Georgia Rule (2007) - At The Movies Review

Georgia Rule

Three generations of women collide in GEORGIA RULE, the new film from director Garry Marshall.

Rachel, (LINDSAY LOHAN), is a tearaway, a mighty headache for her alcoholic mother Lilly, (FELICITY HUFFMAN).

Her latest escapade, crashing the new Mustang, results in Lilly reluctantly taking Rachel back to her home town in Idaho where she feels a little bit of her own mother's medicine and discipline might solve the problem. Jane Fonda plays Georgia.

Rachel, whether by accident or design, tries to help the local vet Simon -

(DERMOT MULRONEY), get over the deaths of his wife and child by telling him that, "Hey, you've just got to get on with it, she has" despite the fact that her stepfather Arnold, (CARY ELWES), started having sex with her from the age of 12.

And that news travels fast. Whether Rachel was telling the truth is the stuff of the second half of the film, which tries to broach the big issues of truth and lies, right and wrong.

But somehow the film's reach exceeds its achievement by quite a long way. This is the story of a troubled young woman who uses her sexuality to ruin the planned future of local boy, Harlan - a nice performance from GARRETT HEDLUND and who tries to seduce Simon, her boss, the vet.

What works for the film is the assurance of LINDSAY LOHAN as Rachel and the solidity of FELICITY HUFFMAN as Lilly.

JANE FONDA is an icon, but her performance doesn't quite match the other two.

The screenplay by Mark Andrus fails to really focus in on the story it wants to tell and also fails to develop the characters of these potentially interesting women.

MARGARET: David?

DAVID: They are potentially interesting but they're also - I found them a bit annoying, right from the start, really.

I mean, it's funny, isn't it, how a film begins and I got right on the wrong foot of this because she's throwing stuff out of the car that they're driving. She throws an empty Coke bottle and then a mobile phone out into this pristine countryside they're driving through and I think what a spoilt little...

MARGARET: Well, you are an environmentalist.

DAVID: Well, I am, and I...

MARGARET: This is establishing character.

DAVID: Yes, I know, but it put me off. And then when Jane Fonda plays a character who is so rigid about - and religious and she won't allow you to say God at all or you have to wash your mouth out but she uses the F word, I mean it's just inconsistent and hypocritical.

Look, I think Garry Marshall may not have been the best director for this because he does things like PRETTY WOMAN and it's much more sort of lightweight stuff and this is quite a heavy, substantial film and maybe that's why it doesn't work.

MARGARET: No, it's not. You see, I think it aims at being, having some substance...

DAVID: But it doesn't work out that way.

MARGARET: That's the shame of it really, I think.

DAVID: Yeah, and I think maybe that's because Garry Marshall, you know, doesn't bring the substance that it needs to the material.

MARGARET: I don't think it's there in the screenplay, actually.

DAVID: Well, maybe not. The performances are - I mean, I do agree with you about Lindsay Lohan. I think she's good.

MARGARET: And Felicity Huffman is good too.

DAVID: Less so.