Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How "The Help" Helped Me

Today the hubs and I are off work.  We had a rare night out last night with my old college buddies and kept our poor son Asher out 'til the wee hours.  That means that he's now been napping for...oh...three hours probably?  At any rate, Chris and I aren't used to staying out late anymore, and since the kid's asleep, that leaves us free to lounge on the couch all day long.

And that means movie marathon.

We started with The Help.  And I gotta say, I really enjoyed it.  I can't normally just sit down and do one thing at a time.  I get it from my mother, who would get up twenty times whenever we tried to watch a movie with her, because the laundry had to be done, or we had to have some brownies, or the mail needed to be opened.  She could never just relax and watch.  And I've always had the same problem.

Today, I started the movie off by sitting on the couch and opening up my netbook, thinking about what I might write for my post as I scanned through the day's emails.  Within 15 minutes, I'd set the computer aside, and spent the rest of the film sitting in engaged silence.  It wasn't just that the protag is a writer--which I obviously connect with--or even that she was played by Emma Stone, with whom I've been in solid love since Easy A.  The film wasn't my type, and it didn't even start with the typical hook (something I've been studying a lot this week).  And yet, it hooked me.

I am by no means a film critic, but I hope that it's enough of a thumbs up from me just to say that I was distracted from my computer and my books and my own life long enough to sit still and enjoy a film for once.  And now, I feel refreshed.  (It's amazing what focusing on a single task can do.)  At any rate, The Help was quite the film, and I can't say enough about the stunning performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.  And now, I'll give it back to Mom, so that she too can distract herself from her own work long enough to enjoy a piece of art.  Thanks Mom, for letting me borrow it.  :)

Asher's still asleep, so now, on to Limitless, to see if it can hook me too...

TJ

1 comment:

  1. I loved The Help! I searched through the menu to find deleted scenes & anything else I could use to make the movie last longer. You is kind, you is smart, you is important :)

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