Laura Sees Movies: The Help

Emotionally manipulative and basically boring, The Help is an ok movie with great performances that has spurred much controversy. Kathryn Stockett's novel has been criticized, and mostly because it was written by her, a white woman, and the story is heavily about the struggle of black women. I don't blame people for getting worked up.

My problem with this film has not much to do with Kathryn Stockett's whiteness, although I do find it odd that she would desire to tackle this material, my problem is with the overall dullness of the story. All emotion and almost no heart, the story of Skeeter and her beloved maid is overshadowed by the side stories and crowded out by fillers.

As a viewer I desired so much more to see truly where Skeeter came from, why she felt so connected to her own maid as a mother figure and how that would drive her to write a book. Instead Skeeter is beautiful, yet we are supposed to believe she is plain, she is a strong single character, yet we are forced into an empty love story that goes nowhere, and mostly it seems that she simply gets lucky and her book happens to be a success. She lacks the strength and conviction I believe this character would have to possess to pull off this publication. This should truly be Skeeters story, and it is not successful. I didn't connect to her journey at all, and I was heavily distracted by all the more interesting stories she was surrounded by.

All of the acting is excellent, let me say that first and foremost. Viola Davis is, as ALWAYS, a powerhouse of truth, and shoots Aibileen's arrow straight into our hearts. Bring tissues. Emma Stone is great too, despite that lack of depth that has been written into her character. Bryce Dallas Howard is delightfully hate able, Sissy Spacek and Allison Janney both sneak in as scene stealing mothers, and my favorite performances belong to Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer whose touching story could have been a delightful movie all by itself.

There is too much happening, it all makes you cry, and yet it all feels meaningless. It lacks authenticity, and a genuine heartbeat. Dull, pushy, sappy, and too long, this movie is pretty lame. I'd love to say it was great, it had plenty of potential, but I wasn't happy for anyone at the end, nor did I care much what had happened. A wonderful display of great acting, it's a shame it had to come in such a crappy candy coating.