Country Strong

When I was a little boy, my mom used to play A Portrait of Merle Haggard

every night before bed.

Her favorite song was Silver Wings,

so I figured I'd surprise her and learn how to play it.

I played that song day and night until my fingers bled.

Finally, when I sat her down to play it,

she waited until I was finished and then she said,

"Merle sings it better, but keep trying."

So I guess I am.

Put it out, Beau.

Yes, ma'am.

Peterson went through withdrawal all over the dogwood deck. It's got your name on it.

And Beau?

I don't want to see you anywhere near Mrs. Canter's room.

- The what? The what was wet? - Go with it.

- What did you get wet? - The stage was wet.

Oh, the stage was wet, right.

I'm looking.

- That's when it what? - You keep messing me up here.

I'm sorry.

- You know, here. You just... - You were what?

- You sing it. - What were you going to say?

No, that was good. Why are you giving this to me?

- Go on, please. - What?

I don't know. Make it yours.

I like that song. What do you say when you start?

"I remember that day."

"I remember that day. When..." When what?

"When we first met."

- How do you do that so fast? - I didn't do anything.

- You were there. You had it already. - Give me that.

"Timing is everything."

- Try that one. - I like that. That one was good.

Kell.

What's going on?

This is Beau. Do you remember him? He's one of my sponsors.

We were just messing around.

Of course.

Hey, Beau. How are you doing?

- Hey, beautiful. - Hi.

Beau, would you mind getting a couple bellhops for Kelly's bags?

- You got bellhops here, don't you? - No, sir.

Well, then, do you mind? Because the car's out front.

- They're letting me out early. - Well, you still got another month left.

- They think I'm better. - Better than what?

I was going to tell you. I was...

I was just thinking, "How am I going to tell you?"

Beau!

Are you Kelly's doctor? Because the last I checked, Dr. Stevens was taking care of her.

No, he's just being protective. Aren't you, Beau?

He's just being a good sponsor.

Why don't you let me be the protective one, all right, hoss?

Now, if you wouldn't mind,

I'd like to get some help with these bags so we can get Kelly out of here.

She doesn't travel light, in case you hadn't noticed.

The first two venues are small.

We'll ease you back into it.

And the third?

We're going to go back to Dallas, televised.

- What? - Yeah, we're going to prove them all wrong.

Look, Kell, you're the toughest girl I know, so if you tell me you're not ready,

well, then, I'll take that at face value.

I want Beau to open for me.

Who's Beau?

He's that kid you just met. He's a singer. He's a good one.

Well, why don't we get the gardener to open for you? I'm sure he's good.

It's important to me.

Besides, I've already got an opener for you.

Chiles Stanton.

The beauty queen I was telling you about.

She's playing tonight at The Stage, and I'm going to go check her out.

I'm sure you are. You can check out Beau while you're there.

All right. Well, how about this? Look, I'll...

Hold on. I'll go check out Chiles tonight and if it doesn't work out,

and if she doesn't blow me away, then we'll look at other options.

Don't placate me.

- I wouldn't dare. - Yeah.

So, where did you find the bird?

Under a tree down there.

I waited 20 minutes for her mama to come back,

and when she didn't, I swooped her up.

- I've been taking care of her ever since. - It looks like a baby quail.

I've been calling her Loretta Lynn.

What if I took her for just a little while?

I'll take care of her.

You got a really big tour that you need to get ready for.

Okay.

Hey.

- I got a good idea. - What?

Let's get out of here.

Let's go.

Nashville's Kelly Canter was released, once again, from rehab this morning.

You'll remember, the country music star was arrested last year

for drunk and disorderly conduct while performing at a show in Dallas.

She was five months pregnant at the time.

Hi, guys. Hey. Hey, how are you doing?

Be careful.

We can't wait to get on the road again. We can't wait for the tour to start.

Kelly's feeling better than ever. She's looking better than ever.

And it's going to be fun. We can't wait to get in front of the fans again, okay?

