HISS! HISS! HISS not at the acting, the direction, the plot of Elizabeth Gilbert's phenomenally best-selling memoir about her one-year spiritual-emotional quest to Italy, India and Indonesia. No. HISS! at the critics who are panning this film that review compilation site, Rotten Tomatoes, rated a measly 38%. Hence Husband 2.0 stayed home and I pilgrim-aged to girlfriend-less due to my last minute quest to "fit it in" to the weekend.
That didn't stop hordes of other women coming in twos and threes and more, their gender also made evident by the obviously female chorus of laughter at the peppering of laugh-out-loud parts. I don't know about my seat mates, but I scrounged for and kept handy a wadded popcorn-oiled napkin to dab the corners of moist eyes for other parts of the film. I saw one lone man as I exited, but this is not a "chic flick," as evidenced, in part by the number of equally male and female critic thumbs down.
What those poo-pooing critics did agree on–which had me wishing my foodie, travel-loving husband was sitting beside me–was the food and the cinematographic views of architecture and the snapshots and embeddings of diverse culture and countryside. Stunning.
What do the critics expect from a book so complex in it's concept, but a brief bow to the essence of Gilbert's plot, and yes–"bumper sticker" snippets of meaning and depth that the author poured into the pages of Eat, Pray, Love? The screenwriters did the book as much justice as they could. The filmmaker, took it and soared.
Loved the book. Treasure it. It's rich. Loved the movie. I may even purchase it someday. Something I rarely ever do. So, I say, screw the critics. And, go see the movie, Eat, Pray, Love!
I am looking forward, if nothing else, to the food alone, which I understand is sumptuous…dizzying….
Oh. Yes. You will love “Italy.”
Welcome back, Leisa! Very nice review. Oh, I think I have to give the carb experiment a try! The film looks visually fantastic, and I look forward to seeing it. Would you believe, I’ve not read the book yet?! Hard to get some titles in English here, but am on waiting list to get it through inter-loan. I’m naturally “cautious” of anything over-hyped too. haha… But I admire Julia Roberts style of acting, so I will definitely like to see the film. Glad you had fun… and it’s great to boo the critics! ;o)
Thanks, Tracy. I hope you enjoy both. I think you will, knowing a teeny-tiny bit about you. 🙂 And thanks for the welcome. I did post once last week. Ha. It felt good to get another one up. I’m trying to get back in the groove, er…carve out a new one…!
Hi Leisa,
thanks for the review, sounds beautiful.
I’m not up to speed with all the wonderful
stuff you do here, but Alec went back to
playschool so I added stat counter to
my blog. Yes!
Hope post-nup is bliss :^)
Ah, but I don’t have a stat counter! You are brave.