Two words can describe “Georgia Rule”: continuous confusion.
The Boston Globe has called it “a bad idea dreadfully executed.” The Chicago Tribune says of the movie, “Maybe ‘Georgia Rule’ should be required viewing for Paris Hilton during her term in the slammer. But not for us.”
It’s very hard to disagree with those reviews. The idea wasn’t too bad, but it was badly executed.
The movie is centered on the Wilcox women, more so on Rachel Wilcox, who is dumped on at her grandmother’s house for the summer. Rachel, Lilly and Georgia spend the summer together facing their own trials and past problems concerning unresolved issues.
Rachel Wilcox is a troubled teen around 17 years old who constantly has problems with family.
Rachel is played by Lindsay Lohan, as best as it probably could be played.
The performance isn’t anywhere near Oscar-worthy, but it gets the job done as to who the character really is, which is flawed. She’s supposedly troubled because of all the problems with her mother and her lying.
Thing is, there’s a constant flow of lies left and right that not until the end of the movie can you piece everything together and make sense of it all.
Jane Fonda plays Georgia, the grandmother of Rachel and mother of Lilly, who is strict with her rules but caring with her values. Fonda does a relatively good job on her role and convincingly displays what tough love and valued work is.
Felicity Huffman plays Lilly, a mother who wants to avoid her mother’s values and rules at all times but feels that her daughter might benefit from them.
It’s fairly done and convincing, but again, nothing too special.
Director Garry Marshall has the film moving in different directions all the time, it’s hard to concentrate on a single character, or moment, or what is right or wrong.
It has a beginning, it has an end, but the middle is like an accordion.
The movie shifts between the Wilcox women so fluidly and quickly that it’s difficult to grasp the essence of the movie.
Just who is the main character? Or is it like “Lord of the Rings” that has a cast of equal characters?
A movie that seemingly doesn’t end well, doesn’t start well and is structured badly can’t really be recommended. “Georgia Rule” should be watched if you’re a big fan of one of the actors, maybe Lohan or Fonda.
Most movies usually end well with a happy ending, suspense that’ll give way to the next sequel, or a moment of ending satisfaction. This movie ends in a unsatisfactory state. Who knows if the Wilcox women will solve the problem they all face at the end?
It’s hard to find the positives of the movie when everything is average or below average.
My rating: D –
Georgia Wilcox, played by Jane Fonda, attempts to deal with her troubled granddaughter Rachel, played by Lindsay Lohan. (Universal Pictures)