The Help

The Help -- 4/5

To be honest, nothing about this movie really screamed interesting to me. I usually skip out on films like this, because they really feel generated towards a certain older female audience. It doesn't really help either that the poster has this awful yellow that is unappealing to the eye. Actually, the only reason I was remotely interested in this movie is because I remember my madre reading the book a while back, and if she read it and liked it maybe it's good. I honestly never saw a trailer for this movie because the movies I go out and see wouldn't be advertising this one to their audience.

Well, after good reviews and this movie being at the top of the box office, I decided to switch it over from the "maybe I'll go see it if I have time" list to the "I want to see this pretty soon" list. It had Emma Stone in it at least, and she's been in the spotlight as of late. So I found someone who was interested in it too, and that's when I found myself in a theater watching this movie rather than Final Destination 5 (which I still want to see).

Oh gosh, the trailers leading up to this movie were dreadful, and if I hadn't read raving reviews about this movie, I would have been very much skeptical about the movie I was about to see. The trailers were so bad -- each one I had never heard of and there was a reason for it. It was torture. But finally the movie started and things were starting to look up.

First and foremost, this movie had some spectacular acting. Emma Stone really showed off what she can do outside teen-type roles, but other than her everyone else was spectacular too. Who knew Bryce Dallas Howard of Twilight fame could really act? I honestly wouldn't have bet on it. But all the actresses are solid, and it is so much more than a girly movie (referring to its dominant female cast). I also wouldn't be surprised if there was a best actress nomination in store for Viola Davis who plays Aibileen Clark. So there's one reason for seeing this movie if you think it's honestly not your thing.

And it's not just the actresses that make this movie work. It's a really great story, that brought a little tear to my eye at the end. It's funny, it's heart-warming, it's sad. It doesn't stay at one note the whole time. The movie has a depth to its story that's historical, but it doesn't stop you from thinking about racism that still exists. Not everyone's crying the whole time, but everyone isn't giggling uncontrollably either. Even the shallow characters appear to have some depth to them in the end, which is something I really enjoyed viewing.

Watching the movie makes me wish I had just stolen the book from my mom's bookshelf and read it, but sadly I never did. Maybe someday I will get around to it, because the movie has convinced me it is probably a great book (because all books are better than the movie).