DVD Review: Country Crush: A Country Musical

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What happens if you bring together a reality star, a Dagrassi guy, an actress who made it to the finals of a major contest and a country singer? Country Crush: A Country Musical teams up Sophie Tweed Simmons (Gene Simmons Family Jewels), Munro Chambers (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Jana Kramer (who went from One Tree Hill to finalist on Dancing with the Stars) and Madeline Merlo (country star behind Free Soul) in a small town where everyone likes to break into song.

Merlo is left the big city for a slower pace of life, but she still has the huge dream of making it as a musician. Luckily in this tiny place is a recording studio. The producer thinks she’s something special and wants to make her a hit. But the guy is a touch slimy like so many people in the music business. Her best friend (Sophie Tweed Simmons) wants Merlo to enjoy the “night life” as they head to a party. On the way, their car breaks down. Luckily Chambers happens upon them to help them out instead of a creepy countryside slasher. He’s a great guy and can spot the studio slime. Charlie is dealing with the fact that his brother has once more been deployed to the Middle East. Charlie has to look out for his sister-in-law (Kramer). There’s an emotional swirl as things get more heated emotionally between all the characters. Instead of people getting upset, they break out in song to exclaim their emotions.

This film plays like a giant country music video. The editing is rather sedate allowing the singers time on the screen to express themselves instead of being caught up in the clutter of images. While there are adult topics happening on the screen, nothing on the screen is too wild. This is family friendly entertainment captured in a small town.

Country Crush is currently a Walmart exclusive release.

The videos is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer looks fine with details of country living caught in the resolution. The audio is 5.1 Dolby Surround and 2.0 Dolby Stereo. The levels are fine whether the characters are talking or singing. The movie is subtitled.

Deleted & Extended Scenes with Introductions (21:06) lets the director talk about what got snipped down or sliced from the movie.

Interview with Jana Kramer (3:09) has her talk about what attracted her to the project.

Audition Footage (7:50) is what it took for the actors to land their roles.

Music Video (3:30) is one of the songs from the movie with extra footage.

Shout! Factory presents Country Crush: A Country Musical. Directed by: Andrew Cymek. Screenplay by: Andrew Cymek. Starring: Jana Kramer, Munro Chambers, Madeline Merlo and Sophie Tweed Simmons. Running Time: 96 minutes. Rated: Not Rated. Released: March 14, 2017.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.