Audiences can rebel and demand money back for numerous reasons. Viewers certainly do not like being misled by a trailer.
Georgia Rule is a prime example of an ill-marketed flick. Truth be told, I don't know how anyone could market the film. Is Georgia Rule without merit? Absolutely not! Is it a quirky comedy peopled by foreigners from California mixing with the quirky locals? Yes. Is it a slapstick comedy with clever comebacks? Yes. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM??? Quirky and clever comprise at the most 15 minutes of the film. Here is a serious drama about a family disintegrating because of communication problems and damaging behavior. Slowly the onion peels before the unsuspecting town (and the audience too). Long hidden problems drive squirm-inducing behavior on the part of the three female protagonists. The supporting cast, whether villains or heroes, perform wonders with roles better fleshed out than expected. The photography immerses watchers into small-town Idaho and its natural beauty. The score is unobtrusive - good. Now to the big stuff: · this script by Mark Andrus is another of his studies in deception, distrust, sex and revenge. None of these subjects is softened - the full impact of behaviors is up front and in-your-face but the characters seem real - these are not clichés. · I did not expect such a weighty film from Garry Marshall. He doesn't shy away from the material. He trusts his leads to get the job done. · And they deliver. Felicity Huffman walks a line as deftly as a tightrope walker. Her pain and confusion are very visible without being melodramatic or overwrought. Jane Fonda has a more difficult role - her Georgia barely reveals anything. Her every fiber tenses with control - you can almost hear her jaw clenching as she watches her daughter and granddaughter with disbelief. The surprise for me was Lindsay Lohan. A wise viewer would do well to set aside all the stories about her behavior during the making of this movie: what she delivered was simply amazing. Her character, Rachel, wears her demons on what few clothes surround her body. Miss Lohan's facial expressions veer wildly from vulnerability to defiance to dismay to anger and everything in between. The three ladies who carry Georgia Rule may fight it out come Oscar time. As for the film, I can't recommend it if only because of the subject matter.
