Judy

Starring: Renee Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Richard Cordery, Royce Pierrson, Bella Ramsey
Directed by: Rupert Goold
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Romance
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a last-ditch effort to revive her career, Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) starts a series of sold-out London shows. However, it won't be easy to break from her past.

Review:

Tim: Every year, there are movies like Judy- an actor or actress gives an outsized performance, far surpassing the quality of the movie itself. Renee Zellweger is amazing as Judy Garland- she loses her own identity in the process, embodying Garland to the point where she was nearly unrecognizable. It was a terrific performance and it won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. The rest of the movie? It's good, but never more than that.

We've seen so many of these movies- a musical biopic that depicts the highs and lows of performers. By all accounts, Judy Garland had a difficult life. The movie lets us know some of the heinous things Hollywood did to her during her formative years. They were creating a star and couldn't care less about the actual human being or what the fallout of their decisions would be. It's a damning look at the studio system decades ago. You truly feel for Garland and what she went through. Those scenes are hard to watch and illuminating. That's all just the backstory, though. Most of the movie, we see Garland as an adult, desperately trying to hang onto her fame while dealing with substance abuse and relationship issues, confronting the looming end of her career and that fleeting sense of fame. It's all well and good, but we've seen that story numerous times. In this one, it's a series of stage shows in London that are a constant struggle for Garland to perform. We see her tottering between the persona on stage and her ruinous life out of the limelight. It gives us insight into the tail-end of her career, but it's a story that we've seen dozens and dozens of times before. This movie adds nothing new to that narrative. It follows the well-trod path. In many ways, it reminded me of Stan & Ollie, a decent but forgettable 2018 film.

Now, I need to be clear that Judy is a well-made movie. It's not a classic, it doesn't do anything unique, but it tells its story of Garland effectively. It might be a tad long at 1 hour, 58 minutes, but nothing terrible. It does give insight into this human's life. It is a good movie. We should celebrate it for being a good movie. It starts to pale when you compare it to the best movies of 2019. There's no comparison- it is far below most of the other Academy Award contenders. In addition to Best Actress, it was nominated for just 1 other award, Best Makeup & Hairstyling. This is a good movie, but the main reason to see it is Zellweger.

In some ways, this feels like the triumphant return of Renee Zellweger. She was a huge star for a number of years and then seemed to disappear for awhile. When she returned, there were tons of comments about her appearance- something had drastically changed in a short amount of time. Without digging into the details of her personal life, it felt like she had a rocky return. For her to give such a transcendent performance here has to feel like earned validation. Zellweger is a truly great actress. She disappears into the role of Judy Garland. I couldn't believe her appearance, nor the incredible emotions she displays in this role. You see such vulnerability, some naivety, the end result of a woman who was used and spit out by the Hollywood studio system. It's mesmerizing to watch someone so desperately try to keep her life on track, when she doesn't have the life skills to do the one thing she wants to do. Zellweger conveys all this through a truly stunning performance. There were some strong performances from many women in 2019, but there was very little doubt that Zellweger would win Best Actress. Her performance is just that good.

The supporting cast was solid. I liked seeing Jessie Buckley here (I'm a fan of her, based on her great performance in Wild Rose). Finn Wittrock adds a nice supporting turn- I've been impressed with him, here and in The Last Black Man in San Francisco). I think he has a ton of potential. I also loved seeing Rufus Sewell in a supporting turn. As a whole, the cast worked well.

Judy is a good movie, but it can't get even remotely close to the heights of its lead. Zellweger alone makes this movie a must-see.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Stan & Ollie, Bombshell