Georgia Rule

Yes, I know it's been awhile but, I'm back again (now that I'm settled in my new place) and I've got lots of posts to do tonight. First up is my review of Georgia Rule.

Fronted by a powerhouse female cast there was no way I wasn't seeing this movie in theaters. And I am 100% glad I didn't get sidetracked and miss it. It was the best movie I've seen in the last few months and reminded me why I love to go to movies. The movies I've seen lately (and didn't get around to blogging about) had been disappointing for the most part. This movie was not disappointing and actually was better than I could have hoped for.

The movie was advertised as a comedy and it was rather funny but, it actually dealt with very serious subject matter and was very much a drama. Sadly director Gary Marshall didn't do the best job of blending the two genres together. Instead of having dramatic seens laced with a little bit of comedy it was more comedic scene, dramatic scene, couple of comedic scenes, dramatic scene, and so on. While it didn't destroy the movie it did keep it from being an even better film than it was.

As for the acting it was all very good. I was mainly seeing it because of Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan. If you're a regular reader of this blog you know that I am not a big fan of Felicity Huffman and honestly I was not looking forward to her being in this movie. When I originally heard about the movie I wished they had cast someone else. But, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked her in this movie. Maybe it was because it wasn't over hyped and praised like many of her other roles of late so I didn't spend the whole movie asking myself what performance everyone else was seeing that I wasn't. She gave a very compentent performance. Unfortunately I do think there are somethings that could have made the performance even stronger but, she just isn't capable of them. I've never found her to be particuarly expressive in the face and eyes which I think hurt this character a bit.

Jane Fonda was great. Kind of wished she'd have been in it a little more. I also kept hoping for some big huge blow out argument between her and either of the other female leads. I really liked her character. It wasn't a character that I would normally like, being so strict and seemingly unloving. However, there was something about the way she played it that instantly made you like her. Perhaps it was the bit of comedy that was laced into the dialogue and the directing that made the character a bit more likeable. A testament to her acting ability.

And yet again Lindsay showed just how good she is. I don't care what people think of her private life when the girl steps in front of a camera she's a total professional and delivers every time. I have yet to see her phone it in, even for a second. She proved again that she can hold her own against anyone in the business and trust me that is not easy. All to often I go to movies and can see the intimidation in an actor or actress when they are working opposite an award winning (or just nominated) veteran but, not this girl. She's one of the few that really believes she belongs on screen with anyone and she isn't going to let them steal a scene or a movie out from under her.

I liked seeing Cary Elwes in this movie. I always like seeing him get work as I've been a big fan since The Princess Bride. Although seeing him did emphasize the double standard when it comes to weight in Hollywood. He has put on quite a bit of weight in recent years. If a woman did that the press would have a field day with her and she'd never work again until she lost the weight. Yet there's Cary all fattened up getting to play the succesful lawyer with his pretty, thin wife. Sure the character was a big creep but, that's not the point.

Spoilers Ahead:


As previously stated the movie dealt with some very serious subject matter and was much more of a drama than a comedy. Those two subject matters were incest and alcholism. It was much more about the incest though and I felt it did a very good job of showing how it can be very hard to tell whose telling the truth in these situations.

As much as I believed Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) when she said her stepfather molested her I also at times found myself wondering if it was true. Of course her character kept going back and forth on it but, that is often how people are at times when the truth comes out. They'd rather be seen as a liar than have people know the truth and the shame they carry even though it isn't their fault.

I really liked the impact they showed it to have on Rachel. It was different than how movies usually have characters turn out after being molested. Often they are portrayed as angry and/or introverted. Rachel on the other hand was very extroverted and an almost compulsive liar. Interesting twist was that she was very aware of her lies and admitted to doing it. She was also very sexual (as can happen to such victims) but, it was different with this character. There were times when I wondered if she was as sexual as she wanted people to believe she was or if she just portrayed herself as such to keep people away and protect herself. She definitely used her sexual presence to stay in control.

One scene I found very telling was the scene in the boat with Harlan. She was practically holding a sign up that said "screw me" with her actions but, when he touched her leg she clamped her legs shut and became the physical aggressor in the situation. Very telling of her need for control.

It was interesting to see the different reactions from Georgia (Jane Fonda) and Lilly (Felicity Huffman). Georgia looked at Rachel and basically said I'll know if you're lying or not. While Lilly came to comfront her daughter and find out why she was lying but, you just knew that deep down she knew it was true. That she was desperately hoping it was a lie. Her internal struggle was a very real portrayal of what someone in her situation would go through.



I really liked the movie and it was worth full price to me. If you go in looking for a nice drama it might be worth full price. Mostly it's probably a good discount theater or video movie. Matinee price is probably okay but, the subject matter may be a little to heavy for most people to do a matinee. It could kind of kill the rest of your day.

Rather Behind

I have not been doing such a great job of keeping up with this blog. Probably shouldn't have said I'd be doing a better job of keeping up with it just as I was getting ready to move across the country. Hopefully I will do be able to do a post the next time I go to the movie.