Review of The Help (2011) by Dan S — 31 Mar 2013

A well-intentioned but overdone and overacted story concerning an aspiring writer (Emma Stone) who desires to write a book about maids, being that she was practically raised by one, and how she seeks the help of two working ones (Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer) in capturing how difficult the life of a maid can be.

As said, it has its heart in the right place, but director Tate Taylor must have told his actors to be completely overdramatic at every point they could, not just verbally, but with their physical motions as well, because after a while it starts to feel like a bad melodrama instead of a good, rock-solid drama.

With that said, it is entertaining nonetheless, if way too sentimental sometimes, but it is still a movie that correctly focuses on how hard these people worked and the kind of crap they had to put up with from rich, stubborn rich white ladies.

It might lean a little too much on stereotypes at times, but it tries to give a look on just how spoiled some people down south were. Definitely a highly, highly over-rated movie (Best Picture nominee!? Really?), but one that is far from terrible.

Watchable, but missable.