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The Help – Best Movie of the Summer

August 11, 2011 By 1 Comment

This week I had the pleasure of going to the premier of the new movie The Help with my friends Shasta and Carrie, and new friend Aubrey.  I have been waiting for this movie since the first time I saw a preview, and though I resisted reading the book initially because of prior let downs on book-turned-movie,  a few previews later and I was racing to Amazon.

The Help is a painfully realistic look at how things were in The South back in the early 50′s when segregation and racism was rampant.  But throughout the movie (and the awful conditions) you will see stories of courage, passion, and inspiration. It is by far the Summers best “feel good” movie that will make you laugh out loud and cry deep sobs, practically at the same time.

The cast could not have been better picked – every single character was played so perfectly.  From Minny to Cecilia  (my favorites) the characters were just EXACTLY what I imagined them to be after reading the book.   Check out these two the first time they meet:

The storyline is simple – an affluent white woman aspiring to be a writer decides to write an anonymous book from the perspective of “The Help” in Jackson Mississippi – during a time that it was dangerous for African Americans to even walk on the wrong side of the street.  They tell stories of raising babies like their own, only to have the “babies” become their “bosses”  and other personal depictions of their jobs as “The Help.” It is painful to watch the ignorance of so many back in those days and see how poorly these women were treated.  You will see story after story of what life was really like back then, and your heart will break with each one of them.

Shasta had warned me to “bring Kleenex” but with the exception of one particularly difficult scene, I laughed more than I cried, and I felt so inspired and proud of the movie and the women in it.  It absolutely lived up to my expectations, if not surpassed them.

I am sure I will be back to see it a few times, and it is one I am sure I will own once it comes on DVD, as Shasta and I both remarked how much we would love to see interviews and bonus features.  EVERYONE should see this movie.  Truly.  It is the perfect date for a “Girls Night Out”  (but even the guys will love it too!)

Disclaimer: I was able to see The Help as part of a premier screening, and was not otherwise compensated for this post. 


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The Help Movie Trailer

June 25, 2011 By 6 Comments

Actually, YouTube has it listed as a Featurette…. how snazzy is that?

The Help is a book-turned-movie coming to theaters August 12, 2011.  IMDb summarizes it as:

A look at what happens when a southern town’s unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship.

The movie features Emma Stone (Easy A), Viola Davis (Eat, Pray, Love), and Octavia Spencer (Seven Pounds).

Storyline

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives — and a small Mississippi town — upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Davis), Skeeter’s best friend’s housekeeper, is the first to open up — to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter’s life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories — and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly — and unwillingly — caught up in the changing times. Written by Walt Disney Pictures

I am really excited to watch The Help, as I am always a sucker for movies where women actually STICK TOGETHER and support one another.  As I have said over and over I think the World would be a different place if women lived by the Girlfriend Code and stopped tearing each other down.

Anyhow, I wanted to share this with you, and also point out that even in my post-op desperation to find good books to read while I am practically bedridden, I will NOT be reading this on my beloved Kindle iPad App.  The last two books I have read that have been turned into movies, I have been so turned off by the book, I have refused to see the movie.  Something Borrowed for its blatant disregard of the Girlfriend Code, and Water For Elephants – who wants to see that kind of animal cruelty on a 300×213 foot Imax movie screen?!  (even if it does have RPatz in it!)

Anyhow… here is… the “Featurette” for The Help, in theaters August 12, 2011:

Are you planning to go see it? Have you read the book?

*UPDATE*

I gave in and downloaded it because I was so excited to see it I just couldnt help it  – IT WAS FANTASTIC!!  I am so glad I read it, and it has made me even MORE excited to SEE it!!