A Cowgirl’s Song parents guide

A Cowgirl’s Song Parent Guide

This film looks clean but it has strangely ambiguous messages around gambling and forgiveness.

Overall C+

Theaters and Digital on Demand: Desperate to raise bail money for her father, Hailey kickstarts her country music career.

Release date April 22, 2022

Violence A-
Sexual Content A-
Profanity A
Substance Use B-

Why is A Cowgirl’s Song rated PG? The MPAA rated A Cowgirl’s Song PG for thematic elements

Run Time: 93 minutes

Parent Movie Review

With her daddy in prison for inadvertently transporting stolen goods across state lines, Hailey (Savannah Lee May) is desperate to find a way to pay his $50,000 bail. Luckily, the teenager has musical talent, inherited from her grandmother (Cheryl Ladd), a retired country music star. When the two women join forces for a benefit concert, there are just two problems: Hailey’s stage fright and her feckless young manager, Rufus (Dodge Prince).

There are only two questions that determine whether you will like this movie. The first is, “Do you like country music?” And the second is, “Are you willing to overlook terrible acting, predictable storytelling, and poor choices if the movie looks clean?” If your answer to either of those questions is “No”, don’t watch this movie. It will make you crazy.

I must admit my biases up front: I don’t like country music. I have seen movies about country music that I have enjoyed (Wild Rose, for instance), but this isn’t one of them. A Cowgirl’s Song has the worst acting I’ve seen outside of a middle school drama class. Secondary cast members flatly quote their lines, with no attempt to either project emotion or inhabit a character. Savannah Lee May does her best and manages to inject the movie with the little charm it has but she can’t save it from the overwhelming tide of mediocrity.

Fans of clean dramas will be pleased with the film’s lack of violence and profanity and minimal sexual content and alcohol use. What is less satisfactory is the script’s ambiguity on the serious issue of gambling. I don’t want to drop any spoilers but let me be clear: this film delivers mixed messages on gambling that will frustrate parents who have strong feelings on the subject. It also offers potentially dangerous messages to young women about maintaining relationships with men who have clearly demonstrated that they are untrustworthy. I’m not condemning the concept of forgiveness (which I support) but I am concerned that the plot explicitly endorses forgiveness without also clarifying a woman’s need to protect herself from men who have shown that they will put their own wishes ahead of her needs. Forgiveness does not require continued vulnerability and that message is completely absent from the script.

Griping aside, the film is not a complete disaster and it has great messages about family unity and love. A positive subplot concerns Hailey’s little sister, Brooke (Darci Lynne Farmer), who has been disabled in a car accident. Watching her regain her confidence as she learns to barrel race again is probably the best part of the film. If you love country music (and don’t care if the lyrics are original) and want to watch plenty of good-neighborliness with a smattering of Americana, this movie could sound the right note. For me, it falls flat.

Directed by Timothy Armstrong. Starring Cheryl Ladd, Savannah Lee May, Darci Lynne Farmer. Running time: 93 minutes. Theatrical release April 22, 2022. Updated

Watch the trailer for A Cowgirl’s Song

A Cowgirl’s Song
Rating & Content Info

Why is A Cowgirl’s Song rated PG? A Cowgirl’s Song is rated PG by the MPAA for thematic elements

Violence: There’s reference to a car accident that caused death and serious injury.
Sexual Content:   A man and woman kiss. There’s brief mention of conception.
Profanity:  None.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Alcohol is served in a bar. Adults drink wine with dinner.

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A Cowgirl’s Song Parents' Guide

One of the songs Hailey and her grandmother sing at the concert takes most of its chorus from Robert Frost’s famous poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Why do you think they chose these words? What do you think the lyrics mean to Hailey? Do the lyrics resonate with you?

The sisters make a difficult decision when their friend becomes ill. Do you agree with their choice? What would you have done in their shoes and why?

 

Home Video

Related home video titles:

If you enjoy A Cowgirl’s Song, you will probably have a good time watching Sweet Sunshine. In this film, two wounded musicians help each other believe in themselves.

In Wild Rose, a Scottish country singer struggles to balance her dreams with her responsibility to her young children.

The life of real life country music star, Johnny Cash, is the subject of Walk the Line.