy Buckshot, it’s an aging country star and a young singing, songwriting hopeful who end up wreaking havoc on a cross-country road trip.
Buckshot stars Conor Murphy as Charlie Stillman, an aspiring country singer from New Jersey who’s trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. But the doors don’t open for him as easily as he expected, and in order to get a spot in a showcase concert, he agrees to drive aging country legend Buckshot Thomas (Tim DeZarn) across the country in time for his final show. Buckshot has no intention of going without a fight—but as the two travel together, the legend helps the new kid find his own music.
This country music indie is sweet and lightly funny—a road trip adventure with a country music twist. As Charlie and Buckshot travel across the country, they end up on all kinds of misadventures—whether Charlie’s helping Buckshot escape his bar tab or Buckshot’s forcing Charlie to buy him drugs in a truck stop hotel.
But Buckshot isn’t just about the drunken mishaps. It’s also about the characters and their personal journeys. Charlie is struggling to find his way into the country music industry, while Buckshot finds himself looking back at his life and his career while wondering what comes next—though his reflection isn’t quite as powerful as it could be.
Charlie, meanwhile, is an earnest character who wants nothing more than to be a country star like his dad—and he won’t take “no” for an answer. No matter how often people tell him that he just doesn’t have what it takes—that his style just doesn’t work—he just keeps fighting for his dream. His determination is definitely inspiring—but, unfortunately, he just isn’t especially believable. It’s hard to disagree with the people who turn him down—and even in the end, as he starts to find his own voice, it’s hard to see the character making it as a star.
Really, the film itself is a lot like its star: it’s sweet and charming, but it just doesn’t have that something special to make it a hit.
For country music fans, Buckshot is a likable—and sometimes comical—cross-country adventure. But its story simply isn’t powerful enough—and its star isn’t memorable enough—to make it a must-see.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
0
0
