The confused script trades in such heavy topics as alcoholism and child sexual abuse, but every dramatic scene plays like one of those schmaltzy Happy Days moments that inevitably drew a big 'Awwwwww!' from the studio audience.
Georgia Rule (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:2
Rotten:27
Average Rating:3.4/10
Consensus: Comedic and dramatic in all the wrong places, Georgia Rule is a confused dramedy that wastes the talents of its fine cast.
Theatrical Release:May 11, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $18,882,880
Synopsis: Gary Marshall's GEORGIA RULE brings together Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda, and Felicity Huffman to play three generations in need of one another's guidance in this story about the bonds between... Gary Marshall's GEORGIA RULE brings together Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda, and Felicity Huffman to play three generations in need of one another's guidance in this story about the bonds between three equally feisty women. When teen troublemaker Rachel (Lohan) pushes her alcoholic mother, Lilly (Huffman), over the edge, it becomes the responsibility of her grandmother, Georgia (Fonda), to set things straight. But even getting from San Francisco to Georgia's home in Mormon country proves difficult, with Rachel literally jumping out of the car and flirtatiously hitching a ride from handsome but guarded stranger Simon (Dermot Mulroney). No one in town is ready for Rachel, whose manic sexuality and screw-you attitude is a stark contrast to the strict Mormon values most of the local residents live by. Rachel's arrival and drama-filled stay force everyone she meets to question their way of life. Meanwhile, Georgia force-feeds Rachel the stern structure her own mother was too inebriated to offer, and while Rachel adamantly resists at first, she slowly starts to change, thanks to her grandmother's tough love. The early tone of the film abruptly changes when Rachel makes a bold and disturbing confession, but then takes it back, forcing everyone around her to figure out the truth on their own. For the rest of the film, characters scramble to navigate Rachel's lies and to decipher the truth from her statements. Viewers are kept equally in the dark, as GEORGIA RULE struggles to be both a comedy and a serious drama. Shifting back and forth somewhat clumsily, the film does offer some funny moments, but dwells on issues far too unsettling to pass itself off as a lighthearted "chick flick." While the film seems unsure at times of its goal, it does feature strong performances from its leads: three women who are more similar than any of them would like to admit. [More]
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Jane Fonda, Dermot Mulroney
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Jane Fonda, Dermot Mulroney, Garrett Hedlund, Cary Elwes
Director: Garry Marshall
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenwriter: Mark Andrus
Producer: David C. Robinson, James G. Robinson
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Release:
Apr 12, 2009
DVD Features:
- Region [unknown]
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
- Subtitles - English, SDH, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Commentary
- Audio Commentary: Director Garry Marshall
- Gag Reel
- Trailer
Featurette:
- 1. The Making of Georgia Rule
- 2. The Women of Georgia Rule
- 3. On the Set with Garry Marshall
Additional Products:
- Mamma Mia Picture Frame
Reviews for Georgia Rule
Time for a new book by Jane Fonda, and this time I expect a full chapter on how she got snookered into doing Georgia Rule.
The central problem with the movie isn't that it deals with several hot-button topics, but that it addresses them with a shocking lack of emotional honesty.
You'd think that decree No. 1 for a movie about rules would be to know exactly what kind of picture you're making and selling. Georgia Rule fails that basic test, and a whole lot of other ones besides.
Do not take your mom to Georgia Rule unless she's Roseanne Barr. You may expect a three-generational chick flick, but what you get is a child-rape comedy.
Not to excuse her apparent lack of professionalism, but can you blame Lohan for showing up to work in bad shape?
If there is a 'What Were They Thinking?' Hall of Shame, there's a whole wall preserved for Georgia Rule, a feel-good, mothers-and-daughters comedy about child sexual abuse.
There's little gussied up in this surprisingly tart mother-child-grandchild reunion picture, written by Mark Andrus.
It's a shame Lohan's best work to date is bogged down in a film that wants to be in the same league as Terms of Endearment but is only marginally better than Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
Georgia Rule is a bad idea dreadfully executed -- On Golden Pond with fellatio jokes and whimsical incest melodrama and Fonda playing her dad (who, more and more, she eerily resembles).
Certain words should be reserved for special occasions. 'Abysmal' is one of them, and Georgia Rule is as special as such occasions get.
With a different tone -- or in different hands -- its dark and light elements might have managed to coexist rather than vie so awkwardly for attention.
It's Fonda who represents the movie's real lost opportunity. Now that she's back, which filmmaker is going to win the prize for figuring out how to put her gifts, and her looks, to use?
The American public likes nothing better than a tragedy with a happy ending, William Dean Howells observed. But Marshall so cautiously downplays the tragic elements of his plot that the sweetness and light left a sour taste in my mouth.
Opening with a raunchy but light comic tone, the story veers into queasy territory.
Director Garry Marshall's comedy-drama suffers from an unfortunate role reversal. The comedy is stunningly unfunny, while the drama is sometimes disturbingly funny.
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