We all have the best intentions, and I have been meaning to post more. So, to fulfill that promise, I am sharing my opinions about the movie I saw this weekend, Eat Pray Love. I must preface this review by admitting that I am not a big Julia Roberts fan. She plays the same character over and over, and, while I will always love Pretty Woman, I find it hard to part with my $10 to see Vivian again and again. Also I feel I should say that I didn't like the book Eat Pray Love. I couldn't even finish it because I got fed up. I loved the idea of the story, and I thought that the part of the book in Italy was fantastic. And, I admire Liz Gilbert's writing voice, but, after 200 pages, I couldn't hep but feel like I was being preached at. However, I still wanted to see the film version of the story to at least marvel at the scenery and see Julia Roberts' 140 costume changes (what a suitcase she must've had, huh?).
These are my problems with the film: 1. In one scene, Liz is extolling the virtues of getting rid of the guilt of indulging in food and loving your muffin top (the bit of fat that creeps over the sides of your pants like the top of that fluffy breakfast pastry). Yet, in the very next scene, the film cuts to Liz lying on the floor while her firend tries to zip her into some pants. Isn't that a contradiction? If you aren't worried about your size, why not get some bigger pants? And, 2., my other qualm with the story is that, everywhere she goes, Liz sees herself through the men she's with. Husband, rebound relationship, dreamy Italian tutor, bumper-sticker-talkin' Richard from Texas, and Brazilian hottie Felipe. Even though she's on a path of self-discovery and awareness, Liz still needs men on her journey from misery to mistakes to learning a new language, to forgive, and to love.
There were 2 things that I loved in the film. First, was Richard from Texas, played by the fabulous Richard Jenkins. The character's wisdom was solid, but it was Jenkins' honest, heart-wrenching vulnerabilty and tough-love attitude that made him my favorite character. He might have had only 20 minutes of screen time, but it wasn't nearly enough. When Richard left the ashram in India, I felt sad and wished he could've stuck around for the rest of the story. The second best part of the movie can be summed up in 2 words: Javier. Bardem. Super dreamy, super sexy, and a great actor to boot. What more does a movie need? I couldn't stand dealing with Liz's wishy washy ways, and her mimsy-mumsy mumbling about not being ready to commit seemed even more ridiculous with Bardem onscreen. He can make me a mix tape any time he wants.
Overall, the movie wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. The saving graces were the above actors, the beautiful locales, and the serious closeups of food that seemed almost erotic in the cinematographer's treatment of them. It was a beautiful movie but, like a big plate of pasta, a few hours later, I was unsatisfied.
