How terrible are the reviews for Julia Roberts & ‘Eat, Pray, Love’?

10 August 2010 - New York, NY - Julia Roberts. The World Premiere of EAT PRAY LOVE held at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. Photo Credit: Paul Zimmerman/AdMedia

Eat, Pray, Love was always going to be a disaster in some sense. That’s the way I see it. The book and the film are the other side of self-absorbed, narcissistic, hyper-consumer-driven, woe-is-the-privileged-white-lady bullsh-t that Sex and City represents. Where SATC’s problems had to do with the search for love when you’re a shopaholic, narcissistic sociopath, Eat, Pray, Love seems to be about the search for oneself, for one’s “soul” when you’re a a shopaholic, narcissistic sociopath. It’s still about consumerism, only the material you’re trying to buy – shoes, love, a soul – changes. In literature, the category is called “priv-lit” (Pajiba and Bitch Magazine have a great piece about it here). In films, it’s called “disastrous” or perhaps just “horrible”.

So how did the adaptation from book to screen go? The reviews are in, and they are… um… well, not all that awesome. In defense of this film, I think most reviewers are men and thus, not the target audience. In defense of the reviewers, I’m sorry they had to watch that. Some highlights:

Roger Ebert: “If intelligence, wit and exuberance are what you’re looking for, Julia Roberts is an excellent choice as the movie’s star. You can see how it would be fun to spend a year traveling with Gilbert. A lot more fun than spending nearly two hours watching a movie about it. I guess you have to belong to the narcissistic subculture of Woo-Woo.”

USA Today’s Claudia Puig: “It’s a thin story, on paper as well as on screen. A privileged woman ends her marriage for vague reasons and decides to get in touch with her true self. She ventures to Italy for the cuisine, goes to India to meditate and finds love in Indonesia. The whole quest feels a bit forced, though it’s an appealing travelogue. The soul-searching is glib: Liz absorbs aphorisms and spouts truisms as if she has unlocked the mystery of life.

WaPo’s Ann Hornaday: “Roberts, who cannily chose to produce “Eat Pray Love” as the perfect vehicle for her alternately dazzling and relatable talents, manages to tamp down the book’s most grating self-congratulatory tone. But in the movie, as in the book, all talk of God, the universe and love and light aside, there’s no doubt who the real star is. As a middle-aged Dorothy at large in a New Age Oz, her Liz Gilbert mostly wanders around smiling, sometimes crying, but always somehow looking like a goddess herself, recently arrived to show others the way — whether she’s urging a Swedish student in Rome to eat more pizza or telling a teenage Indian girl reluctantly succumbing to an arranged marriage that she’s visualizing a happy life for her.”

More reviews are here, at Rotten Tomatoes, where the film is up to 38%. Oh well. Most people are saying Julia does the best she can do with a dumb story and not-so-awesome direction. What’s particularly surprising to me is that Eat, Pray, Love is not being pushed to win the weekend. It’s strange – Julia used to win opening weekends at the drop of a hat.

10 August 2010 - New York, NY - Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts. The World Premiere of EAT PRAY LOVE held at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. Photo Credit: Paul Zimmerman/AdMedia

Photo by: Jackson Lee/starmaxinc.com  2010   Telephone/Fax:  8/10/10 Julia Roberts at the premiere of Eat Pray Love . (NYC) Photo via Newscom

Aug. 10, 2010 - New York, New York, U.S. - Actor JAVIER BARDEM and actress JULIA ROBERTS attend the New York premiere of 'Eat Pray Love' held at Ziegfeld Theater. © Red Carpet Pictures

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84 Responses to “How terrible are the reviews for Julia Roberts & ‘Eat, Pray, Love’?”

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  1. cowbell says:

    Wait, why are the characters sociopaths?

  2. Chrissy says:

    Has anyone commented on the hyper-consumerism DRIVEN by this movie? For the past month, I’ve received e-mails from “World Market” and seen commercials from so many stores with products “based” on this film. So many people must have thought women were going to love this film, flock to it and then go out and buy products that have the “Eat, Pray, Love” crap on it?? Not quite sure how a purse or plates can be inspired by a movie. And has anyone actually been buying any of it??

