The Great Gilly Hopkins

Gilly Hopkins is a tough 12-year old who's been shuffled from foster home to foster home due to her troubled behavior. That is until she's taking in by kindly Kathy Bates. This story could easily have been a dull ABC After School Special type of story, but it's elevated by the presence of Bates as the tough but caring foster parent as well as a strong performance by Glenn Close as Gilly's grandmother. Another surprise was the a rather unsentimental and realistic portrayal of Gilly's addict mom by Julie Stiles. There's also strong performance by Octavia Spencer as a caring teacher who connects with Gilly by telling her she sees that she's an angry person just like her and helps her to make that anger constructive. Character actor Bill Cobbs also delivers a strong supporting performance as a blind neighbor. Admittedly, I don't think I was the target audience for this film, but I'll say my 10-year old daughter was completely wrapped up in the film, so although it may not be all that good of a film for adults, it's made watchable by some strong performances, and your pre-teen kids will probably enjoy it more than you.

"Both of us are smart and we know it. But the thing that brings us closer than intelligence is anger."

Ready for another corny teen drama that'll move you to tears? One that has all the familiar clichés and where you'll know in advance how it will end? It's not a love story with a couple of lovebirds who first can't stand each other and in the end, in a moment of supreme bliss, they fall into each other's arms. It's also not a well-known story about a young criminal who's experiencing a drastic change of identity due to a certain trustworthy person and when he's converted he goes on a mission as a devout priest in poor Africa. No. This time it's a stubborn 12 year old girl (Sophie Nélisse) who changes foster homes one after the other because of her impossible behavior. Gilly Hopkins only has one wish. And that's to be reunited with her natural mother who left her behind while moving to San Francisco.

Then one day she's assigned to the religious Maime Trotter (Kathy Bates), who's a model of kindness and masquerades as the supreme mother-hen. Gilly does everything to come across as hateful and impossible to handle. She closes herself off, disclaims each friendly treatment, she treats W.E. (Zachary Hernandez) in a denigrating way, imitates in a ridiculing manner Maime's use of affectionate words, makes no effort to integrate and even steals from the nice neighbor Mr. Randolph (Bill Cobbs). In school she tries to keep up this rebellious attitude. The first school day ends already in a fight with six fellow students, she snubs at a young girl (Clare Foley as Agnes) who approached her in a friendly way and she acts aloof during lessons. It seems as if Gilly is trying to provoke with her behavior so everybody gets angry at her.

You could call her an obnoxious, disrespectful and rebellious teenage girl, to say the least. It amazes me that Kathy Bates hasn't tied her to a bed, pushed some logs under her legs and just like in "Misery" amputated her feet with a heavy ax. Despite Gilly's intense efforts to make Maime's (and others) life miserable, you can easily guess how she'll react when her wealthy grandmother Nonie Hopkins (Glenn Close) shows up and suggests to take care of her. That's the decisive moment when the rebellious girl breaks down emotionally and proves that deep down she truly has a human, sensitive heart. For most female viewers this is the right time to search for that handkerchief.

Although it's clearly a film meant for a youthful audience, I wasn't annoyed by it constantly. The way Gilly tackled the bullies at school was highly amusing. And the used subject about a teenager who wants to be united again with her natural mother (the mother's motivation to leave her, shows that she didn't have real maternal feelings) felt kind of mature. Maybe it was sort of Dickension, but I could live with that. Also, the performances were very worthwhile. Kathy Bates played a brilliant part as the caring foster mother who sees the good in every person. Her love for the outcasts in our society is endless. Therefore the goodness to invite the lonely neighbor to dinner every day. Also a splendid rendition of Bill Cobbs. Finally, Sophie Nélisse who nevertheless delivers a superb performance. Although she doesn't look 12 and isn't really sympathetic due to her behavior. The only thing that struck me was her rather rapid change of personality. The transformation from a rebel to a loving teenager was rather abrupt. "The Great Gilly Hopkins" is a perfect family film to watch together with your (older) kids.

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This is an involving story that is defiantly worth watching. Even though it was a long time ago when I was a teen this movie was still captivating and surprising.

At first I was expecting Gilly's character to be more obnoxious, but she turns out to be a fairly normal child with just a smattering of issues. At this point I thought I knew where the move was going, but it throws in a few surprises, which I won't disclose.

Whilst it never really breaks free of the "bad person turned good" mold the move is well acted and well cast, it manages to stay involving and keep my interest and was quite moving in places.

Maybe not a classic, but not a waste of time either. I would watch it again.

If you're looking for a movie to watch with your family, then this is the one. The Great Gilly Hopkins is an entertaining family movie for both adults & kids. With its dramatic & funny moments, it teaches the audience the importance of relationships, and what it takes to form a real family. The movie focuses on the life of Gilly Hopkins, a foster kid who's in a journey to find her real family, moving from a foster home to another, in search for her biological mother. That's until she meets her new foster mother, Maime Trotter, then her relationship with people in that community, from family members to teachers & friends, evolves with time into friendship, respect, and compassion. She ends up finding what she was always looking for, after learning that it takes love, esteem, and care to form a real family.

My only complaint about this movie is that the story lacked depth, and the events were too straightforward. Overall, it was above average. So if you're looking for something entertaining & simple, then this is it.

This was a moving family film. I would not call it a teen movie at all. The acting is superb on all counts. The young actor who plays Gilly really makes you go from disgust to a grudging liking without changing her basic defiant and prickly personality. Although it does contain some predictible cliche's it doesn't follow a template the whole way. Octavia Spencer was wonderful in her role as the wise no-nonsense teacher. Everyone was great, but I particularly enjoyed her role. Laughter, Cheers, and Tears abound and leaves you wanting more.