Thanks, guys. Take care.

James, what about the divorce rumors?

Hey, Beau.

What are you doing here?

I couldn't just wait by the phone for you to call, could I?

I'm here to hear you sing. And to support Chiles, of course.

Chiles? What does she got to do with tonight?

- You be nice, Beau. Find me after the show. - All right.

Hi, Beau.

You better be here to wish me luck.

I'm on the board. I'm playing three songs tonight.

- Says who? - Says James Canter, that's who.

- Bullshit. - Bull-true.

I happen to be in consideration as the new opening act for Miss Kelly Canter.

James, my new manager, booked me this gig as a rehearsal.

Not that I need it. I've been ready for this moment since I was four years old.

The last time I saw you sing, you froze up like an ice cube.

That was seven and a half months ago. And it was just that one time.

I'm not playing county fairs anymore. I'm much more seasoned.

You don't have any songs. You can't even play the guitar.

I've been writing songs. I got a whole bunch of them right over there.

Little Heartbreaker, Summer Girl, Rinky Dinky Town.

These aren't songs, these are rides at Disneyland.

Clint, tell me Garth Brooks here isn't opening up for me.

She's not. She's closing. I can't do anything about it, either.

- It's your place. You can tell her no. - Not to James Canter, I can't.

So you're going to let this prom queen get up on stage?

I mean, for Christ's sake, Patsy Cline sang here.

I don't care if she sings Yankee Doodle Dandy,

she's still going to play.

I'm not cutting your set, Beau. You've got the same three songs.

Don't worry, Beau.

I have no intention of stealing your invisible career.

You see,

I want one.

- Hey, you did make it. Good to see you. - How are you doing?

We got a packed house tonight,

I got your favorite spot on the rail right straight through here, and Chiles is up next.

Yeah, what do you hear about her?

Well, I saw her last Tuesday at Robert's.

And to tell you the truth, I don't know which was bigger, the hair or the dress.

Hey, she could be a diamond in the rough, you know?

Well, I ain't got much time for rough.

Yeah, I hear that.

- Kelly's not coming? - No, no, she needs her beauty rest.

Well, I guess I can tell the bartender, "Put the vodka back on the shelves."

Enjoy the show.

Thank you very much.

What are you waiting for? You're up, Kilgore. Your band's there.

I was Miss Dallas, dummy.

Dallas, Kilgore, what's the difference? Go get that career.

- How do I look? - Like a country Barbie.

Thank you.

All right.

This is it. This is my night.

Everything is about to change.

Excuse me. Sorry.

Sorry.

Excuse me. Sorry.

Here we go.

Hi, y'all. How are you doing tonight?

I'm Chiles Stanton.

And what a beautiful crowd you are!

I have a few new songs for you tonight, and I hope you like them.

Watch this.

I'm sorry.

Oh, my.

I'm so sorry.

One more time.

Do you think somebody could turn down the lights a little bit? It's awful bright in here.

Okay.

Oh, shit.

One more time.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Chiles Stanton, everybody!

No, that was fun up there, man.

Actually, we're going to work on that.

You two sounded good in there.

Yeah, thanks.

- Do you ever think about doing a duet? - No.

Her good looks and your songwriting...

The girl's more scared than a church mouse, James.

Yeah, but once you get her wound up, boy...

We're no duo, man. I don't even know her. I was just sleeping with her friend.

Why don't you go on the road with us, Beau,

get the hell out of these honky tonks,

step up to the big leagues?

I think your bird is hungry.

Hey.

This could be a hell of an opportunity for you, you know that?

You know, I don't know if this means anything to you,

but I actually enjoy playing music,

and it don't matter who it's for. All the rest is just bullshit.

Bullshit.

Why don't you try to play some of that bullshit in a stadium full of people?

Then see if you got anything, hoss.

I like these people just fine.

I figured you'd say that.

Beau, do you care about Kelly?

What are you getting at?