COUNTRY GOLD – A Review by Jenn Rohm
Meeting your hero is not always the best choice, it can, however, be eye-opening. Country Gold is the fantastical story of Troyal Brux (Mickey Reece) getting a chance to meet his inspirational legend George Jones (Ben Hall) prior to the superstar being cryogenically frozen in 1994. The story provides a bit of soft-hearted innocent Good ‘ole Boy vs hardened Country Outlaw. Both want to find happiness in their lives and are looking at ways to do so.
This is the first Mickey Reece that I have seen, so I did some research on him. He is from Oklahoma and has been writing, directing, and producing films with little to no budget for just over a decade. His catalog of over 20 films explores different genres to see where he can push boundaries. He is known for indie art house films where he grabs two things that do not belong together and sees where he can take them.
The film was shot in black and white. I am not sure if it was for budget limitations or an artistic choice. It did add to the feeling of the movie being not everything is black or white, there is a lot of grey in the world. It also assisted with going back in time (I know not that long ago, but long enough to be considered in the past.) to 1994.
The choices made on the sound for Troyal’s children, a couple of places with his wife, and the ending scene along with the feeling of being on a journey made me think of Cory McAbee’s The American Astronaut.
Fans of Mickey Reece will enjoy his latest project. For me, it was fun to think about the late 80’s early 90’s Country Western and how good I looked in my Rocky Mountains.
Director: Mickey Reece
Cast: Laurie Cummings, Cate Jones, Ben Hall
MPAA Rating: Not yet rated, does have strong language, drug use, and adult content.
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy
Selig Rating: 3 stars
Runtime: 1 h 24 m
Roadshow Theatrical Tour starts March 16 in New York – Alamo Drafthouse Manhattan and March 16 at Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn
Streaming Release Date: April 4, 2023
Streaming Release Location: Fandor
Trailer: Country Gold – Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
