Chicks On Lit discussion

I love The Help and I think the movie looks great!! I'm hoping it will be like Gone With The Wind where I love the book and the movie for different reasons :)

I liked The Help, too. I'm glad they made it into a movie - I think it will translate well into film. And from the trailers I've seen it looks like it will be a good movie.

I really loved the book! I'm going with my book club to the opening of the movie which I'm afraid I'll find disappointing after the book :(

I loved that book. I gave it 5 stars. I want to see the movie. I was telling my friend about this movie because she was going to read the book. The book is still really popular.

My fairly small town doesn't have the movie listed to be showing on Wednesday. I hope it makes it way here soon, I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Still waiting for Snowflower and the Secret Fan to make it's way to my area too. Anyone seen it?

Snow Flower came out as a limited release. It's very limited. The Help should be a much bigger film with a standard release.

I hate when a movie has such a limited release that it can't be seen. You'd think that here in Detroit we wouldn't have that problem, yet I never did get to see Jane Eyre!

@Michelle -- You might want to try Ann Arbor. I remember back in the day (like a decade ago), the State and Michigan Theater got a decent number of indy movies there.

I really, really loved the book and am making my girlfriend read it so that we can go see the movie when it comes out. It looks like there are going to be parts that were not to the book, but I like to think that movies aren't ruining the book when they do that, but rather extending on the story and giving more scenes, points-of-view, and characters.

I can't WAIT to see the movie!

You might want to try Ann Arbor.

Oh, I love A2! And that would give me a reason to eat at Zingerman's lol. My daughter wants to go to U of M, so I'm hoping that Ann Arbor will figure prominently in my future, lol.

I usually never watch a movie based on a book that I love; however, The Help via movie looks very good.

Loved the book, can't wait for the movie! Looks like they chose a really good cast too. Besides, even if you hated the book at least the fashion looks gorgeous. Such pretty dresses!

I think I will go see it. I don't have high expectations because of previous book to movie productions but I'm always interested to see someone else's idea of what the story looked like.

I liked the novel but probably would have liked it more if I wasn't reading it with leading the discussion on it for my in-person evening bookclub in mind at the time (and making notes along the way etc). I think the movie looks very good and I'm looking forward to seeing it with a friend and maybe with some of the bookclub gals! I may even take a crack at making a caramel cake ala Minny for the occasion :-)

I may even take a crack at making a caramel cake ala Minny for the occasion :-)

Do you have a recipe for that?

No but a friend made a caramel cake after she finished the book last week and she's going to email me the recipe this week! I was going to do a little searching on the internet to see what I can find that's close to what was in the book and look in a few of my southern cookbooks to see if I have any recipes.

I think Glamour magazine has a recipe for the movie's caramel cake. I don't remember which issue it is (I can look if anyone wants) but they almost always do a few recipes at the back and one month the recipes were based on The Help.

Michelle wrote: "You might want to try Ann Arbor.

Oh, I love A2! And that would give me a reason to eat at Zingerman's lol. My daughter wants to go to U of M, so I'm hoping that Ann Arbor will figure prominent..."

Zingerman's has nothing on Amer's Georgia Reuben. i'm visiting this weekend and intend to wear elastic-waist pants so i can enjoy several of them. ;*)

here's a link to win free tickets to see the movie

http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pac...

Cool! Thanks for sharing that Kristie!

Collin wrote: "My fairly small town doesn't have the movie listed to be showing on Wednesday. I hope it makes it way here soon, I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Still waiting for Snowflower and the Sec..."

I don't think it starts until the 10th.

Tomorrow is the day, you're correct Jenn! National release date is 8/10. Many movie theaters aren't putting up show times or even the title yet on their marquee's - not until tomorrow. I really hope the movie theater in town is going to have it! I called yesterday and their movie schedule via phone was for Mon & Tues only so I'm optimistic!!!

I found it on Fandango for tomorrow. Yay!!

The movie theater downtown here added Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes today, not The Help.

Good Grief.

