Dysfunction Junction
by Flick Chick Vique
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Georgia Rule easily earns 3 & 1/2 Red Vines for its super-talented cast |
She’s been called ‘discourteous, irresponsible, unprofessional and a spoiled child’. Her antics have been widely publicized as being mouthy, wild and out of control. Guess what? In Georgia Rule, Lindsay Lohan plays an irresponsible, mouthy, wild, out of control teen. Is it any surprise to anyone that she excels in the part?
Lindsay is a good actress, and Georgia Rule is a fairly good movie. But not for one second could I put aside the public persona when it mirrored the movie so perfectly. I don’t know, is it just me or is Miss Lohan’s talent overrated or what? Yes, she’s good but the list of talented child actors is longer than her credits.
But while the buzz will continue to swirl around her talented co-star, Georgia Rule, in my humble opinion, belongs to Georgia, played by none other than Jane Fonda. For the first time in decades she is in a role worthy of her long dormant talents. As the grandmother in this family trio of women, she is feisty, funny and fierce! I’ve always loved Jane, from her first sweet, silly romantic comedies like The Tall Story and Barefoot in the Park to her gritty dramas like They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Klute and The Morning After. We even got the pleasure of seeing her work with the greats in the autumn of their careers when she appeared along side her Dad, Henry and every actress’ role model, Katherine Hepburn in On Golden Pond. With her role in Georgia Rule we see the actress come full circle from sweet engenue to sex symbol and now character actress. Funny thing is, even now she still boasts the knock out figure made famous in Barbarella!
Last but far from least is Felicity Huffman as Lohan’s alcoholic mother and Fonda’s estranged daughter. Once again Felicity proves she has the chops to go toe to toe with one of today’s hottest properties and an acting icon. Her performance is gut wrenching!
Dermot Mulroney does a yeoman’s job of being the guy caught in an estrogen whirlwind, while Cary Elwes is properly confusing as a step dad who may or may not be a predator. Which brings me to a slight spoiler but I think a necessary one.
Director Garry Marshall has a reputation for comedy and between that and the trailers you might think this is a great comedy for moms and daughters to see together. Face it; between the three actresses you have every age group covered for mass appeal. But while there are plenty of laughs from terrific one-liners, there is a very heavy theme of child abuse at the center of this chocolate truffle. Between that and Lohan’s overly promiscuous character, I myself would have been a little uncomfortable watching it with my mother. This is a movie for all ages that would perhaps be better enjoyed watching it with a peer rather than a relative.
This heavy theme towards the end of the movie might be what made the pacing suddenly seem to stand still. I got a little antsy during the last half hour or so and was convinced it was longer than the normal flick. I was very surprised to emerge from the theatre in less than 2 hours. Read into that what you will.
Did you see it? Tell us what you thought of it!
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