“The Help” was released on Wednesday, perhaps to give it a head start against the other openings this weekend: “Final Destination 5,” “30 Minutes or Less” and “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.” Box office prognosticators, though, are betting that the top movie won’t be any of those but last week’s No. 1: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” It’s got good word of mouth, both from critics and audiences. But “The Help” earned a healthy $5.5 million Wednesday, beating the “Apes” take of $4.9 million. It shouldn’t take long for the female drama to make back its production budget of $25 million.
Not everyone is a fan of the film, though, or the book on which it’s based. The Association of Black Women Historians released a statement aimed at deflating the popularity of a tale that’s already sold millions in novel form.
“Despite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, ‘The Help’ distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers. We are specifically concerned about the representations of black life and the lack of attention given to sexual harassment and civil rights activism,” reads the “Open Statement to the Fans of ‘The Help’.”
One can’t fit every aspect of life into a movie. “The Help” is already more than two hours long. And civil rights activism is hinted at, as characters learn that activist Medgar Evers has been assassinated. But it’s certainly true that the film seems a story out of context, with little attention paid to the changing times. The ABWH points out, and rightfully so, that you don’t get a sense of the activism and anti-activism that was a big part of life in 1960s Mississippi.
Those are not the only problems the ABWH sees in the film, though. The group takes issue with the portrayal of women as mere “Mammy” stereotypes, and declares, “We do not recognize the black community described in ‘The Help’ where most of the black male characters are depicted as drunkards, abusive, or absent.”
Another female favorite will be back on the big screen soon: Bridget Jones. The first film featuring the lovably scatterbrained Brit, 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” was a hit. The second film, 2004’s “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” made nearly as much ($262 million), but was trashed by critics.
Helen Fielding, author of the novels, confirms she’s working on a third book, but warns that there might be big differences between that and a third film. Renee Zellweger will reprise her role as Bridget, though there’s no word yet on whether the stick-thin actress is willing to put on the pounds again. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are also expected back as the dreamy Mark Darcy and the bad boy Daniel Cleaver. Firth said earlier that he expects the plot to revolve around Bridget and Mark’s troubles conceiving, which causes such pain that Bridget seeks solace with Daniel. Can any woman possibly be that scatterbrained, though?
Kelly Jane Torrance is The Washington Examiner movie critic. Her reviews appear weekly and she can be reached at [email protected].
