[yasr_overall_rating]
“Buckshot” is a dark comedy that follows Charlie Stillman, a struggling country singer from New Jersey, who journeys to Nashville to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a country star.
In “Buckshot,” director and writer Joshua J. Smith runs through the motions of your typical road movie, with an expected relationship between an eager to please student, and curmudgeonly mentor. The former is the young Charlie Stillman (Conor Murphy), who following his country singer father’s death, picks up everything from New Jersey and treks to Nashville to follow in his father’s footsteps. There, he struggles to find his footing in a deeply idealistic community who scoff at his “bro country” indebted songs; that is, until he finds himself the driver of the latter, the legendary Buckshot Thomas (Tim deZarn), who if brought from Seattle to Nashville in time, will grant Charlie a spot in a highly lauded showcase at the same club he’s bringing Buckshot to.
Their trip takes some obvious detours, from songwriting lessons to scuffles in roadside bars, to platitudes exchanged over the gravesite of Buckshot’s mother. As soon as Charlie and Buckshot come into contact with each other, they adopt their predetermined roles to a suffocating extent, that their narrative arc holds little to no surprise throughout, Charlie being representative of what Buckshot sees as modern country music’s diluted values, Buckshot a walking personification of hurt and booze, the makings of a “classic” country tune.
Where the film does boast some success is within the more symbolic terms of Charlie and Buckshot’s relationship. From the go, Charlie seems too idealistic, given the subject matter of his songs, which are aptly described as the aforementioned “bro country,” forgoing rich narrative for lyrics celebrating debauchery with a little twang. Had Smith explored the relationship between the more canonical outlaw country Buckshot claims to be in lineage with (even though the soundtrack frustratingly suggests otherwise), and how that’s now devolved to nothing more than a subgenre of pop music, he could’ve crafted a thought-provoking film that’d speak more to the themes of generational differences and aging he repeatedly misses the mark with.
For a road trip that possesses a high-risk factor for those involved (truck stop drug dealers and gun accidents abound), there’s never a palpable sense of risk for the viewer, who will most likely not find themselves worried of whether or not they will make it to the show on time. “Buckshot”’s subject matter simply deserves a better, and more original film, one that could retain the viscerality of such a well worn musical genre, rather than retread its tropes to such a predictable extent.
Available On Demand July 31st
