BIG SCREEN: The Help (PG-13)

It’s not all that often that screen adaptations live up to the original books, but, ladies and gentlemen – this one does! There are a few places where the filmmakers cut some corners where I wish they hadn’t, but overall, bravo!

The Help is the story of Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a recent college graduate and social misfit in 1960s Mississippi. Her dream to become a writer and her disgust with her friends’ ill treatment of their African-American maids converge in one fabulously controversial book project. She convinces some local maids to tell her stories of their relationships with their employers – the good, the bad, and the ugly – which ultimately creates a massive firestorm in an already volatile social climate.

I highly recommend that you read the book by Kathryn Stockett first, just to get the full experience of all the details and descriptions that couldn’t possibly have all been crammed into the screenplay. But, even if you don’t, the movie succeeds for two reasons: (1) it is pretty darn faithful to the book, and (2) the casting is incredibly spot-on.

It’s hard to pick the standout performance. Emma Stone proves she’s got serious big-girl acting chops as she seamlessly steps into Skeeter’s shoes and skillfully anchors the whole movie. Allison Janney plays her long-suffering, dry-witted mother with ease, and delivers one of my favorite lines of the movie: “Love and hate are two horns on the same goat.”

Sissy Spacek is a total hoot, despite her minimal screen time (someone, please cast her in some major roles again!). Cicely Tyson – wow! Still so beautiful, with a presence that leaps off the screen, even in a subtle performance like this. Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard is a scene-stealer with her fabulously over-the-top portrayal of the truly witchy Hilly. But probably the singlemost excellent performance was that of Octavia Spencer as the mouthy firecracker, Minny. Paired with Viola Davis as her much steadier best friend Aibileen, she’s allowed to really push the sassy envelope with hysterical results.

People who are squawking about how the civil rights theme is just stirring up trouble and reopening old wounds have totally missed the point. In addition to providing perspective on some horrible injustices in our not-so-distant past, it’s a sweet and witty story about humanity. If you ask me, it’s a good thing to be reminded of how stupid, petty, and destructive stereotypes and prejudice can be, and to be shown an example of people rising above it all.

It’s hilarious, it’s heartbreaking, it’s heartwarming… a good, old-fashioned Southern charmer with substance.