The Help

It will be hard for me to solely write about the movie, without referencing the book as well. First off, I should say I do not think that I would recommend seeing the movie, without first reading the book. Unfortunately, movies cannot capture every single storyline written in a 500 page book. On the other hand, what movies can do, that books cannot, is show you, and make you feel things through the visuals that you cannot get by just reading words off of a page.

For me, this was the greatest part about seeing The Help in motion picture. I was able to see these characters in real life and have their stories truly come to life for me. I laughed with them. I cried with them. For those that have not read the book, it is about 1960's Jackson, Mississippi and a group of women from the southern town that decide to write a book about what it is like to work as "the help" for white families in Jackson. The character that decides to write the book is Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) who is a recent college graduate of Ole Miss and an aspiring "serious" writer. After returning home from school, post-graduation,  Skeeter finds her maid growing up, Constantine, to no longer be working with her family. Throughout the book and film, Skeeter is in a constant struggle with her mother trying to find out the true story as to why Constantine, the woman who raised her, suddenly left the family she worked for, for 27 years.

It is a fact that Skeeter is from Jackson, but it is evident that she never belonged there. She comes back from college questioning everything she grew up knowing to be normal. In search of meaning and understanding of the world she lives in, Skeeter sets out to write The Help: an expose of sorts from the point of view of the help (the maids) in Jackson. Aibileen and Minnie are the two African American maids that set out on this journey with Skeeter.

The journey for these women was not easy. They set out to write this book during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. The nation was in a state of disarray with the death of President Kennedy and an approaching march on Washington, D.C. by Dr. King. It was a very dangerous time in the United States, and a terrifying time in the deep south. This movie, this book, is a story of courage and strength. I have no idea what it was like to live in that time. I have no idea what it is like to work as a maid, to make below minimum wage, raising someone else's children, and still be treated like a second class citizen, often by the families that I worked for. I have no idea what it is like to be forced into a working environment, because I literally had no other option.  I do not know what a life like this is like, but I have a new found respect for the women that came before me, and what they endured- what my own great grandmother and great aunts endured as maids in 1960's Virginia, just so I could have the life I have now.

This isn't a movie about blacks or whites. It is not a movie about civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement. It is a movie about women. It is a movie about people and about this world that we live in and this life that we lead. It forces you to ask questions and it gives new meaning to the phrase, if you don't know where you came from, you cannot truly know where you're going. The Help shows us where we came from,  helps us understand where we are, and makes us realize that we still have so  much further to go.

Read The Help. After that, watch the film. I can guarantee that no matter how you feel after reading it, after watching it, you will certainly have felt something and it will be very real, and this in itself is very rare in entertainment, but very important.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

It's cute. It's very cute. It's good, but not great, and the only reason I cannot give it an outstanding rating is because there is nothing that truly sets it apart from any other romantic comedy. It definitely has its pluses, however, and I would still recommend the movie if you're looking for some light, heart-warming laughter.

The film's best quality is its star-studded cast comprised of Julianne Moore, Steve Carrell, Kevin Bacon, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.The movie if very well-acted and the directors, Glen Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris, Bad Santa) take an interesting spin in terms of the direction. The movie has a dream-like feel to it in terms of its cinematography, and the script, although categorized as a romantic comedy, has a very satirical feel to it. I found myself attentive to these cinematic qualities, but slightly puzzled at first, as well. I was not quite sure how these effects fit with the overall message of the film. As the movie progressed, I felt more at ease with the film's direction. Even if off-putting at first, it is interesting to watch and that is important. Not many romantic comedies deviate from standard cinematic filmmaking devices and this one did, in terms of both script and effect, and I think that is respectable. 

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have tremendous chemistry and they are a joy to watch. Gosling is handsome, and witty, and Stone is charming, and natural. Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore are seasoned veterans and I think they definitely do justice to their respective roles. I said earlier that there is not much that sets this film apart from any other romantic comedy. In terms of the film's overall message, this is very true. It's cliche'd but I think it is in the best way possible. Gosling's character is the age old story of the alpha male that never takes women or love seriously, until one girl comes along that changes everything for him. Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore tell the story of the once perfect love, that turned into the perfect marriage, that somewhere along the way turned sour because two people became too comfortable, and all romance became lost between the two of them. One of them cheats, both are heart broken, and then one sets out on a journey of self-discovery, in the end bringing the two of them back together with love and romance rekindled. The movie ends in the overly-done way where the entire ensemble-cast is actually connected, although throughout the movie they had no idea their lives were so intertwined, until that one scene where all story lines with all characters collapse into one climactic scene. It was cute, but completely unnecessary.

These may be stories that are told time and time again, but there is reason for their familiarity. People love hearing them! People want to hear messages of hope through film, art, and entertainment. This message of hope and optimism is what makes them entertaining in most cases. There's nothing wrong with a good cliche now and again. And if you love a feel-good movie every now and then as much as I do, I would say go see Crazy, Stupid, Love.