Mary I can't say that I liked this movie. The philosophy of the creators seemed way too superficial to me: live your life from moment to moment, don't worry about the past only look to the future, and blame "the system" for everything. The underlying commentary on how poor struggling people are exploited and crushed by the system is recurrent : Ryan's friend "the Cowboy" has just had a baby with Virginia, who he abandons for a couple of days, just to "breathe a little" : he got angry and frustrated after the baby was born because there was not enough money (he felt small and powerless in front of something so much bigger than him, says Virginia, the mother of his child, who justifies his frustration). The song "Down on Penny's Farm" that Ryan and Jackie sing at various occasions (Jackie chooses this particular song to express her frustration about her rich husband threatening to claim full custody of her daughter) is clearly a song about exploitation. And Jackie has to sell all her jewelry and her house in order to fight her very rich husband whose money allow him to do whatever he wants. So the rich do what they want and crush down poor people- that's the theme of the movie. Somehow it's not convincing. Especially when the characters are not people who never had a choice or a chance in life, but independent, strong, talented and were capable to turn their lives any direction they wanted in many occasions in their past.Apart from blaming the system, the characters do not seem willing to reflect on the consequences of their own choices, and that is presented by the filmmakers as something rather positive. Jackie is tormented by questions about past choices, but Ryan convinces her she should only ask "where do I want to go next and how will I get there". Virginia never asks herself if they should have made sure they had enough money to raise the baby before having it.. There's no need to reflect on the past, or draw lessons from past experiences, because it's all the system's fault.... I really didn't like this irresponsible, adolescent approach to life. Live your life moment to moment and blame others for exploiting and crushing you... I'm not saying that people should punish themselves for their irresponsible past choices, but realizing how you contributed to finding yourself in your present situation can be useful. Plus, reflecting on the past does not exclude working on building the future. You can do both ! But as an adult, you need to realize which choices worked and which didn't. Because in real life there are no miraculous solutions, as in this film. You don't just open the door to a stranger one day during a stressful divorce and fall madly in love with them, you don't get the super expensive guitar you're dreaming of as a gift from someone who wants nothing back, etc. Apart from defending irresponsibility and anger towards the rich and powerful, what this film also promotes is a belief in miraculous solutions that set everything straight out of the blue. Some sort of "deus ex machina" appears out of nowhere to deliver the characters and not their own wisdom and efforts based on lessons from past experience. If only it were so in real life....

cat-writer No, there weren't any exploding helicopters and no heads of state needed saving, but human beings changed, and helped each other, gave each other the push to find the inner courage to do what made them happy in life. What more do you want? Beautiful scenery, tenderness, love, and incredible music? It's all there. I love this movie. It's gentle and powerful and it touched my heart.

phd_travel A busker and a single mom form a romance in a cold Oregon town. The premise sounds dull but the movie is actually quite involving. He helps her from an accident and fixes her roof. They bond over playing the guitar and singing. They start a romance.Katherine Heigl is a good actress and watchable. Don't get why such a beautiful woman is stuck with no money in the upcoming divorce. Why didn't she kick the wealthy Manhattan based husband out of the matrimonial home and use their joint money to fight the divorce? Anyway how can anyone prefer that frozen hick town to NYC? Surely not good to uproot the daughter and make her live there sitting on the porch and strumming away. I agree with the husband! Ben Barnes does an okay busker singing country songs. Strange they had to get a British actor to play and sing a role like this. The casting of grandma, Sheryl Lee and daughter the girl from Revenge is quite good they all look alike.The ending was a bit premature.

mrspennysworth I love the music. Its probably the best performance from Katherine so far. I look forward to more of the same. This film is really refreshing and real. The characters resonate the reality of what the majority of folks in this country are struggling to handle in present day America. The movie is addressing what is important in life. I found it to be a powerful expression of our need to accept responsibility for our own lives and our roles in life as true creators. The characters expressed what it means to live their lives in a responsible loving way. A way of living that gives respect to ones fellowman, not trying to control everything and everybody for ones own personal gain. It's about unconditional love and personal honor. How can that ever be boring?