“For a smart girl, you’re good at stupid.”
A trio of talented actresses, Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan, star in this film that was marketed as a comedy but has a dramatic revelation that will stop your laughing cold in your tracks.
Lilly (Felicity Huffman) can’t control her daughter Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) anymore so she takes her to live the summer with her mother Georgia (Jane Fonda) in Idaho. Rachel gets out of the car on the way and mom drives off. Rachel hitches a ride with Simon (Dermot Mulroney) and her flirty behavior gets her thrown out in town. Georgia has certain rules that sticks fast to and won’t bend them for anyone.
The free-spirited Rachel will have none of it and commences hitting on local boy Harlan (Garrett Hedlund). When she performs a bit-city service for him, his religious upbringing causes him to confess to his girlfriend. Georgia gets Rachel a job for the summer with Dr. Ward – Dr. Simon Ward, the guy who gave her a ride into town. A revelation about Rachel’s stepfather Arnold (Cary Elwes) causes the film to swerve from comedy to drama rather abruptly.
I suppose the first thing that needs to be said is that Lindsay Lohan must be a character actor since her character’s outrageous and flirty behavior seems to be more like the Lohan that we read about in the tabloids. Much was made about her onset behavior since she showed up late for work and the head of the studio wrote a letter stating such.
The trailer for the film made this look like a really funny comedy; however, the actual movie has some extremely serious issues that make it anything but funny. I can imagine that people who went to the theater where in a state of shock when those revelations hit the screen.
In fact, it really makes it a difficult movie to review since the performances are really good by the three female leads, but that revelation makes it seem like you’re sold another movie by the funny trailer. The men are somewhat minor characters but they also perform well. Look for cameos from Paul Williams and Hector Elizondo (who must be director Garry Marshall’s most featured player).
Georgia Rule is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary from director Garry Marshall, but he doesn’t dish the dirt about Lohan’s bad behavior so you might be disappointed. There are also 9 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Marshall and a 7-minute gag reel.
The 7 minute “Making of Georgia Rule” interviews Marshall, producer James G. Robinson, Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Cary Elwes, Lindsay Lohan, Dermot Mulroney, and Garrett Hedlund. The 6 minute “Women of Georgia Rule” focuses on the three generations of actresses playing the leads. The 5-minute “On the set with Garry Marshall” allows the cast to kiss the butt of the director. Again, don’t expect any revelations about Lohan in any of the documentaries. Finally the 2-minute theatrical trailer focuses on the comedy and leaves out the dark side that’s in the film.
Georgia Rule is a good movie as far as acting and dramatics go, and yes is does have some funny moments. However, the trailer made it look like it was a comedy and neglected to mention that there was some very dark subject matter in the film.
The three leads act up a storm and do it well, but don’t be surprised when the subject matter gets extremely dark.
Georgia Rule is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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