  3. original kate says:

    man, every photo of julia these days she exhibits permanent bitch-face. it’s like she’s not even trying anymore to hide her superior attitude from the public. at least fishsticks paltrow still tries!

  4. Marjalane says:

    When I heard they were making a movie of this, (IMO) very boring, self absorbed tale of this woman’s “journey”, I knew it’d be a stinker. I would guess there will be a number of 40-60 year old women who will like it, but I don’t see it being any big deal. I think it’s funny that Julia Roberts, who I think is also very self-absorbed, has to keep selling the movie and herself as “enlightened”.

  5. LindyLou says:

    I don’t plan on watching the movie. I was going to try the book but after what I’ve heard about it, I don’t think I’ll even bother with that. I’m picking up the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series instead.

  6. “priv-lit” wow…great term. But I’m of the belief that if you don’t like it, don’t watch it/buy it/care.

  7. Marjalane says:

    @chrissy-

    I noticed that too! I saw that one of the TV shopping networks were running entire specials devoted to E.P.L.! I’m not sure where they did their focus groups- maybe from Oprahs audience, but I will have to snicker and giggle if I see some woman walk past me wearing a shirt that says, “Eat, Pray, Love”!

  8. Kiska says:

    I’m a fan of travelogues and this was one of the worst that I’ve ever read. It reeks of whiny self-pretentiousness. It is easy to conjure up an adventure when you are getting paid big bucks to do it.

    If you want to read about real adventures that is also is kind to the environment, then read any book written by Canadian adventurer, Colin Angus. He does it all for the adventure, pushing limits, and proving that humans can travel without impacting the environment. (He uses bike, row boat, and foot to get around.)

  9. Sumodo1 says:

    Who, if this picture is lousy, I have to change my birthday plans w/ my girls!

  10. Jeri says:

    Julia belongs to the past, just like the Brat Packers. Time to graciously bid us good-bye (or bye-good).

  11. Anonymei says:

    The product promotion is shameful. I have not read the book because it does not look interesting to me. I was planning to see the movie with the girls but Julia’s bitchy behavior has once again turned me off. I liked her before she behaved like an egomaniacal C u next Tuesday during the Oscar race. She also had not an ounce of humility that hers was not the best performance that year when she one. Laura Linney was divine in You can count on me. Iwill not purchase one Eat Pray Love tea bag, salt shaker or shakra tugger.

  12. hellen says:

    Yeah, that World Market tie-in made me want to puke.

    And I am so stealing “narcissistic subculture of Woo-Woo” as my own personal line. Roger Ebert, I love you.

  13. aenflex says:

    All the bloody propaganda like candles, flatware, scarves, all based on a crappy movie/book? That’s film suicide unless the film in question is Harry Potter. I have no desire whatsoever to see this film or read the book. In fact, the snottiest most uptight patron of my local pub recommended the book to me a few months back. I knew right away I would never, ever touch it.

  14. Beth says:

    I can’t even make myself finish this book. I thought I would love it, and it’s had some charming parts I suppose, but it mostly just seems contrived. Like the barista at Starbucks said when I saw the soundtrack there and brought up the book, “It must be on Oprah’s Book Club list.” I’ll probably see the movie, though, because I like James Franco and Javier Bardem.

  15. Jackson says:

    I was kind of looking forward to seeing this film – as something of a travelogue since I assume the locations/scenery were gorgeous, considering the budget and locales. The foodie in me was hoping to see some food porn as well. The drawback was always that it had JR in it. Eh. I’ll wait to see it on cable like I do with most movies.

  16. Katie says:

    It sounds like faux-enlightenment crap to me, but I think also, a recession is perhaps not the best time to try to sell a movie about a woman with enough money to essentially vacation from her life in fabulous places for a year (I realize the book company paid for the author to do it, wonder if that is made clear in the movie?).

  17. Kali says:

    I’m surprised that anyone is making a big deal about Julia Roberts now. Wasn’t Erin Brokovich her last good movie where she was in the starring role? She’s a good actress but her involvement alone isn’t going to carry a movie that was based on a very average book.

