The Help

{Movie Review} – The Help Starring Emma Stone & Viola Davis

The HelpThanks to a recent Studio Movie Grill Groupon, SuperDad and I were able to go on a date night Friday and saw “The Help.” Having not yet read the book {although I planning on doing so soon}, I had no preconceived notions walking into the theater. We were the first inside and made sure to grab the prime viewing seats before everyone began filling in around us. We do not get out to the movies very often and were excited about watching a non-animated film… just the two of us.

“The Help” Synopsis

{via The Help website}:
Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” stars Emma Stone {“Easy A”} as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis {“Doubt”} as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed —even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, “The Help” is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

“The Help” Trailer

Our Review

I warned SuperDad before we even left the house that it may be a bit of a “chick flick” but he said that was fine. I think he may have got into the movie more than I did! Not to say I did not LOVE the movie… he was just a bit more vocal about it in the theater than I! In fact, there were audible cheers, gasps, and even finger snaps from some of the other movie-goers during the course of the film. As SuperDad said when we left,”

We laughed, cried, laughed, cried, and laughed some more.

Coming from a bi-racial background myself and living through racial tension from those around me I call family, this topic always touches my heart. I long for racial equality and teach my children that is never about the outside of a person that matters… it’s what is on the inside that we should care about. One of my favorite lines from the movie is the important fact Aibileen tells her small sidekick, Mae Mobley, every morning, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” Every parent should instill these thoughts into their child so that they can have the confidence they need to succeed in life no matter their outside appearance.

I enjoy watching “feel-good” movies that touch my heart and inspire me to want to be a better person. “The Help” moved me in so many directions. There was heartache, laughter, courage, and satisfaction all rolled into 146 minutes of theatrical drama. The movie tagline is “change begins with a whisper” and it made me step back and look at a few things with a new perspective. The maids that stepped forth to tell their story inspired me to want to take my own step of faith in those areas where I feel I have held back. I long for that sort of courage in myself!

I can assure you that I did not see one person get up and walk out of the theater throughout the entire movie. I also know the bathroom was full of women after the movie, several of them cleaning the streaming mascara off their faces. Make sure to take tissue and be prepared to ride a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish. Dreamworks did an awesome job and the movie flows well from one scene to the next. You, as the viewer, are drawn into the lives of these women and can feel their pain, their anguish, their happiness, and their distaste. It is one of the best movies we have seen in a while and can not wait to see it again. Even SuperDad told Jake when we got home that he will definitely be watching it again and again. Now I am excited about getting the book soon and reading more about the characters and their lives in Jackson, Mississippi.

Have you seen “The Help”? Did you read the book? What did you think?

You can even take place in an initiative to share your own story and possibly win a trip to NYC.

*Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this honest review of the movie “The Help.” SuperDad and I purchased our own tickets through Groupon and went on our own time. We simply wanted to share our thoughts on the film.