MOVIE REVIEW: 'Georgia Rule'


Much-longer version of a review in today's Oregonian....




Ew.

Seriously: Ew.

"Georgia Rule" is a comedy-drama about three generations of women (Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan) learning to love each other in a small town.

It's also an icky soap opera about these women coming to terms with a revelation of sex abuse.

And finally, it's also a dippy comedy with a tidy ending and a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack. Many of the "jokes" concern the abuse victim (Lohan) acting out sexually in the small town, driving men and boys to distraction -- and inspiring the wrath of uptight Mormons who pelt her with toilet-paper rolls.

Did I mention that the film is directed by Garry Marshall, who lurches between all these disparate tones like a sailor between bars?

Marshall produced beloved '70s sitcoms like "Happy Days" and "Mork & Mindy." As a feature director, his hits have been comic fairy tales like "Pretty Woman" and "The Princess Diaries." The last time he tried to leave this middlebrow comfort zone and inject real-world drama into his material, the result was "Raising Helen" -- an awful dramedy in which three orphans are adopted by an aunt so self-involved, I was begging for Child Protective Services to swoop in Elián González-style.

"Georgia Rule" is worse.

Fonda, playing grandmother to this clan of narcissists, is the only one who keeps her dignity. She's funny and low-key and deserves better comeback material than this and "Monster-in-Law." The other two actresses are humiliated.

Huffman plays Fonda's alcoholic daughter -- and she goes from zero to teetering cartoon drunk with embarrassing quickness. (Marshall even gives Huffman a ratty Courtney Love haircut after she falls off the wagon, and it's as subtle as a clown wig on Benny Hill.)

And poor Lindsay Lohan! She's a good fit for the troubled-girl part she plays, but the movie can't decide if it's going to play that character's desperate promiscuity for laughs or drama. In one scene, she’s wracked with torment; in another, she’s giving a 10-year-old boy an erection during a slapstick wrestling match and Marshall plays the humiliation for chuckles. It’s borderline insane. And it leaves the actress flailing.

I have no idea how much of this is Lohan's fault -- this is the movie that prompted a studio executive to write a letter scolding Lohan for her unprofessionalism, after all. But while Lohan has moments here and there that remind you of the promise of "Mean Girls," at other times she radiates the sullen ego of a little girl who thinks she's a movie star. Mostly I feel bad for her.
_____

D; 113 minutes; rated R for sexual content and some language.

'Georgia Rule' (The Oregonian, May 11, 2007)

Permalink


Posted: Fri - May 11, 2007 at 12:05 PM        

|

©