  18. lola lola says:

    Loved the book but Julia Roberts is a ridiculous choice to star in it. I wish they’d have chosen an unknown. That would have been more believeable. And I do believe all the “priviledge” commens are simply sexist. Did everyone call the Razor’s edge or 7 years in Tibet Priv-lit? Sorry if women want enlightenment too.

  19. Stephy2485 says:

    Mm!
    Love, love, love her outfit in those pics.
    So cute that blazer with shorts!!

    The movie looks ridiculous.

  20. Aqua says:

    In the end it will be the public who will decide if it’s a box office hit or a box office miss.

  21. bros says:

    kiska, if you like real travelogues, read The Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron. fantastic. I too like this genre, but not for self-absorbed privileged white women with no kids and no budget. this is too much art imitating life for me with Roberts producing and acting in what is essentially her daily life. blech.

  22. Aqua says:

    Not trying to get off topic here but I saw the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I thought it was excellent.

  23. serena says:

    I think it’s gonna be good, once it appeared on the screens.

  24. Ron says:

    I love it when people on the other end of 2,000.00 computers, sitting in 300.00 chairs, in the juicy couture hoodies wasting their soul searching afternoon on celebrity driven bitch sites, site consumerism as being bad. If there is a mirror nearby, look in it, you are the problem. And oh please, Americans are driven to consume and are very narcissitic. Myself included. I always want a new pair of shoes and am checking my look in the mirror in the bathroom. It’s the way we have been raised here. What did Bush say after 9/11 for average americans to do to help the country? “Shop, go to the mall”. Why the offense then, to those images being portrayed in popular culture? It’s a reflection of who we are at this time in history.

  25. Moore says:

    Couldn’t finish the book so I have no plans to sit through the movie. I love reading/watching all things travel related but this wont do it for me. I can already tell.

  26. veronica says:

    i am so hoping that this movie FAILS miserably.

  27. simplicity says:

    Two of those most enjoyable films for women did not have product placement and were lighthearted, Enchanted April and Shirley Valentine.

    I have no desire to see a film with a woman in luxurious search for herself. Not entertaining in times of economic struggle for many.

  28. snapnhiss says:

    I’ve never been a big fan of Julia Roberts but even I have to give her credit for looking really good in these photos. She was looking very thin and horsey there for a while but her face is a little more filled out and she looks happy. I’m not seeing the bitch-face at all.

  29. Tiifany says:

    I remember commenting on this site that I will not be seeing this movie for the sole fact that this woman did not have any real problems and the comments sent to me were not flattering and that this movie is for escapism. Well looks like the studio will that real problems, I read that this movie has a budget of about 100 million. Why did that think this premise was going to be a hit is beyond me. People are looking to escape, which is why comedies, action films and cartoons that are so far fetched in plot are what people are to watch. This was not a good idea on anyone’s part.

  30. DD says:

    The constant in you face promotion of this bomb puts me right off. It’s enough already..I don’t want to see it.

  31. original kate says:

    for those who couldn’t stomach EPL, may i suggest an amazing book called “down the nile” by rosemary mahoney? it is her account of rowing 500 miles down the nile alone, and it is brilliant. unlike EPL, mahoney does not make the book all about her and her problems, she makes the nile and the people who live along its banks the stars of the book. so much more empowering than gilbert’s pretentious journey. i work in a bookstore and whenever women approach me with EPL and ask my opinion i give them “down the nile” instead.

  32. TaylorB says:

    Simplicity,

    Amen! Shirley Valentine is a fantastic film about a woman finding herself, that is what it is all about, a real, normal woman, stuck in a rut trying to recapture her mojo. Funny as hell too, not to mention just seeing the landscape made me want to move to Greece.

  33. snowball says:

    When I saw the trailer for this, what put me off right away was that Julia is incapable of being anything but JULIA in a movie anymore.

    You look at her mugging through the scenes, making her goofy faces and that’s all you see. The story looked like it sucked too, but she’s got that dumb Goopy presence now – you can’t get past her persona to even see what she’s supposed to be playing at anymore.

