Georgia Rule (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
'Georgia Rule' is a dramedy directed by Garry Marshall. This film follows a rebellious hellion of a teenager, Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) who's hauled to Idaho for the summer by her alcoholic mom, Lily (Felicity Huffman), to center herself with Georgia (Jane Fonda), her feisty, grandma. Rachel shakes up the modest, Mormon town. And by the end of the Summer, family revelations will have surfaced, wounds will try to heal, and they'll all try to get to know one another to become a loving, cohesive unit. Lohan & Huffman's dysfunctional roles ring true. But overall, the direction the film takes (after a strong first 45 minutes) is disappointing.
Rachel is a nightmare. She bickers, swears, drinks & is highly profane. After an unforgivable car crash, Lily drops her daughter off with gramms. Though, she hates hew own mother, and does not stay the night and flees back to San Francisco to be with husband, Arnold (Cary Elwes). Impulsive, rambunctious & annoying ... Rachel tests her grandma early. But Georgia lives by unbreakable rules, no exceptions. When Rachel asks for something to eat, Georgia snaps, 'Oh, too late honey, dinner was at 6pm, you'll have to wait 'til breakfast, Georgia Rule'. They have a go at each other, & you can immediately tell the 'feeding-off-of-each-other's-quips' that this relationship will be. Because of this, Lohan & Fonda has some great, stinging one-liners.
Rachel is miserable; now knowing that she also has to work in a doctors/veterinarians's office town. The doctor is Simon (Dermot Mulroney), a man who used to date her mother in their adolescence. He's bereft over the recent loss of his wife & son, and Rachel (unaware of his tragedy) throws some salt into his healing wounds. To let off some steam, she looks for the hottest guy in town, Harlan (Garrett Hedlund). And while she knows that he's saving himself for marriage with a dowdy girl named June, she tantalizes him with sexual come-ons. But times goes on, & just as Georgia notices that with some responsibility, Rachel starts to become a compassionate human being, she also hears a horrific rumor. Perhaps, Rachel's stepdad, Arnold, has been molesting her from age 12-14.
Because of this, Georgia summons a drunk Lily to come to Idaho, pronto. Is this deep, dark secret for real? Rachel's made a career out of lying to her family, why would this revelation be any different? If it's a lie, then there's been no learning arc for Rachel over the course of her summer maturation process. If it's the truth, then Arnold would be banished from the family & brought to justice ... allowing the 3 women to form a tie that would never again be broken. See, I appreciate Marshall's attempt to create heartfelt drama. But I fault the savviness of his direction, here. His handling of alcoholism, grief, or molestation is uneven.
And I don't mind a happy ending, but the one constructed here feels awfully fake. I also hated a subplot where some Mormon girls spy on Rachel & Harlan (though, it does eventually set-up a wonderful verbal thrashing by Rachel 'unto' the girls). The 3 males in the movie don't lend anything overly interesting. What saves the film is Fonda's name & the Lohan/Huffman combination. I know teens JUST like Rachel, so I appreciated Lohan greatly. Still, I initially thought ther'd be 'more' piss & vinegar moments btwn. Lohan & Fonda, but they drizzle off as the plot progresses. 'Georgia Rule' is more 'disappointing' than it is a failure because there was a good movie buried in there somewhere.
Rachel is a nightmare. She bickers, swears, drinks & is highly profane. After an unforgivable car crash, Lily drops her daughter off with gramms. Though, she hates hew own mother, and does not stay the night and flees back to San Francisco to be with husband, Arnold (Cary Elwes). Impulsive, rambunctious & annoying ... Rachel tests her grandma early. But Georgia lives by unbreakable rules, no exceptions. When Rachel asks for something to eat, Georgia snaps, 'Oh, too late honey, dinner was at 6pm, you'll have to wait 'til breakfast, Georgia Rule'. They have a go at each other, & you can immediately tell the 'feeding-off-of-each-other's-quips' that this relationship will be. Because of this, Lohan & Fonda has some great, stinging one-liners.
Rachel is miserable; now knowing that she also has to work in a doctors/veterinarians's office town. The doctor is Simon (Dermot Mulroney), a man who used to date her mother in their adolescence. He's bereft over the recent loss of his wife & son, and Rachel (unaware of his tragedy) throws some salt into his healing wounds. To let off some steam, she looks for the hottest guy in town, Harlan (Garrett Hedlund). And while she knows that he's saving himself for marriage with a dowdy girl named June, she tantalizes him with sexual come-ons. But times goes on, & just as Georgia notices that with some responsibility, Rachel starts to become a compassionate human being, she also hears a horrific rumor. Perhaps, Rachel's stepdad, Arnold, has been molesting her from age 12-14.
Because of this, Georgia summons a drunk Lily to come to Idaho, pronto. Is this deep, dark secret for real? Rachel's made a career out of lying to her family, why would this revelation be any different? If it's a lie, then there's been no learning arc for Rachel over the course of her summer maturation process. If it's the truth, then Arnold would be banished from the family & brought to justice ... allowing the 3 women to form a tie that would never again be broken. See, I appreciate Marshall's attempt to create heartfelt drama. But I fault the savviness of his direction, here. His handling of alcoholism, grief, or molestation is uneven.
And I don't mind a happy ending, but the one constructed here feels awfully fake. I also hated a subplot where some Mormon girls spy on Rachel & Harlan (though, it does eventually set-up a wonderful verbal thrashing by Rachel 'unto' the girls). The 3 males in the movie don't lend anything overly interesting. What saves the film is Fonda's name & the Lohan/Huffman combination. I know teens JUST like Rachel, so I appreciated Lohan greatly. Still, I initially thought ther'd be 'more' piss & vinegar moments btwn. Lohan & Fonda, but they drizzle off as the plot progresses. 'Georgia Rule' is more 'disappointing' than it is a failure because there was a good movie buried in there somewhere.