Movie Review: "Judy"

We spent this rainy, dreary day by taking in the new Judy Garland biopic, "Judy", directed by Rupert Goold and starring Renee Zellweger.  My opinion pretty much agrees with most of the professional reviews that are out there - a so-so movie, but an absolute tour de force performance by Zellweger.   She masters Garland right down to the gestures, wardrobe, and facial tics.  She also does her own singing in the movie, and she's quite good.  Her "Over the Rainbow" had me in tears, but, then again, that song almost always brings tears to my eyes.  Zellweger is a cinch to receive an Oscar nomination for this performance.

The movie essentially chronicles the last year of Garland's life.  She was "unemployable and uninsurable", virtually homeless, was in deep debt, and was struggling to maintain custody of her children.  A life preserver of sorts was thrown to her with the offer to perform for six weeks in a London nightclub.  Her shows were successful as she continued to battle her booze and pill addictions.  

Six months after her London engagement, she would be dead from a barbiturate overdose.  She was 47 years old.

Seeing the movie prompted us to make a dive into that ultimate source of probably reliable information, Wikipedia, to learn a little more about Judy Garland.  Like this movie, Garland's life was not a happy one.  Victimized and exploited by the ultimate stage mother and the Hollywood studio system, Garland's life was nothing short of tragic.....drug addiction that began in her youth with diet pills ad amphetamines and continued for all of her life, five marriages, numerous affairs, a studio-decreed abortion (even though she was married at the time), and the numerous financial difficulties alluded to in the film.  Despite her undeniable talent, she had a very, very unhappy life.  So if you're looking for a barrel of laughs, the movie "Judy" ain't for you.

(Speaking of Garland's talent, I will point you to three films.  The first, of course, is "The Wizard of Oz."  Everyone knows THAT movie, and it needs no further amplification from me.  The second is "Meet Me In St. Louis", wherein Garland sings the iconic "Trolley Song" and the great "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and displays a terrific comic acting talent.  The third one might surprise you, "Judgment at Nuremberg." Garland briefly appears to testify as a victim of Nazi atrocities and her performance is so pained and just so brilliant.  She received an Academy Award nomination for the role.)

Like I said, The Grandstander stands in agreement with most critics on "Judy".  The movie gets two and one-half stars, but Renee Zellweger gets the full four stars for her performance.

Zellweger as Garland and Garland herself