Oscar Said This Movie Was Good: A review of The Help

Oscar Said This Movie Was Good is a movie review series by Ozarks native Kaitlyn Vaughan. She is not a professional movie critic by any means — and not even really a writer — but wanted to improve her movie buffness by watching all 9 films nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Picture. Then she said she wanted to write about them. We said, “Fine. Whatever.” So, if these reviews suck, it’s not our fault. But, if they’re good, we deserve all the credit.

I have seen The Help four times.

Overkill? Maybe. But I say this is one the few Oscar-nominated films I’ve seen in my lifetime that I actually have wanted to watch more than once. How often does that happen? Not very often.

Needless to say, I really liked this movie. I was pumped to see it had been nominated as I had already read the book and seen the movie. It has everything going for it: great direction, engaging storylines, above average character development, and pleasing and believable aesthetics. Plus it completely swept the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards back in January. Cha-ching.

I loved that this movie was able to engage you in a realistic storyline that really makes you think about how things used to be, but at the same time, incorporate enough humor to keep it from being overly depressing and sad. I appreciated the message and it sent me home from the theater thinking about it for a good half-hour afterward. And seriously, the part about how one of the maids made her boss a pie made out of (spoiler alert) after she wouldn’t allow her to use the toilet inside the house… Well, that part was the…~~stuff~~.

My favorite part, however, was the characters, and every time I’ve see it, I end up loving them more. Each character was dynamic and brought its own meaning and purpose to the film. Octavia Spencer was spectacular in her role as Minny Jackson. (Side note: I found it interesting that they made Minny’s last name Jackson when the name of the town also was Jackson… weird.) She brought fire, passion, and vulnerability to the character and the directors would have been hard pressed to find someone to do it better. I mean, she’s won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, Screen Actor Guild, and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards for her role. Plus she’s nominated for the Oscar for Actress in a Supporting Role. Damn, girl, get it.

Viola Davis, who played the role of Abilene Clark, killed it, too. But I think I’ve become even more impressed with her after having seen the movie and learning Viola’s background. She’s been around for a while, but mostly on Broadway. And she’s freaking gorgeous. Who knew? She’s won the SAG Award for Best Actress and she’s nominated for the Oscar. And I bet she will wear something scandalous to the ceremony. (See any outfit she has worn to an awards show in the last couple months.)

And last, but most certainly not least, there is Emma Stone. She may not have received any award noms for her role as Skeeter Phelan, but she was the glue. The movie wouldn’t have been the same without her character or the way in which she played it. Red curly hair, accent, and all.

As I mentioned, I read the book, but I didn’t play it like people usually do. I saw the movie and enjoyed it so much that I just had to read the book. The book, of course, included detail the movie didn’t, but the movie wasn’t in any way lacking because that detail wasn’t there. I was even further impressed at this point because how often is it that you love the book and the movie equally? Again, not very often.
Because this film is the type that you want to watch over and over again, it probably won’t win Best Picture. These kinds of movie never do. I’m still pulling for it, though. You go, girls.

Oscar was (so!) right. This movie was (so!) good.

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