    The last good thing she did was Erin Brockovich because that was the last thing she did before she became a really big name and got a really, really big head and apparently started believing her own press.

  34. bros says:

    just downloaded it to my kindle original kate, thanks for the suggestion!

  35. OC lady says:

    38% on Rottem Tomatoes? That’s actually better than I thought. Sex and The City and The Bounty Hunter only got 8% each. So, critics actually liked this way better.

    I see that it’s become a fad to make fun of chick movies as unimportant, stupid, privileged, etc. I mean The Other Guys just opened up and everyone said it was as dumb as a box of rocks. But no one criticized Will Ferrel for continually playing the same dumb man-child “I will not grow up” character. Somehow those movies get a big pass but anything that’s fluffy chick lit is the end of the world. For some reason, people are acting like this movie has personally insulted them on some deeper level. It’s pretty funny, actually 🙂

  36. aenflex says:

    Since when does a PC cost 2k?

  37. Dingles says:

    We’re in a recession; no one wants to hear about some privileged, self-absorbed white chicking “finding herself” by traveling the world for a year and becoming oh-so-enlightened from the experience. Many of us are just trying to pay the bills each month while retaining our sanity.

    Watch “Under the Tuscan Sun” instead. It’s basically the same thing, only more believable, less pretentious and Diane Lane is actually likable as an actress.

    And by the way, despite what this movie is selling you cannot BUY inner peace, wisdom and happiness. Not that Scientokabballywood would know.

  38. OC lady says:

    So, if we’re in a recession, that means we have to watch movies about being poor and struggling to pay the bills? SOUNDS great! 🙂 That’s my life already and I don’t need to see it on the screen. No thanks–I’ll pass.

    I’ve already watched Under the Tuscan Sun. I like it alot but that was ages ago. Unfortunately, unless you like cartoons, teenage vampires and elderly action heros, there’s not much else to watch in the summer. Inception was pretty cool, but everything else, was meh.

    Totally agree with your last point.

  39. Dingles says:

    I’m all for escapism. I didn’t intend to bash the story on the grounds that it presents a pleasant fantasy, what bothers me is the media circus surrounding it that promotes this vapid, condescending, Gwyneth Paltrow-esque message of spending your way to happiness and exploiting impoverished cultures for your own warm fuzzy feelings.

    It’s not that this woman traveled the world and had all these great experiences. It’s the preachiness of it all and the media holding it up as some ideal path to enlightenment.

  40. jen says:

    No thanks. I’ll stick to Tony Bourdain.

  41. Annie says:

    Julia is laughing her ass all the way to the bank. And she certainly doesn’t give a flying f- about what anyone thinks of her.

  42. OC lady says:

    @Dingles. I agree to a certain extent. Selling faux-enlightenment through a movie or travel is a bit much. And the consumerism aspect is pretty insulting.

    But, I don’t understand how traveling around the world can be considered “exploiting impoverished cultures”??? I don’t get that.

    I’ve traveled a lot. I love seeing how other people go about their day. I like learning about their history, their culture, their food, and their way of doing things.

    One of my favorite experience was meeting Budhist monks in Thailand. They were learning English and reading a novel which confused them. So, they asked me what the novel meant. I learned about them as they were learning about me. Now, these monks take a vow of poverty and live off of handouts mostly. While I’m below the poverty line in the US–compared to these monks, I’m well-off. It was just a really cool learning experience–to me anyways. 🙂

  43. Johnthing says:

    Won’t see it; hate her big mouthed, husband-stealing self.

  44. Eden says:

    @Ron
    HA. Awesome post..cool on the honesty.

    @OC lady
    I agree with you that it is funny how this book/author triggers peoples issues.
    My trigger point to follow.. 🙂

    Jeez…no, you don’t have to travel across the world to discover yourself but you also don’t NOT have to travel across the world to attempt to do it.
    Amazing how some form of prejudice is acceptable and others get slammed to death.
    It’s all the same search internally for some kind of peace and security in this lunatic world and love etc…so who cares if you do it in your struggle to pay the rent apartment and she’s doing it in Burma.

