JUDY

Renee Zellweger     Jessie Buckley     Rufus Sewall     Michael Gambon     Finn Wittrock

     Judy Garland’s reputation for the heights of talent and performance and the depths of despair and catastrophe are all keenly represented in this docudrama, with Renee Zellweger ably capturing the starring role.  The film is strengthened by giving snapshots of the young Judy’s life being dictated by the MGM movie studio, pre-child labor laws (e.g., 18-hour days, no lunch breaks, strict diet, caps on her teeth and discs to reshape her nose), and Louis B. Mayer’s depiction of her as being unattractive, all of which affected her self-image for life.

     But she was clearly talented and had become a star by the time she was 18, earning the Academy Juvenile Award.  During the height of her career, she won Academy and Golden Globe awards for acting and Grammy awards for singing.  Behind the scenes, however, her personal and professional life seemed to pivot from one catastrophe to another, some of the studio’s and, later her own making, as the direct result of drugs and alcohol. But on top of that there was an accumulation of stresses and strains extending from childhood to the end of her life.

The movie Judy mostly focuses on the later years of when Garland was separated from her children and living in London.  It shows her being out of control much of the time with a patient “handler” (Rosalyn Wilder, played by Buckley) using every strategy she can think of to get Judy on stage.  Grieving from the separation from her children, who are with ex-husband Sidney Luft in the U.S. (custody rulings forbid their being taken out of the country), Judy throws herself into another marriage—to Mickey Deans (Wittrock).  However, that relationship is short-lived because of her disappointment in his not coming through with a promised business deal that would relieve her of concert touring and allow her to return to the U.S.

     Zellweger’s performance is noteworthy, and may signal a rousing comeback after her Oscar win in Cold Mountain (2003), which was followed by a series of insignificant roles in minor films. Here, she captures the star’s high emotionality, charm, and voice in the later years of the star’s life. Jessie Buckley as the assistant who often gets Garland on stage is the exemplar of a dogged pusher who uses a world of patience and clever strategies to manager her charge—and still show that she actually cares.  Likewise, Finn Wittrock portrays a young husband desperately trying to be a support for Judy, but ending up mystified in dealing with her dependency and rapidly fluctuating moods.  Rufus Sewell is effective as the fifth of Judy’s husbands, Sid Luft, as is Michael Gambon as the British theatrical impresario responsible for her London appearances.

     I imagine that the experience of seeing this film resembles what it must have been like for the people surrounding Judy Garland during her adult life, particularly the later years, when it is obvious how trying, even exasperating, she could be, while still showing beguiling charm.  Its strength is in Zellweger capturing so well the full range of Judy Garland’s personality and emotionality, and, above all, a voice that entertained millions all during her 45-year career.

A moving chronicle of the later years in the life of a beloved but damaged star, Judy Garland.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE WHOLE TRUTH

Keanu Reeves     Renee Zellweger     Gugu Mbitha-Raw     Gabriel Basso     Jim Belushi

       The whole truth comes out in dribs and drabs in this courtroom drama directed by Courtney Hunt, writer/director of Frozen River.  Young Mike Lassiter (Basso) is being tried for murdering his father Boone (Belushi), who has a reputation for being abusive to his wife.  Ramsey (Reeves), a friend of the family is his defense lawyer, but the problem is that Mike will not talk to him or anyone.  Ramsey pulls in another attorney (Mbitha-Raw) simply for window dressing and a strong nose for sensing lying. 

         One of the cleverest devices in the film is having courtroom scenes contain flashbacks showing a picture of the person’s memory as he/she is testifying, often suggesting that the person talking is not telling the whole truth, is mistaken, or is frankly lying.  Interestingly, in a key piece of evidence, we see none of this device.

       The story states straight out that Mike confessed his guilt to the first officer on the scene, and his fingerprints are on the knife.  Ramsey at first takes the tack of showing Boone’s abusiveness toward his wife Loretta (Zellweger), as witnessed by many people, particularly those at a garden party six months before the murder.  When Mike insists on taking the stand, Ramsey and Loretta are horrified, but Mike does it anyway, revealing a major piece of evidence in the case.

        The Whole Truth is not especially compelling in its plot, in that many will figure it out before it is revealed.  Reeves is a typical lawyer-type (and does an effective voice-over reminiscent of Verbal in The Usual Suspects) and Zellweger is a typical self-effacing, bullied wife.  Neither is particularly challenged in their roles, and Basso, being mute, basically just stares.  The strongest and most interesting character is played beautifully by Mbitha-Raw playing a “stooge” who is questioning and sharply figuring out the case as she goes along, much of which we see in her facial expressions. 

        It has been eight years since Courtney Hunt’s major successful picture, Frozen River; and she has written a few scripts for television shows in the meantime; but I guess it will take a bit longer for her to get back into her groove.

The whole truth may occur to you early on in this film.

Grade:  D+                    By Donna R. Copeland

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY

Renee Zellweger   Colin Firth   Patrick Dempsey   Emma Thompson   Jim Broadbent   Gemma Jones   Sarah Solemani

          This is the third installment of Bridget Jones, and I would have thought that after the cool reception of the second (Bridget Jones:  The Edge of Reason), that that would be it.  But, no, in this age of filmmakers’ lust for remakes and sequels (i.e., money), we get the third version:  Bridget Jones’s Baby.  Renee Zellweger remains Bridget, and Colin Firth is retained as love interest Mark Darcy.  Patrick Dempsey is introduced as Mark’s charismatic rival, TV star and professional matchmaker, Jack.  I think his character (and Dempsey is perfect in the role) adds the most refreshing addition to the plot and helps bring the sitcom-like story into contemporary times.  More about that below.

         As the film opens, Bridget is coming to terms with her life situation—over 40 and a “spinster.”  With pressure from her co-worker Miranda (Solemani, who adds additional flair and talent to the cast), Bridget decides she will become a sexy “cougar” and go to a camp festival, all the rage, and let come what may.  She ends up falling down in the mud, being rescued by Jack who just happens by and is instantly attracted to her.  One-night stand, and she skitters off.

          As happens in social circles, Bridget encounters Mark from time to time—once with his wife, then once at a family christening without his wife, when, it turns out, he is divorcing.  The old fire is rekindled and they have a significant encounter.

         Now, of course—the whole point of this movie—Bridget finds out she is pregnant.  The problem is that she slept with two men at about the same time, so who is the father?  Consistent with the zany character, Bridget used very old condoms in her encounters with the two men.  (I’m glad there was at least an attempt at safe protection!)

       It’s inevitable that the three—Bridget, Mark, and Jack—will be thrown together from time to time, with first one man and then the other professing his love for Bridget and the child.  Eventually, everyone knows that the fatherhood is unclear, and we see them struggle through the ambiguities of the situation.  The interchanges at prenatal classes are some of the funniest scenes of the movie, especially when the instructor assumes the two men are a couple and Bridget is the surrogate for their adoptive baby.  Playful Jack thinks this is great fun, and begins to relate to Mark as a lover (he is willing to role-play for fun), which only makes Mark more uneasy.  Being so proper, Mark is already having a hard time with this bizarre situation.

         The conclusion is well orchestrated by Sharon Maguire as director of the first and third versions of Bridget Jones and by the screenwriters Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, and Emma Thompson.  (Thompson as the physician also brings wry hilarity to her scenes.) 

A rom-com that many will enjoy following the previous Bridget Jones films.

Grade:  C+                         By Donna R. Copeland