SIP Movie Review Blog

We have a winner. The 2011 movie of the year is...
The Help, starring Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland), Viola Davis (Doubt, Knight and Day), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village, Spiderman), Octavia Spencer (Spiderman, Seven Pounds), Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life, The Debt), Allison Janney (American Beauty, Juno), Cicely Tyson (Fried Green Tomatoes, Sounder), Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner’s Daughter), and Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal, Step Brothers). Actually a lot more, just named the ones who were prominent and I know of. So here’s the story, based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett. Emma Stone plays Skeeter, a recent college grad who comes home to start a career, hoping to be a writer. She is armed with a rejection letter from a New York publisher (run by Mary Steenburgen), and a can-do attitude. She comes back to Jackson Mississippi, gets on the staff of the local paper as the “how to clean things” columnist.

The movie is set in Jackson in the 1960’s, a time of deep prejudice. Soon after Skeeter settles in, she strikes up a friendship with Viloa Davis, playing the maid for a couple in town. Skeeter decides to write a book, send it off to Mary, and get herself a career in New York City. The book will deal with the trails and tribulations of “the help”, as the maids and housekeepers were called. This is not an easy book to write, there were laws on the books that kept African Americans on the back of the bus, in separate areas in the restaurant, even at the water fountains. Viola agrees to help, knowing it may cost her the only job she is trained for, helping to raise white people’s babies.

Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter) plays Hillery, the meanest woman in Jackson. She is chairwoman of a local woman’s group, fund raiser for charity, connected in all ways. She also has a mom, played brilliantly by Sissy Spacek, and a maid, played by Octavia Spencer. We will hear more from Octavia, she was excellent, funny and poignant at the same time. Cicley Tyson plays the maid that raised Skeeter, but was is not there when she returns home. She left quickly, and Skeeter is determined to find out why. That is a mistake; it drives a wedge between her and the family.

Soon both Octavia and Viola are helping Skeeter with the book, but Mary says she needs a dozen more to make a novel that will sell. No one else steps up, it seems our girl’s project is run aground. A pivotal point revolving around civil rights changes everything, the novel is given new life. It also is gathering attention, some of the maids are fired, based on trumped up evidence and sketchy charges. The girls charge on, and put together a fantastic book. It finds it’s way into town, and how they work around the fact that is it based on the locals is worth the price of admission. I am not a scene spoiler, but you will laugh out loud when you see “two slice Hillary” brought down by a maid. And you will forever look at homemade desserts in a new light.

So the movie deals with a tough subject, racial imbalances that were typical in the south in the 60’s. You must see the movie, this is coming from a guy who loves to see things blow up, and lots of action. I guessed this was a chick flick, in fact, took my wife to see it as a suck-up movie. Even told her so, she said, no, it was my choice, so she still has a suck-up movie that she can claim. That was before we went into the theater. We both came out really blessed, it is a feel-good movie, one you will not soon forget. It paints a picture of how far we’ve come in 50 years, and you get to see life as you probably have never seen it before.

My favorite movie of all time? Chariots of Fire (1981), story of Eric Liddell who won the 440 event in the 1924 summer Olympics in Paris. When you watch him fall, and then get up and win in a 440 race, once around the track, you are amazed. It is not possible, but you see it. Since May and I have been reviewing movies (late 1980s), we have rated them with up to 5 stars, the star being something connected to the movie. Only been a couple of 5 star movies since I began publishing my reviews. Forrest Gump, 5 boxes of chocolates. Castaway, 5 lonely islands. Seabiscuit, 5 laps around the track. Get it? Here we have another 5 star movie The Help, rated at 5 homemade pies. You will get it when you see it. Go see it.