The Help (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

I thought the book was "OK", but the movie really, really works. Sorry, I know there will be a lot of naysayers because of content, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It appears it caught almost everyone by surprise.

I went to a theater that had one screen planned to show; and every single seat.. every single seat, even as close as you could get.. was filled. Enough that they bumped something else to put it on two screens, and that was sold out (it's always nice to see a 12 screen movietheater with a sharpie sign above the door to note the movie)


Some great performances in here, and it really works, characters are enjoyable, the acting is good, and it is an experience best had with a crowd.

It effortlessly moves between outrageously funny and solemn. I don't know of any film I've seen this summer that had a joke go over as well as the big punchline moment in 'the Help', which absolutely, 100% brought the house down.


A-

 

[Patrick Sun]

Amongst the female-laden cast, "The Help" features some sparkling performances, and a good script that keeps the film going, even with its long running time (around 135 minutes). Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are really good in the film as the 2 leading maids dealing with racism in Mississippi in the mid-1960s, as were Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Emma's character, Skeeter, freshly graduated from college and looking for literary work, lands a job answering an advice column at the local newspaper. Then as the undercurrents of racial inequality inspire change in black-white relations, Skeeter comes up with an idea to write a book from the point of view of the black maids who not only did the household chores, but also rear white children in the households in an unspoken fashion. Skeeter was also raised by her maid, and understood the culture, but also acknowledged the social injustice of the race relations. Skeeter has a tough time finding other maids willing to come forward and speak of their experiences. EVentually the book does happen, and things would never be the same again. I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.