    Sometimes if there aren’t the concrete day to day $$$ and survival struggles to stay afloat, there’s more energy to spend on developing inner peace and enlightenment, exploring other cultures, writing a book that reached many women and spoke to them..whatever.
    Seems to me she has that same self involved state of mind that you over there obsessing about your job and your rent and all the things you don’t have and want and how to make ends meet…lot of energy expended on your needs and how you are going to meet them…just like her…just sayin..

    To hate on Elizabeth & her little storybook by saying that she’s so different than you and your deeper struggles because she has more time or money or job opportunity than you do is reverse prejudice and seems to me like a shitload of bitterness.
    Psych 101, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.

  45. mslewis says:

    Not trying to get off topic here but I saw the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I thought it was excellent.
    —————————————————————–
    It was BEYOND excellent!! I was blown away. Such a great movie. I don’t care when they do the “American version” I won’t watch it because it can’t come anywhere near the original. And those actors . . . perfect casting. Amazing!! I saw it last night streaming on Netflix and I would urge everybody to see this movie.

  46. mslewis says:

    Sorry. Off topic. Back to Julia!!

    I don’t like or dislike Julia Roberts so she is not the reason I won’t see this film. I just think it is a useless chick flick, along the same lines as the useless chick flick, SATC and I won’t watch stuff like that.

    However, I won’t argue with people who do want to see this movie. It would be an escape from the mundane life of work and family that is the lot of a lot of women and I don’t blame them for wanting to watch it. There is nothing wrong with escaping from your life, even if it is for a couple of hours. I went to the movies this afternoon to see “Salt” (finally) and there were a lot of women there, in groups it looked like, who were going to see “Eat, Pray, Love” and they were very excited, giggling and laughing while ordering their popcorn and Cokes. Seem like a good time. I hope they liked it. My movie was over first so I didn’t see them coming out.

    P.S.: I think EPL might come in 2nd this weekend, behind that “Expendables” movie. I don’t think it will be a bomb. But, we’ll see.

  47. Kate says:

    I’m a woman and these movies never appeal to me. I was raised on action and sci-fi flicks and so that is what I like.

    That is not to disrespect chick flicks (Steel Magnolias is A-MAZ-ING), but I just don’t take interest in them.

    There is definetly a back-lash against things that women adore; (certain books, tv shows, movies) and it is not always justified.

    But when the subject of the vitriol is self-indulgent fluff that smugly pretends to be deep and affecting, then I would say a fair amount of criticism is justified.

    I wasn’t a fan of SATC, but I don’t believe it pretended to be anything other than what is was; self-indulgent fluff. The previews for this movie would have you think otherwise, and I don’t buy it.

    Also, Julia Roberts is the least appealing “movie star” in recent times and I wouldn’t pay to see her in anything (OTHER THAN Steel Magnolias, and her part in that could have been played by a monkey!)

  48. TampaGirl says:

    I saw – Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and it was excellent! It was one of the more griping movies I have watched in a long time! The first 30 minutes are a little slow.

    Also, Shirley Valentine is another great movie.

    I am reading EPL now and not very impressed.

  49. neema says:

    “Wait, why are the characters sociopaths? ”

    Form your own opinion.

    http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/narcissism/psychopathy_checklist.html

  50. Marjalane says:

    It wouldn’t matter who starred in this movie, the book, the premise, was so unrealistic and Elizabeth Gilbert so completely unlikeable that it can’t help but be off-putting. I would love to know how the box office breaks down by sex- it would take some serious, and I mean SERIOUS action to get my husband anywhere near a movie like this.

  51. Tracy says:

    I saw the movie this afternoon and it was good. I don’t know what kind of person Julia is in real life nor would it hinder me from watching one of her films (even if she wasn’t a perfect person….who is?)
    The movie has a message of hope and it was about a woman who wanted to find peace, in herself and others. I will buy the DVD when it comes out and watch it again.

  52. Lisa says:

    @ Kiska — thanks for the tip. I also love Bill Bryson. