Has anybody here seen "The Help"?

[hfojvt]

Somerby talks about it a little today, that Oprah loved it and Harris-Perry hated it.

http://www.dailyhowler.com/

Not that I will see it either way, until it comes out on DVD.

Just wondering what other movie goers think, and not clear on what "the central premise" is.

[SoCalDem]

1. Looks to me, to be a 60's USA version of "Upstairs, Downstairs"

I'll wait til it's on HBO:)

[DesertFlower]

2. i haven't been inside a movie theater since 1975.

i'll wait until it's on DVD or HBO.

[gratuitous]

3. Saw it YEARS ago

What, are they re-releasing it?

[CarmanK]

4. I thought it was a very good movie///////2 hours worth every min.

The story is about the life of black maids working for WHITE SOUTHERN BELLEs' in Jackson, Mississippi in the '60's.

[CurtEastPoint]

9. Same here. That was the story of my era so I could identify w/all that.

I found the movie enthralling and extremely well acted. Followed the book pretty closely.

[csziggy]

5. There are several threads in the Lounge about it

Overall the impression seems to be favorable.

[Solomon]

6. Having read the book which is excellent, I was quite

surprised at how good the movie is. They did a pretty good job with the movie but everyone should read the book.

[ejpoeta]

7. i am reading the book right now. have been for awhile. sadly it seems to be taking awhile

because i have kids who think i am THEIR maid.

[Warpy]

8. I read the book. Unfortunately, I also grew up with the reality

which kind of made the book fall a little flat. The help might have talked to a Yankee who was shunned by the local Junior League but they'd never have talked to any hometown girl who was part of that whole social set. You can take that to the bank.

However, the movie sounds entertaining, so I'll probably watch it on DVD.

The book was entertaining even if the central premise was a little unrealistic. It's a good read I recommend with some historical reservations.

[Solomon]

11. you grew up with a reality, fine.

Your experience doesn't make the premise unrealistic.j

[millijac]

10. Read the book...

Thought it was great. One of my favorites. I lived in the south during that very time, so much of the book was quite familiar to me. It was all TOO familiar in fact.

[RebelOne]

12. I have not read the book, but I am sure quite a bit of it

would be all to familiar to me, too. I lived in South Florida during the '50s and '60s and witnessed discrimination, such as separate drinking fountains and bathrooms, and blacks having to sit in the back of the bus. My mother had a black maid, and I was afraid to touch her because I was afraid the color would rub off on me.

[hfojvt]

13. so many people here reading the book

It is rare for me to like a movie made from a book I like. If I read the book I am afraid I will hate the movie.

Seems like a regional thing too. In my own experience I cannot think of anyone who had servants. The closest we came to that was hiring kids to do babysitting, cutting grass and shovelling snow.

[Firebrand Gary]

14. Made me laugh, made me cry.