Georgia Rule

source: Georgia Rule

I have to say that I was really disappointed when I went to start writing a review for this film. According to the page for this film the location shooting never got out of the state of California. I really did think that they actually shot this film in Idaho. I guess in a sense I have to tip my hat to the location managers and set designers for what they did. That being said the film is about three generations of females in one family. Mom, Felicity Huffman, is having all kinds of behavioral problems with daughter Lindsay Lohan growing up in worldly San Francisco. So she's shipping her off to Hull, Idaho to stay with her grandmother, Jane Fonda. Fonda's an old hand at dealing with rebellious kids as Felicity was and is quite the wild child in her day. Of course all three generations come to an agonizing reappraisal of their situation and in that fateful summer they get to know each other better. Life does imitate art because the film is now getting reams of publicity due to Lindsay Lohan's behavioral problems in real life. And of course Jane Fonda back in the day was no stranger to being a rebellious individual. She still has a few detractors, me included, for visiting and broadcasting from a country we were at war with. Still you can't deny the talent gene. In Georgia Rule's favor also is that it does sort of put a lie to that old line about there being no women's roles written these days. The female players definitely have center stage here. There are three substantial male roles that are filled nicely, Dermot Mulroney as the town veterinarian and Huffman's former sweetheart, Cary Elwes as Huffman's sleazy husband and Lohan's stepfather and Garrett Hedlund as the young Mormon kid Lohan first seduces then falls for. In many ways Hedlund has the most interesting part in the film. Best scene for me, Lohan's confrontation with the girlfriends of Hedlund's former girlfriend. Has to be seen and I have no doubt she would have carried out her 'threat' to them. It's a good film, it has both it's serious and comic moments nicely blended.

Definitely the trailer does not do this movie justice! I didn't want to see the movie that much except for the fact that Lindsay Lohan was in it. So I went to go see it with my best friend...I'm 20 & she's 21 and we loved it! I would say it's definitely directed towards an older audience and not young kids. It's funny, quirky, sad, dramatic, heartwarming...you name it the movie has it! So I HIGHLY encourage everyone to go see this movie, trust me you won't be disappointed! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to hug someone even! haha it's just a great movie and all of the actors & actresses were marvelous in this movie!

I'm not sure why I decided to rent Georgia Rule, but I guess you could just color me intrigued since this is the film that I heard where Lindsay Lohan caused all that trouble on being late constantly or not showing up on set. I really had no idea what this movie was about, but I watched it last night expecting probably an over the top chick flick, but actually it wasn't bad. Over all I would say that the story was very good and the actors did a good job, I mean say what you want about Lindsay, she is a good actress you have to admit. The only thing I was a bit disappointed with was the ending, but I'm not going to give that away, it's something you'll just have to see for yourselves. But the rest of the story was really good, funny at times, and very touching. Rachel is a young trouble maker from California coming to Idaho to see her grandmother, Georgia, and stay with her for the summer. Rachel already stirs up quite a bit of trouble around the town when she messes around with a Christian boy, she makes the moves on a widowed man, and the fact that she is very blunt about things. But things take a different turn when she tells Simon, the widower and her boss, that she was molested by her step dad. He tells Georgia and Georgia calls her daughter, Rachel's alcoholic mother, Lily, comes to find out if that's the truth or not, Rachel for once doesn't wanna cause trouble and tells her mom it's all a lie. Georgia won't tolerate this though, she knows there's something wrong and has to let Rachel know that there are people there who love her and remind her the difference between right and wrong. The story was really good I think, some of the characters could have used a little more developing, but it still worked. Was it a chick flick? Oh, yeah. But I think this is one of those rare one's that I don't mind. The girls did a great job on acting, so did Dermot Mulroney who played Simon. The ending was just a bit flat and I felt like there could have been a better conclusion, but you'll see if you watch it. But I would recommend it if you are just looking for a fun little flick for the afternoon. Georgia Rule is a good movie that will make you laugh and will touch your heart. 6/10

When I saw this movie's trailer, I was not at all impressed by it. When I read the IMDb reviews, same was the case. The advertisements and marketing of this movie also seemed lackluster. Yet, I went to see the movie because in one of the reviews I read it was about "child molestation". The movie is the story of three women – grandmother Georgia (Jane Fonda), daughter Lilly (Felicity Hoffman) and granddaughter Rachael (Lindsay Lohan). Seventeen years old Rachael has grown up to be a liar, loose character, rebel, ill-mannered etc. Lilly decides to leave Rachael with Georgia in one of the small towns of Idaho – hoping that Rachael will learn some good things from her grandmother. There are funny moments between religious Georgia and rebellious Rachael. Soon Rachael discloses that she was sexually molested by her stepfather Arnold (Cary Elwes), and this becomes the intrinsic turning point in the movie. Rachael keeps on changing her statements every now and then. Is Rachael telling the truth or lying? That forms the remaining story. The character of Rachael was very puzzling to begin with. Being careless, sexually active, liar, outspoken, rebellious made us cringe to begin with. But as the story progressed, the character with such weirdness looked so real and acceptable. All the actresses acted well – Jane Fonda, Felicity Hoffman but this very talented Lindsay Lohan captures the show - all in all. Hats off to Director Garry Marshall for bringing such a women's issue on the forefront and touch such a delicate topic out in the front fore. The landscape of Idaho is capture miraculously. Some reviewer disagreed with the overly religious bent of Idaho people, but I think that does not matter – one need not take such small things to heart. It is just a story and as projecting as being non-religious is a non-issue, so projected being religious should be. Overall, a welcome experience of an "under-the-carpet" subject – of child molestation – treated with not so much heaviness and darkness. (Stars 7.5 out of 10)