Am I the only one that is sick of seeing all the previews for The Help? Maybe I am I a bad mood toight, but I am over it before I even got a chance to watch.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that! I haven't seen many on tv here so I'm definitely not in the same boat & looking forward to seeing it!

Jo - I think I was in a bad mood. Actually I was catching up on some missed TV via on demand and instead of commercials they showed TWO previews of The Help every break. So basically during an hour of TV I watched the preview 10 times. Then I went on GoodReads and As soon as I signed on a preview of the Help was waiting for me. Hahaha.

Aw, I can understand your reaction! I'd have been sick of it too by then lol!

I usually prefer books over movies but I really would like to go and see The Help. On the other hand, I REFUSE to see Mr. Popper's Penguins because I saw through trailers that it was absolutely NOTHING like the book! I read it every year as a Read Aloud and did not want the movie to take away from "awesomeness" of the book!

I just went with my 15-yo daughter to see "The Help" and we loved it! The movie took some liberties with the plot, but the casting was excellent. Now, I'm craving some fried chicken, lol.

I have not read the book yet but it is on my to-read list. Today I heard an absolutely scathing review of the movie by Melissa Harris-Perry who is a professor of African-American studies at Tulane. She hated the movie and said she felt it reduced the issues of black women in the struggle for Civil Liberties to a chick-flick. She was pretty disgusted by it.

Now I'm wondering if I should read/see it.

This is the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/...

I liked the book, and the movie, and don't think the civil rights issues were trivialized at all. There are parts that are humorous, parts that are frightening, and other parts that are down right heartbreaking. My daughters and I enjoyed the movie. I actually grew up in a more southern state, and grew up having a maid, and felt the depictions in both the book and the movie were spot on.

Wow, Brenda, you're easily swayed. lol. One minute you are definitely going to see the movie, ten minutes later you won't. Harris-Perry makes some good points but they really don't have anything to do with the movie.

It wasn't a book/movie about the assassination of Medger Evers; it was a book/movie about Skeeter and Aibileen. Harris-Perry's main objection seems to be (once you get past the snarky comments) that it doesn't show enough of the lynchings, ungrounded arrests, Jim Crowe laws, etc. What she seems to miss is that not every single black person in Mississippi was lynched. Or even arrested. Yes, there was always the threat - and that is represented in this book. Leroy lost his job because of Minny's involvement with the book for one example.

The Help is the story of Skeeter and Aibileen and is not intended to be a documentary on the entirety of the horrors surrounding the civil rights movement in Mississippi. Harris-Perry seems to take exception to the scenes where Minny and Aibileen giggle in the kitchen. Does she not realize that humans, even in the midst of horrors, will laugh and find comfort in each other?

What turns Harris-Perry off are the very things that make the characters human.

haha. That's steep. Ours is $9 - which nearly makes me faint everytime. When I go in the afternoons, it's "only" $7.75.

Just saw the movie with my mum--we loved it! (We loved the book too)

I loved the book and really enjoyed the movie. @Mary: I couldn't agree more about the negative reviews which seem to assume that the movie should have covered all the horrors of the Civil Rights movement ... this story isn't about that. It is about the unique relationships between hired help and their employers. It is about the love between a maid and the children she cared for. Yes, lynchings and cross burnings were very real, but so (for example) was the love between Aibileen and Mae Mobley.

I went and saw The Help yesterday with my girlfriend who hadn't read the book, and we both loved it. I think they did a pretty excellent job with portraying all the drama the book has, but still be light-hearted.

I loved the book. It brought back so many memories of my childhood years. I would have been 12 yo in 1964. There was a strong reaction to civil rights in my household because my father was principal of the most integrated middle school in town. He had a largely black staff and strong feelings about the necessity for racial equality. I don't think the book trivialized it at all.

As for the movie, I didn't want to go. The trailers seemed to me to focus on all the humorous parts of the book. And I didn't want my husband to get the wrong impression of the book. Well, we went yesterday anyway. And it was wonderful. I sat there with tissues through most of it. Joanna - well said - the movie touched on all the surrounding history to put it into context. But it wasn't about that. Lauren - agreed! I thought they did an excellent job. Much better than I expected from the trailers.

i saw the movie with a group of friends last night. it was funnier than the book. the comedy was dramatized well, and that was enjoyable. but it was not nearly as moving as the book. as in most movies, it has to be greatly condensed, so the characters seemed a bit two-dimensional compared to the book. i wouldn't have gone to see it unless it was part of a moms-night-out with dinner, etc., but it was a nice movie to share with friends.

