"Judy": Movie Review
Renée Zellweger's return to the big screen as the iconic Judy Garland is nothing short of a disaster. "Judy" is a bad film, with an even worse performance, and has the essence of Academy Awards barf.
In the latter year of 1968, Garland travels to London to perform a string of sold out shows, while dealing with love, relationships and her emotional imbalance. The basis for how "Judy" is structured narratively is embarrassing, and quite frankly a simplified smear on her personal struggles.
It's not aided by a performance by Zellweger, who's unnecessarily over the top performance is undeniably hideous. Lack of a screenplay (Tom Edge) , or good direction (Rupert Goold) has no question hindered her ability, but it nonetheless feels like a poor YouTube impersonation.
While "Judy" struggles mightily throughout its 118 minute run time, there are some glimpses of what could have been. Her run in with two gay men outside her venue is intimate and truly wonderful to watch unravel. Even the first five minutes of watching young Judy (Darci Shaw) on set of "The Wizard of Oz" as the brutish, Weinstein-esque, Louis B. Mayer (Robert Cordery) stampedes on her hopes and dreams, is truly dire cinema.
With only a measly two scenes that drew me in emotionally, "Judy" is a miserable biopic of epic proportions. None of the relationships resonate, her story arch is non existent, and it consistently lacks that emotional punch that so many biopics have succeeded in.
Judy Garland deserved a lot better than this.
In the latter year of 1968, Garland travels to London to perform a string of sold out shows, while dealing with love, relationships and her emotional imbalance. The basis for how "Judy" is structured narratively is embarrassing, and quite frankly a simplified smear on her personal struggles.
It's not aided by a performance by Zellweger, who's unnecessarily over the top performance is undeniably hideous. Lack of a screenplay (Tom Edge) , or good direction (Rupert Goold) has no question hindered her ability, but it nonetheless feels like a poor YouTube impersonation.
While "Judy" struggles mightily throughout its 118 minute run time, there are some glimpses of what could have been. Her run in with two gay men outside her venue is intimate and truly wonderful to watch unravel. Even the first five minutes of watching young Judy (Darci Shaw) on set of "The Wizard of Oz" as the brutish, Weinstein-esque, Louis B. Mayer (Robert Cordery) stampedes on her hopes and dreams, is truly dire cinema.With only a measly two scenes that drew me in emotionally, "Judy" is a miserable biopic of epic proportions. None of the relationships resonate, her story arch is non existent, and it consistently lacks that emotional punch that so many biopics have succeeded in.
Judy Garland deserved a lot better than this.
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