The rebel, reckless and spoiled teenager Rachel Wilcox (Lindsay Lohan) travels from San Francisco to the conservative Mormon Hull, Idaho, with her alcoholic mother Lily (Felicity Huffman) to spend the summer with her grandmother Georgia (Jane Fonda). Rachel and Lily have a troubled relationship and Georgia follows severe rules at her home. While with Georgia, Rachel reveals a traumatic secret from her past that explains her rebelliousness and brings her mother back to Idaho to check whether her daughter is telling the truth. The screenplay of "Georgia Rule" is unusual, beginning with comedy but developing in a touching drama related to child abuse and relationship among three generations of the same family. The lead female characters are dysfunctional: Rachel lies, uses drugs and booze and behaves like a *, with no sense of morality; her mother Lily is an alcoholic woman; and her grandmother Georgia does not express her love with her tough rules. The story is engaging, funny in many moments and heartbreaking in others, and shows the importance of the truth, no matter how painful it is, and family bonds to help to supersede problems and difficulties. The gorgeous Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman are amazing, but Jane Fonda performs a strange but fair character. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Ela é A Poderosa" ("She is The Powerful")

It was not what I expected from the previews. . can't believe I sat through it with my 16 year old daughter. Lohan's character was exactly as I envision her to be in real life, except that in the end she comes down to earth. This was so bad that my daughter wanted to see another movie immediately just to get this one out of her thoughts - - yeah, it was sick. The best part of this film is the house and town that Georgia lives in! It is my dream home, couldn't keep my eyes off of the place. I will always check out the reviews of a movie before I go from now on! There are only three words for this film. . . AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL!

Georgia Rule has got to be one of - if not the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. The whole movie has a very surreal feel that made me gasp, "what?" out loud at least 7-10 times throughout its grueling two hour course. Advertised in its trailer as a movie about three generations of women - Jane Fonda as the matriarch, Felicity Huffman as her daughter, and Lindsay Lohan as the rebellious, over- sexed, scantily clad grand-daughter, the viewer thinks this will be a cliché, light, chick-flick about growing up and coming together as a family. Talk about false advertisement at it worst. After many shots of animals doing "funny" things in the background of "pivotal" scenes and not to mention a whole five minutes focusing on an old woman who comes into a doctor's office weekly to have her diaper changed, or the fact that this movie is actually about Lindsay Lohan's character being sexually abused by her step-father, Georgia Rule creates its own genre of cinema : The ungrounded, horribly acted, inappropriate comedy dealing with extremely serious issues in the most awkward, surreal, strange way. If Garry Marshall wanted this movie to be a drama/comedy, then he should have watched The Royal Tenenbaums. Sideways. Junebug. And so on. And so on. The only way I feel I can get a reader to understand the horrific genre that Georgia Rule falls under is to create a hypothetical situation. Say that the movie, The 40 Year Old Virgin, was about the main character being celibate because he was sexually molested as a child. But instead of having the movie take a more dramatic turn, belly laughs and comedy would ensue, with all of the characters' reactions being that of fake, lifeless, human beings pretending to care. Throw in a yellow parakeet, Dermot Mulroney as the flattest, most non-dimensional character that could have been cut completely out of this poorly written script, along with a male character who throws away all of his religious beliefs and morals to be with a trashy, too-tanned girl who shares none of the same interests as he, as well as an an unnecessary car chase scene, unreal moments of characters trying to relate to each other, and you've got Georgia Rule. I found this movie to be an insult to any of those people out there who are struggling filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, editors, etc..who have a lot more talent and aren't getting noticed. Don't see this movie : my rule. And if you must, get sufficiently drunk before hand.

This movie was NOT marketed appropriately. At all. I went into the cinema expecting a light, cliché, feel-good movie. What I saw was much more serious than expected. While it did have some humour, mostly it was a fairly hard-hitting look at the effects of child sexual abuse and the consequences of the abuse coming out into the open. The performances in the movie were all pretty solid. Lohan really shone in this role. Early on in the movie, I thought it really seemed as though she was essentially playing herself, especially after hearing about her various antics off-screen. She really did well in this role.

I didn't see any previews for this movie, so had no expectations. It actually starts out with a situation that's kind of funny, and the girl Lindsay Lohen plays is unconventional and interesting. After a while you start to care about the women and slide into a family drama. By the last scene I was teary-eyed--it was a satisfying ending. The three women were all such good actresses--they showed their emotions subtly and each of their characters was so believable. I don't see how the movie could have been any better. That said, I do think it would be most popular with people old enough to have dealt with a teenage daughter. I went with a college student, though, and she liked it. I think some men would like it, but to be safe I'd consider it a chick flick.