☆☆☆½
A full 40 minutes elapses before Renée Zellweger gets to sing as Judy Garland in Judy, and why the filmmakers wait that long is a little puzzling. Until then, Judy has been unexpectedly straightforward, like an old "movie of the week" that promised to pull back the curtain and show us "the love, the loss, the life of a legend," or something like that.
Its opening flashbacks to The Wizard of Oz and Judy's early humiliations, are predictable, though Judy really begins in her middle age; addicted to booze and pills, she's unemployable yet a doting (if irresponsible) mother. Zellweger is immediately convincing as Garland, the movie less so -- it's paint-by-numbers until a persnickety, flighty Judy barely makes it on stage for a series of shows in London.
Anxious, frightened Judy has to be pushed on stage by her handler (Jessie Buckley); then, the magic happens. Zellweger begins to sing By Myself, and it's stunning. She may lack Garland's vocal majesty, but she captures the star's essence with astonishing clarity. Zelweger is exquisite when singing, and just as good when acting -- it's a shame the movie isn't up to her.
Much of it is predictable, even a whitewashing. A drug-addicted, washed-up superstar should be painful to witness, but this Judy is a gentle soul, mistreated and unappreciated. Judy is reverential and polite, lacking the emotional fragility of the performer herself. Yet Zellweger finds exactly that, somehow, and singlehandedly makes Judy more than worthwhile despite itself.
Viewed Sept. 27, 2019 -- AMC Burbank 16
1930
Its opening flashbacks to The Wizard of Oz and Judy's early humiliations, are predictable, though Judy really begins in her middle age; addicted to booze and pills, she's unemployable yet a doting (if irresponsible) mother. Zellweger is immediately convincing as Garland, the movie less so -- it's paint-by-numbers until a persnickety, flighty Judy barely makes it on stage for a series of shows in London.
Anxious, frightened Judy has to be pushed on stage by her handler (Jessie Buckley); then, the magic happens. Zellweger begins to sing By Myself, and it's stunning. She may lack Garland's vocal majesty, but she captures the star's essence with astonishing clarity. Zelweger is exquisite when singing, and just as good when acting -- it's a shame the movie isn't up to her.
Much of it is predictable, even a whitewashing. A drug-addicted, washed-up superstar should be painful to witness, but this Judy is a gentle soul, mistreated and unappreciated. Judy is reverential and polite, lacking the emotional fragility of the performer herself. Yet Zellweger finds exactly that, somehow, and singlehandedly makes Judy more than worthwhile despite itself.
Viewed Sept. 27, 2019 -- AMC Burbank 16
1930
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