Georgia Rule

I've never been a huge fan of Lindsay Lohan, well, maybe only during her Freaky Friday and Mean Girls days, but certainly not since her personal life started making bigger headlines than her films. But it seems having her in this role seemed to have paid off because I'm not sure the character would have been as effective if it had been someone else in the role. And that's saying a lot.

I didn't set out to watch this movie, which i initially thought was a road trip movie. I can't recall why. Maybe from the trailer it looked like there was a lot of dirt road hehe. Maybe because the best way for people to do any bonding is on a road trip. Anyway, I thought this would be one of those chick flicks about mothers and daughters that make you cringe at all the cliches. Well, in a way, it was, but it also has another dimension to it. And I don't know why all of the sudden I'm liking pensive, slow paced shows like these. Usually I'm into those blow 'em up summer blockbusters. But I think watching something like this, something that you don't really know what the actual story is about (well, I had dismissed it as the churn of the mill chick flick fare), is like eating an artichoke, where you peel off one leave at a time as you get to the centre. Ok, maybe that was not even close to a good analogy to use, just cuz I'm craving some artichokes right now.

But this film actually makes me care about the people. It gives me a glimpse into their lives, sort of how I like to peep into the windows of people's houses as I drive by them at night to see the lit up rooms and who lives there and wonder what their lives are like. Ok, that sounded a little psycho. Anyhoo...it was better than the usual standard fare. It's set in a small town and I do get the feel of that from the people inhabiting there. Their simple little lives and view on things. And Jane Fonda, as a supposedly scary grandma, but still babysitting 2 boys and caring for them, it just goes to show that people are not as simple as they seem. And every person there has their own little role and quirky yet never contrived story that makes them who they are. In a way, they are believable because the script writers don't go out of the way to make them over the top caricatures.

And you feel like you've lived in a little town like that before once upon a time and now if you were to go back there again you've become a big city gal. Yet, it just feels like coming home, as familiar as an old pair of shoes. And long when the show is over, I'm still wondering about the people and what they are doing now and how they have progressed and moved on. Can't someone make a reality show to cater for that yearning?