Eat Pray Love

This movie, is a delight. Its emotional, deep and thought provoking, and light and fun too. Forgive me the run-on but...what stands out most to me is the idea that we can decide to shape our lives and be bold in making that decision but we will still be faced with the unexpected and the whole endeavor can be more than we could possibly imagine, good and bad. My devotion to Entertainment Weekly and my ear for all things movie and pop culture can often cause little surprises for me when going to the multiplex. I was surprised that there was more pre-journey backstory for the protagonist. Thank goodness I have not read the memoir that the film is based on yet (but I am eager to read it; very much like my experience with Julie & Julia last summer, loved the movie and read the memoir before seeing the movie for the second time). Here's to seeing the movie based on a book first and then reading the book -- greatly increases the odds of enjoying both independently.

Eat Pray Love is the true story of writer Elizabeth Gilbert's journey of self discovery -- there's a reason its been a topic on Oprah on more than one occasion. As we observe her travels, we get to go along for the ride, taking in the sights, sounds, and flavors. The problem I constantly run into in writing this blog, is how detailed to be and not wanting to give too much away. One thing I dislike about my beloved EW's reviews, is that they reveal WAY too much. So I'll touch on these details: Richard Jenkins, whom I will always enjoy because he was the dad in Six Feet Under, is excellent as Richard from Texas. All the men who cross Liz's path are enjoyable. I felt that Liz's time in India was my favorite in that it was the least seen in the promos and showed the most growing pains.
This is one of those movies that is just a pleasure to sit back and take in. ···
If I were to plan my own EPL style adventure, why not one with a movie theme, Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, a red carpet walk to the Oscars, heck while I'm dreaming, I need to devise a way to become a voting member of the academy and score all those screener DVDs. A girl can dream. Have you heard of the parody book Drink Play F*ck? Apparently Steve Carell is set to star in the movie adaptation. I'd see that.

I strongly dislike reading stories that report the success at the box office of a "woman's movie" as news. Women get excited about movies, that's NO news flash! Not only do we flock to the Sex and the Cities and the Eat Pray Loves, but we also go see Inception and the summer's latest comic book hero (ps, besides Iron Man 2, which was in May and I saw with my mom for Mother's Day, this summer is missing that element -- looks like summer 2008 was the better summer season for super heroes and Manolo Blahnik wearers -- the first Iron Man, the Dark Knight, Hancock and the first SATC flick). The state of the romantic comedy is something to report on. Granted, I am a little bit older and my standards are a little bit tougher. But Serendipity is in a whole other category than Bride Wars. This is why I'm looking forward to my next flick, The Switch. Yes, I will see anything with Jennifer Aniston and yes Bounty Hunter was AWFUL. But so was the Ugly Truth. In fact, I would argue it was worse, and the common denominator there is Gerald Butler, not a female lead. The Switch looks promising, Jason Bateman and the folks that brought us Juno, heck yea. To sum up my little rant about women and movies today, Julia Roberts, need I say more? She is one of the only true movie stars out there and she was the first woman to break the 20 million per picture glass ceiling.