I don't think I take it as promoting Brenda. I am such a film buff as well as a reader. Considering how long the book was at the top of bestseller lists, and how long they were able to delay the release of the paperback (which I did wait for!) I'm not surprised. And I'm not surprised people have strong feelings one way or the other. No one is right or wrong - IMHO it is more a matter of how well the movie matched what you imagined. Film is a different genre. So many are inspired by books, but they have other kinds of constraints, including the obvious one of time. As well as the sometimes unfortunate pressure to make it appeal to popular culture.

School starts w/students tomorrow as well. I am on absolute overwhelm. Gone three weeks prior - one for a convention in KY, drove to Canada (1000+ mi in 36 hrs) to catch up to family on vacation, then on to Twin Cities to Dad's - who had surgery for cancer. The Thursday we drove home, daughter got sick with possible food poisoning and was in the hospital by Saturday. Can't catch up to unpacking, laundry, housecleaning, getting my classroom ready with a new curriculum!! I really am looking forward to it, but? Start a delayed remodel of 3 bathrooms in Sept. GAH!!!! All in all, I have been and probably will be MIA! CAN NOT believe you don't have a principal yet!! Holy COW! That means YOU run the show - we all know how that works Brenda!

I'm still looking forward to seeing it and honestly don't listen to reviews or read them for that matter when it comes to books or movies - if it's something I think I'll like, I give it a try, regardless of what anyone else says about it.

I hear you Jo - sometimes I listen to reviews, but if its something I want to see - I won't hesitate. Sometimes just to see what the fuss was about, good or bad.

I just saw The Help and thought it was GREAT! Lots of laughter and even some tears!

Brenda (Lansdowne) wrote: "I have never seen Goodreads promote a movie like this."

i agree, Brenda. until i saw the move this weekend, i literally had to put a post-it note on my computer screen to avoid seeing every second of the movie in the non-stop trailers goodreads has going. i don't like to see previews before i see a movie, and MAN were these previews hard to avoid.

I heard on the radio today that The Help came in 2nd to The Planet of the Apes in money making this weekend. I wanna see it soon.

Today I heard an absolutely scathing review of the movie by Melissa Harris-Perry who is a professor of African-American studies at Tulane.

I'd heard about that, too. I think of hers as the dissenting opinion; although, truthfully, hers is the only African-American opinion I've heard.

I do think that what other people have been saying is correct. The movie takes place during the 1960's, but it's not about the civil rights programs themselves as much as about the relationship of people trapped in those circumstances.

I paid $10.00 for my ticket (and about $30.00 for popcorn, lol!) If anyone is looking to save money by renting, I think this movie would be a good rental since you don't really need an enormous screen to enjoy it on. We're not talking Harry Potter here, lol.

Now goodreads has moved onto the movie One Day so there's a new movie promo to tire of!

Anyhoo, I saw The Help on Thursday with girlfriend Vicki and thought it was incredible! They did such a great job of translating the novel into a beautiful, emotional and powerful movie. This is one of the rare occasions when I like the movie better than the novel. There were a couple of small changes with a couple of the characters but it was a positive change and added to the story the movie was trying to tell from the novel. Could this have actually happened in Jackson MS during the 1960's and ended on such a hopeful note? No. But this is after all a work of fiction, which while having many truths to it, is still a work of fiction and the ending gives you hope, something we as a country need right now. I don't feel the movie sugar-coats, down plays or other wise 'chick-flicks' any of the serious issues at hand. If it did, I wouldn't have been moved and at times shocked & startled by it. It's relevant as a reminder of what has happened in the past and what cannot continue in the present & future. I'd go see it again!

i saw the movie today for the second time. luved it!!!!!!!!