Judy
Legendary performer Judy Garland arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
Cast
Renée Zellweger – Judy Garland
Finn Wittrock – Mickey Deans
Richard Cordery – Louis B. Mayer
Zellwonder
Zellweger does a superb job at portraying Judy Garland. Her jittery body language and strained midwestern accent fuelled what could possibly be one of the greatest biopics in decades. The drama flows consistently with the actress ruling the screen, it’s quite an engaging watch. She opens the door to Garland’s life and shows the viewer what certain aspects of her life were like; marital issues being top of the list with a few roaring arguments between her and the husband. And of course her rocky relationship with an audience when intoxicated on stage..
A very entertaining scene sees Judy slide on stage and begin singing. She gradually starts stumbling around the stage, whipping the microphone back and forth and howling. And then falls over and hits the floor. This part of the film is just brilliant, mixing comedy with near-tragedy and resulting in rejection. There is a strong sense of emotion omitted here as you witness this one woman’s downfall, but at the same time it’s all played by Zellweger so well that it has a touch of comedy about it too. Any fan of Judy Garland will love this.
The boring bits have to be when this movie focuses primarily on just family strife. Yes, the drama is good in small doses but I think I was expecting non-stop humour. Some scenes drag. That said, the moments Judy is on stage are worth savouring – they mix the two elements together nicely.
Regardless of whether you’re a fan of either Judy Garland or Renée Zellweger, this movie is worth a shot due to the work the actress puts in to it. You could fill 117 minutes with worse things.
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