The Help (2011) Review

Thank you for taking a look at Movies In The Rockies. This blog will take a stab at reviewing movies from the eyes, ears and mind of my non-hollywood mind. I am not an artist, insider or expert. I just like movies and want to share some opinions. Each review will start with a quick synopsis of the film, followed by my perceptions. A final rating will be given with the following rating scale:


Sea Level = The movie falls short of climbing even to the first tier Altitude.


Colorado Plains = The movie starts moving upward but lacks the legs to take it to the hills.


Foot Hills = The movie has legs, but air has left the lungs and stops the movie in its tracks.


Montane = The movie has legs & lungs.


14ers = This movie has eclipsed the summit.

I'm back.

Not only am I back to the blog, but after leaving Denver 24 years ago, my lovely wife Kellie and I have made the move back to our home town. I am hoping that this gives me additional time to commit to writing a little more. The days of the 90 minute commute each way are over for me so look out. Now, time to get to the review.

After about 3 weeks of not seeing a single movie, my wife and youngest daughter took me to the The Help (written for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor). Both of them had read the novel written by Kathryn Stockett and were excited to see the movie. I have to admit, the cast was so strong I figured we couldn't miss with this one. Really, look at this cast... Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland), Viola Davis (Doubt), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Allison Janney (American Beauty, Away We Go), Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter, Crimes of the Heart), and Cicely Tyson (Roots, Fried Green Tomatoes). Notice not a single man was listed in this list of cast members. Yes, there were men in the movie but this was not a story about men. This was a story about women. This was a story about social class. This was a story about race.

Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, is a writer for the local newspaper and a member of the southern white upper class society. Skeeter has spent her whole life living in the south and seeing black women take care of the white families in every way imaginable. When she returns from college and starts to write a column about home making tips and techniques, she illicits help from one of the local maids named Aibilene, played by Viola Davis. Skeeter actually starts to see her community in a different way.

Unfair, unequal, unbelievable. Skeeter is appalled at the attitude of her "Southern Society Girl" friends. The tipping point is when her friend Hilly, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, proposes a bill to the state legislature to demand separate bathrooms in homes for the "Colored" maids. Skeeter is so moved, she decides to write a collection of stories from the point of view of the maids. Skeeter recruits Aibilene and then her best friend Millie. They start to tell stories both heart warming and appalling. Many of which would be extremely embarassing to Skeeter's own friends. This does not deter her. After she gets some great feedback from a publisher in New York City she recruits more maids and the book is on it's way.

That's when all hell breaks loose. Skeeter's book is published with names being changed to protect the innocent...and guilty! The "Society Girls" are aghast that the lurid stories of their lives have been told. They all know that the book is about them but won't admit it in front of others. So who pays in the long run? Well folks, this movie was a period piece based on the 1960's Southern US. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. The question that still needs to be answered is, was it all worth it? That's impossible for this white, middle class, male to answer. You will have to see the movie for yourselves.

Although I can't answer the questions about racial equality and the inequality that my female friends face even today, I can review this film. This cast was put together masterfully. Emma Stone is an up and coming actress who may have hit her stride in this film. She really captured the struggle between being a "Society Girl" and the reality of racial inequality. I can see Stone with a nomination for one of the major motion picture rewards coming at the end of this year. Another nomination will almost certainly go to Viola Davis. You may all remember her in Doubt playing along side Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. I believe she was on the screen for less than 10 minutes in the entire film but the time she spent on screen formed that film. Take a look:
http://www.soliloblog.com/blog/reviews/viola-davis-as-mrs-miller-in-doubt-2008/
Anyway, Ms. Davis is one the best actresses working right now and she does no less than spectacular in The Help. These two high lights in no way should down play the performances of the other actresses. I do think any awards that this film will garner will go to Emma Stone or Viola Davis though.

A cast can't be the only thing that carries a film though. This film was heart warming, funny, and down right important, but it lacked the punch to make it a front runner during the award season. The Help earns a Movies in the Rockies rating of Montane. I would recommend seeing this movie. You will laugh. You may cry. You will get angry. You will be inspired. If you want a good movie, you will find it with The Help.