Renée Zellweger is on a box office losing streak, the likes of which we haven’t seen, from a formerly celebrated star and Oscar nominee, in a long time. Her last few starring vehicles — “New In Town,” “My One And Only,” “Case 39” — have been dead-on-arrival at the box office and you’d have to go way, way back to her “Bridget Jones” pictures to find anything resembling success (yes, “Cinderella Man” earned lots of critical acclaim but it failed at the box office and she is not the selling point of that film either). And unfortunately for the actress, the rut will continue.
On paper, “My Own Love Song” looks like a winner. It’s directed by Olivier Dahan who made an international star out of Marion Cotillard with “La Vie En Rose” and it’s got an original soundtrack by Bob Dylan with sixteen new songs. But unfortunately, the film is yet another post-“Crazy Heart” tale of a down-on-his/her-luck musician that audiences seem already to be weary of. Gwyneth Paltrow‘s “Country Strong” — even though it earned an Oscar nod for Best Song — has been met with critical and popular shrugs of the shoulder (though its low budget will mean that it should end up in the black). So chances are that if no one wants to see Mrs. Chris Martin in a country music redemption tale, Renée Zellweger will have even less luck. Thus, “My Own Love Song” won’t even get the cursory theater dump “Case 39” did — instead, it will go straight to DVD this spring, following an appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and a theatrical release in France last April.
Inception Media Group (yes, that’s its name) has picked up the North American home video, digital and non-theatrical rights to the film. So in other words, it won’t be hitting your local multiplex anytime soon, but if you are curious about the film, you won’t have to wait very long to see it. “My Own Love Song” is being prepped for a spring release and should fill in any need you might have for uplifting music stories. Here’s the synopsis:
“My Own Love Song” revolves around Jane (Zellweger), a former singer who became disabled after an accident and her offbeat friend Joey (Forest Whitaker) who comes across an invitation to the First Communion of Jane’s long-lost son Devon. Joey convinces Jane to embark on a cross-country road trip to attend the communion and their journey takes turns that neither of them could ever have expected. Ultimately, the trip leads to a poignant reunion for Jane with her long-lost son, where she’s finally able to sing to him the love song she’s been writing in her head for years.
While there’s no official soundtrack release slated, five of the new Dylan tunes appear on his album “Together Through Life” — you can check out the full list of Dylan songs in the film right here. Check out the trailer for the film below.