Cinematic adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s incredibly successful memoir (written & directed by Ryan Murphy with assist from actress turned screenwriter Jennifer Salt) has all the right pieces (charismatic stars, fabulous location shots, terrific soundtrack), but in the end, there’s no there there, making the whole far less than the sum of its parts. Soulless “spiritual journey” succeeds as an enjoyable–but forgettable–travel romance. Qualified recommendation by me & Rich. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
*****
Penny Rants On…
Date: May 1974
Time: Early Evening
Place: Street Scene; Florence, Italy
**********
I’m suddenly hit with a giggle fit. “What’s up?” asks my surprised companion. “My mother always says she has ‘the vibes’,” I reply. “I wonder if she sees me now—eating artichoke pizza for dinner… with lemon gelato for dessert?!?”
So when I read Eat Pray Love, it was easy to enough to slide into the platters of pasta Elizabeth Gilbert describes in the “Eat” phase (phase one) of her spiritual quest. And once she had me hooked, I was happy enough to go along for the rest of the ride.
But, alas, perhaps the only thing more boring than watching someone else eat is watching her meditate. So while I certainly sympathize with the urge to be true to their source book, I think screenwriters Ryan Murphy & Jennifer Salt lost track of their first imperative: make an interesting film.
Times have changed since Gilbert (played onscreen by Julia Roberts) first met Felipe—hero of the “Love” phase (played on screen by Javier Bardem). In the midst of the Great Recession, the screenplay would have benefited from Deep Throat’s admonition to always “follow the money.”
Although Gilbert’s readers all know she set off with book contract in hand (having already authored several successful books by the time of her divorce), no one in the theatre will know this unless told later. But it’s critical information that changes everything: Elizabeth Gilbert is a professional “seeker,” not just, say, a rich heiress with wanderlust.
It would have been easy enough for Murphy & Salt to drop this critical piece of information into one of Roberts’ early scenes with “Delia Shiraz” (Viola Davis). After all, they’re meeting in Delia’s large Manhattan office, so they’re more than just friends. But who is Delia? Gilbert’s editor? Her agent? No clue.
Turning Gilbert from a highly accomplished careerist into a dilettante is a fatal error. For shame, Ryan Murphy! Given all the resources at your command, it appears you blew it because you just had no respect for your heroine… or her audience!
15.Aug.10 
Raving/Ranting about Male Filmmakers, Reviews: E-G 
Read more 
Comments (0)
The Greatest? If only L
First time director Shana Fest wastes an incredibly talented cast on a maudlin story chock full of plot holes. Carey Mulligan stars as a “Rose,” a high school virgin who makes love with a classmate & then boom: he’s killed in a car crash & she learns she’s pregnant. My Juno nightmare has come true—all those Juno Oscar nominations have opened a door for cloying waif films. Oy!
Susan Sarandon, playing the boy’s mother “Grace,” tries to rebel when Rose appears out of nowhere expecting to be adopted (at least thru the birth of this unexpected grandchild). But Grace is overruled by her husband “Allen” (Pierce Brosnan) who finds the promise of new life in Rose’s swelling belly preferable to his wife’s obsessive grief. Add in the misadventures of screwed-up younger son “Ryan” (Johnny Simmons), & the Brewer family is poised & ready for redemption by Madonna & child.
But look beyond the schematic set-up, & there’s literally no there there. The Brewers live in a large comfortable home somewhere in suburban New Jersey, so when Rose moves in, there’s a convenient spare room just waiting empty for her. She doesn’t intrude on Ryan’s space, and she never disturbs the shrine Grace has made of Bennett’s room. The Brewers also have a beach house in Atlantic City.
After Bennett dies, Allen makes a halfhearted attempt to continue on as a college math professor. Grace, on the other hand, is never assigned a professional life of any kind. But Bennett and Rose meet as students at an upscale private school. Curlish me, I kept wondering where all the money was coming from? So maybe the Brewers do have magic movie money, but the screenplay requires Rose to be totally without resources. Her mother is a junkie and her only friend is a beautician she works for part time. So where did Rose live before landing on the Brewers’ doorstep, & who paid her school tuition?
And then there’s the weather, which annoyed me even more than the money. The specified timeframe goes from insemination in June to birth in March, and yet there’s never any snow. New Jersey in winter… but no snow… That’s how much thought went into creating backstory details that might make these lives seem feel. Proof positive, that The Greatest is actually set in a movie LaLaLand that prides itself in its own emotionality.
Maybe I should mention that our great Chicago actor Michael Shannon is also in this film, but his character is so bogus I can’t make myself describe it. And yet, this film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. What were those folks smoking?!?
According to IMDb, Shana Fest is now working on a new film with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. I live in hope.
17.Apr.10 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Click HERE to download my review as a pdf file.
Mia (Jarvis) lives in a rundown London housing project with her mother & sister. One day a new man enters their family circle thru Mom’s bedroom door. Is he the husband/father they’ve all been waiting for… or just another predator? Mia’s behavior gives cause for hope in this stunning new drama from Award-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold. Bravo!!!
Click HERE to read my review for WomenArts online.
Click HERE to read our FF2 haiku.
Currently featured on ON DEMAND: “IFC in Theatres.”
19.Feb.10 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Karanovic plays a Bosnian woman with a horrific past trying to raise her teenage daughter & move on with her life. Searing drama won multiple awards @ several European film festivals including Berlin’s ’06 Golden Bear. Full haiku awaiting input from Rich (who hasn’t seen film yet). Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Fact-based story about a teenager (Schroeder) who throws herself body & soul into competitive soccer in the early days of Title IX, thereby forcing everyone around her to take sides. Rich is right that the outlines of this story are routine, but Jan likes the details: family, schoolmates, townfolk all ring true. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Bahrani’s second collaboration with screenwriter Bahareh Azimi is a “perfect Indie,” rich in characterization & understated eloquence. Senegalese immigrant (Sy Savane) learns new mysteries about American life from an elderly man of few words & private secrets. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Doc coming in CFIC ‘08. Not yet seen by Rich. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Award-winner about three women from the former Yugoslavia. Serbian Ruza (Karanovic) has built a new life for herself in Zurich. Mila (Jovic) works for Ruza, but plans to return to Croatia. Ana (Skaricic aka “the Fraulein”) arrives from Sarajevo & shakes up the mix. Excellent film about exile & the search for “home.” Not [yet] seen by Rich. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Sturgess is terrific in film inspired by Martin McGartland’s autobiography about life as an informer for the British during the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland in the late ’80s. Skogland doesn’t hide any of the horrific violence on both sides, but she excels at depicting the even more heart-breaking emotional consequences. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
Chilean widower mopes around after retirement, so his buddies take him on a vacation for Seniors. Sweet & funny film with all the actors trying hard to please, but ultimately too much sitcom for us. Shown in our ‘09 Chicago Latino Film Festival. Click HERE for FF2 haiku.
16.Oct.09 Reviews: E-G Read more Comments (0)
