And this weekend’s #1 movie (in its 2nd week out) is… The Help!
When it was announced last year that the New York Times Best-Seller The Help by Kathryn Stockett was under production in Mississippi, all of Hollywood was buzzing about Emma Stone (Crazy Stupid Love) taking the lead in such a beloved and celebrated story. The young Golden Globe nominee needed no help delivering an on-point star-making performance, which will only sky-rocket her already promising career. However, the forces of Viola Davis (Doubt) and Octavia Spencer (Flypaper) could not be ignored, as they will surely be the ones generating the most Oscar-talk for their respective portrayals of Aibileen and Minny.
I didn’t read the book, so I can’t say a word about it mirroring Stockett’s intended story (or not), but writer-director Tate Taylor offers up one of the most successful movies of the summer. By “successful,” I mean that this movie has everything that we look for movies today (except of course for an action sequence car chase). There’s a lot of love, big laughs, charm, social commentary, and gumption making the $12 movie ticket worth it! This isn’t just a “chick flick” either because it begs the question of prejudice and social status today, communicating to audiences beyond the 1960’s barriers from within the film.
Stone is protagonist Skeeter, an Ole Miss graduate, looking to start her writing career. She’s not like the girls she grew up with in that she’s not ready to be a wife and mother, and her adventurous and unconventional spirit are what set her apart. When a cleaning column in the local paper comes her way, Skeeter continues to search for something to more profound to write about. The mistreatment of maids employed by her high-society friends in pre-Civil Rights Jackson, Mississippi is her jackpot. The task of holding her own against a very heart-
wrenchingly wounded Davis, is something that viewers will be talking about for a long time until Stone‘s next golden role.
Aibileen is all things obedient, loveable, and vigilant having taken care of twenty-something children in her “career” as a maid, despite the tragic death of her son. While her stories fuel most of the fire in Skeeter’s book, it’s here where we see Davis earn her next Oscar nomination. Some of the best scenes of the movie are between Davis and Spencer, who share their woes and secrets once they accept Skeeter’s proposal for her book.
Bryce Dallas Howard also co-stars, as the villainous force to be reckoned with as the big-haired, racist Hilly Holbrook, who tries to put on the picture perfect façade of Southern living. This is the movie that will help make Howard’s name one step closer to household.
Personally, I have to say that the most memorable and unforgettable performance of anyone in the whole film is Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote, the flighty bleached-blonde outcast of the group who finds companionship in the very resistant Minny, Hilly’s former employee. You might not 
know Chastain just yet, but the combination of her role in The Help and Terrence Malick’s upcoming The Tree of Life will not just make her a red carpet darling, but also an award’s season favorite.
The supporting cast is also very worth mentioning, including Allison Janney as Skeeter’s cancer-stricken traditional mother, Charlotte, who struggles throughout the film with her illness and understanding her daughter’s project that puts her at risk of scandal.
The original Carrie, Sissy Spacek, beautifully plays Howard’s mother, the comic relief of most of the scenes with the very hypocritical Hilly. She is especially hysterical in the scenes about Minny’s revenge on Hilly’s mistreatment in not letting the servant use the household toilet for fear of “black germs.”
Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal) is Elain Stein, a successful, big-wig publishing connection to Skeeter, who helps to push the young writer in getting more details and content for her risky project.
Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Cicely Tyson makes a short cameo in (about) two scenes as 
Skeeter’s childhood maid, Constantine, who also took on the double-duty role of mother for the young curly-haired and freckled diamond in the rough.
Also noteable performances come from Chris Lowell (Private Practice) as Skeeter’s love interest, Stuart, and Ahna O’Reilly (who also stars with Spencer in Girls! Girls! Girls!) as neglectful mother and Aibileen‘s employer, Elizabeth.
In the end, this is probably one of the first movies, based on a recently-written book, that I’d actually want to read after having seen the motion picture masterpiece adaptation. This movie gets a 9/10 rating from me! It’s a must-see this summer!
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