“Before we get into The Help, Im gonna throw in a few quick words on The Glee 3D Concert Movie. I saw it last night with my bestie. Its not worth doing a full write up because it’s got a very specific target audience. If you’re within that target, you’re likely already gonna see it. If you’re not, then you wont. I will just say that we had a total blast. We were squealing, holding hands, and lip synching thru all of it like 12 year old fan girls. Sure, things could have been done better, but it was certainly a ridiculously fun night out.
Today’s movie was The Help. Y’know how yesterday I was unimpressed with 30 Minutes or Less? That 80 minute movie felt like an eternity. By contrast, I felt like I could’ve had more of today’s 2 hour 20 minute movie. As I sat down in the auditorium, I knew I was in for a good story. You dont get that much, especially not in the summer. And my God, what a good, character driven story it was.
I loved the portraits of all the main characters and the powerful cast that drove them. I dont even know who to call out first because they were all so outstanding. Emma Stone’s Skeeter was a lot of the same Emma Stone quirky strong chick we know and love, but still just as fantastic as ever. Viola Davis is one tough cookie to be reckoned with. Octavia Spencer has more sass and spirit than any one woman should be allowed. Bryce Dallas Howard gave one of the best performances of her career thus far, instead of being quiet and pushed around. Sissy Spacek stole all her scenes. Jessica Chastain and Allison Janey did not disappoint either.
I’d like to believe that if I grew up in that environment, that I could have been at least half as accepting as Skeeter. Throughout the film I was thinking a lot about how I grew up. I’m from a border town in Texas. There, it’s pretty common practice to have housekeepers from Mexico or elsewhere Latin America. I certainly spent a fair share of my childhood in the care of one housekeeper or another. It wasn’t to the extreme of the southern culture in The Helper where said housekeeper practically raised me, but they were still a big part of my growing up. Especially since Im an only child, having that extra person around was particularly important. They did the housekeeping, cooking and cleaning and such, but also played with me and watched tv with me and took care of me when mom and dad were at work. I could not imagine treating these women like how some of the women in The Help were treated. They didnt always last long, but there were a few along the way that did become almost family. I can’t hear anything about Mary Tyler Moore without thinking about this one housekeeper who used to love watching that show with me. Or there was the one who cooked a huge meal for my dog, Samson, when we’d left him for vacation and he missed us too much to eat. I remember another one whose fiance gave us the same respect he’d give her parents. It’s just something that I’m so used to, I forget that this sorta situation isn’t the norm in the rest of the country.
Anyways Im not sure I really had a point to my whole retrospective journey there. As far as the movie itself, I loved it. Im definitely curious to read the book so I can pick up on even more details of these women’s stories.
The Help – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/