When Judy Garland was ready to go on, her audiences got the show of a lifetime. The heart she put into those shows was so filled with the love for her audience and those who supported her, and the love of performing. The play on what this was allegedly based upon is fortunately not the dominating source of this movie as it wasn't always a dignified look, making it appear that Judy would take any kind of drug she could get her hand on, even if it was to cure a dog from mange. Fortunately, that reference is gone, and while this does show Judy drunk and spaced out from pills, it also reveals how she got hooked and the disastrous outcome of that lifelong addiction.
Renee Zellwegger ("Chicago") tops her performance as Roxie Hart, a role ironically performed on Broadway by Judy's daughter, Liza Minnelli. She doesn't look exactly like Judy or sing exactly like her, but once you get past that, she truly becomes her. TV's Judy was Judy Davis, and Broadway's Judy was Isabel Keating, and it's tough to top those iconic performances. Zellwegger gets to dip into her soul, and what is revealed is not only the greatest female performer ever, but a woman of so many conflictions, tragedies and demons that her eternal humor makes her the epitome of the true survivor which her devoted fans to this day keep close to their own hearts.
It's been 50 years since she passed away, and the legend hasn't faded. The story focuses on a period of time during her last year when she took a gig at the Talk of the Town in London to try to get out of debt with. Judy recalls various abuses while a child star at MGM, challenges ex-husband Sid Luft for the custody of children Joey and Lorna, visits Liza at a Hollywood Hills party (where she meets husband #5 Mickey Deans) and gets the London offer where she is greeted like a queen.
There's support from her talented pianist (whom she hits it off with immediately), the challenges her young assistant must face to please her, and of course the audience. A gay couple greet her outside the stage door, and they end up hosting her for a middle of the night breakfast. Judy gets to see first hand the love her gay fans have for her, and expresses her disgust with the indignities they have had to face to find happiness over that rainbow. They are there for up to and past the end, giving a finale that is really tear inducing.
Then there's her marriage to Mickey, happy at first, but even the strongest man can only take so much. This dismisses the fact that he was with her when she died, giving the impression that he walked out on her when she needed him most even though it is obvious that she pushed him as far as he could be pushed. She is not presented as perfect, and it is understandable why many people would be frustrated with her. But when she sings, all is forgiven. Renee gets to perform search Judy standards as "By Myself", "Once in a Lifetime" and "The Trolley Song", culminating in of course "Over the Rainbow".
I read in one of the many biographies on her that what happens in the finale actually did occur (I cannot recall which book), and even if it is a simple legend that has been made up, it truly is a beautiful thought to think that could happen to such a wonderful performer in a time of crisis. This is not a perfect film but it is a perfect representation of a great lady whose legend deserves to live on forever.
Renee Zellwegger ("Chicago") tops her performance as Roxie Hart, a role ironically performed on Broadway by Judy's daughter, Liza Minnelli. She doesn't look exactly like Judy or sing exactly like her, but once you get past that, she truly becomes her. TV's Judy was Judy Davis, and Broadway's Judy was Isabel Keating, and it's tough to top those iconic performances. Zellwegger gets to dip into her soul, and what is revealed is not only the greatest female performer ever, but a woman of so many conflictions, tragedies and demons that her eternal humor makes her the epitome of the true survivor which her devoted fans to this day keep close to their own hearts.
It's been 50 years since she passed away, and the legend hasn't faded. The story focuses on a period of time during her last year when she took a gig at the Talk of the Town in London to try to get out of debt with. Judy recalls various abuses while a child star at MGM, challenges ex-husband Sid Luft for the custody of children Joey and Lorna, visits Liza at a Hollywood Hills party (where she meets husband #5 Mickey Deans) and gets the London offer where she is greeted like a queen.
There's support from her talented pianist (whom she hits it off with immediately), the challenges her young assistant must face to please her, and of course the audience. A gay couple greet her outside the stage door, and they end up hosting her for a middle of the night breakfast. Judy gets to see first hand the love her gay fans have for her, and expresses her disgust with the indignities they have had to face to find happiness over that rainbow. They are there for up to and past the end, giving a finale that is really tear inducing.
Then there's her marriage to Mickey, happy at first, but even the strongest man can only take so much. This dismisses the fact that he was with her when she died, giving the impression that he walked out on her when she needed him most even though it is obvious that she pushed him as far as he could be pushed. She is not presented as perfect, and it is understandable why many people would be frustrated with her. But when she sings, all is forgiven. Renee gets to perform search Judy standards as "By Myself", "Once in a Lifetime" and "The Trolley Song", culminating in of course "Over the Rainbow".
I read in one of the many biographies on her that what happens in the finale actually did occur (I cannot recall which book), and even if it is a simple legend that has been made up, it truly is a beautiful thought to think that could happen to such a wonderful performer in a time of crisis. This is not a perfect film but it is a perfect representation of a great lady whose legend deserves to live on forever.