jholtz

Oh, my...where to start? Beautiful scenery and good use of actual footage. But, honestly, I watched the entire thing twice, including extras, and kept waiting for the award-wining movie. Helen Mirren playing an emotionally inhibited, superior British woman. Same tired blah, blah, blah about the royals not liking Diana and vice versa. Same message about the royals being out of touch with contemporary sensibilities (no! really?). Same guesswork about what the daily life of the family looks like. I suppose royalty fans will like it.

Now, what might be meaningful is if, 50-ish years from now, the royals are gone and someone, some day, wonders why they were eased out. This movie would give them a clue. There were no sympathetic portrayals here.

...and if you haven't, then you won't appreciate it. Many comments focus on how this movie isn't a comedy, yet isn't a drama and seems confused. They're right. It's both, because that's how it is when you or a loved one is addicted and struggling with rehab. My siblings and I can't watch this very often, because it's simply too right-on at points. A particularly electrifying element is the series of Gwen's flashbacks of her childhood.

Sure, there are flaws - as adorable/yummy as he is, Viggo Mortensen's character is actually a caricature - but they're slight. Bullock captures the vulnerability of the "outsider" feeling perfectly, whether at a family gathering, rehab or a social occasion, as well as the boorishness that often accompanies trying-too-hard efforts. Other characters are not as fully developed, which is perhaps the greatest weakness of the movie. I suspect this is due to uneven editing, because those with more camera time are real.

...keithw1975! This show perfectly portrays the life of every professional woman I know, including myself. Amy and Maxine have to fight for respect in difficult careers and, even when they've earned the respect, they cannot afford to show the slightest hesitation to anyone except those closest to them. It's a lonely life in many ways, but you watch how they cope, sometimes well and sometimes not. And that's the real world!

What's most impressive about this show is that each of the women are portrayed as strong in their own way, even Gillian, who was a bit wimpy in the earlier years. You see her strength in dealing with substance abuse, losing a child, infertility and childbirth, as well as her own changing role in the family. She becomes just as valuable a role model for Lauren as Amy and Maxine. I wish that every girl I've ever known had the same sort of guidance and role modeling.

I'm sorry that it's been canceled.