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Rock stars and movie stars often inspire crazy comic adventures—because they tend to have the wildest reputations. But in the indie road trip dramedy Buckshot, it’s an aging country star and a young singing, songwriting hopeful who end up wreaking havoc on a cross-country road trip.
Buckshot stars Conor Murphy as Charlie Stillman, an aspiring country singer from New Jersey who’s trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. But the doors don’t open for him as easily as he expected, and in order to get a spot in a showcase concert, he agrees to drive aging country legend Buckshot Thomas (Tim DeZarn) across the country in time for his final show. Buckshot has no intention of going without a fight—but as the two travel together, the legend helps the new kid find his own music.
This country music indie is sweet and lightly funny—a road trip adventure with a country music twist. As Charlie and Buckshot travel across the country, they end up on all kinds of misadventures—whether Charlie’s helping Buckshot escape his bar tab or Buckshot’s forcing Charlie to buy him drugs in a truck stop hotel.
But Buckshot isn’t just about the drunken mishaps. It’s also about the characters and their personal journeys. Charlie is struggling to find his way into the country music industry, while Buckshot finds himself looking back at his life and his career while wondering what comes next—though his reflection isn’t quite as powerful as it could be.
Charlie, meanwhile, is an earnest character who wants nothing more than to be a country star like his dad—and he won’t take “no” for an answer. No matter how often people tell him that he just doesn’t have what it takes—that his style just doesn’t work—he just keeps fighting for his dream. His determination is definitely inspiring—but, unfortunately, he just isn’t especially believable. It’s hard to disagree with the people who turn him down—and even in the end, as he starts to find his own voice, it’s hard to see the character making it as a star.
Really, the film itself is a lot like its star: it’s sweet and charming, but it just doesn’t have that something special to make it a hit.
For country music fans, Buckshot is a likable—and sometimes comical—cross-country adventure. But its story simply isn’t powerful enough—and its star isn’t memorable enough—to make it a must-see.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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