‘Heart Strings’ Review: Schmaltzy Musical Drama About a Rigged Reality Show Is Pleasant but Predictable
variety.comJoe Leydon Film Critic In the interest of full disclosure, it should be stated at the outset that “Heart Strings,” a musical drama about a young couple competing against each other in a reality TV show, was co-written (with director Ate de Jong) by Steven Gaydos, a 30-year veteran of Variety.
As he has indicated here and elsewhere, Gaydos is a man with an abiding passion for country and Americana music, which likely explains why, for all the offkey moments in this passably pleasant but utterly predictable indie, even some of the clichés resound with a faint but perceptible ring of truth.
It’s still the same old story, a fight for love and glory — or, more precisely, a competition for fame and a $1 million recording contract.
Billie Carton (Maggie Koerner), a widowed maintenance attendant at the cemetery where her war hero husband is laid to rest, and Lucky Fontana (Sam Varga), a garbage collector whose own military background consists primary of a short-lived stint at West Point, meet cute during an open mic night at a bar in Louisville, Ky.
Read more on variety.com
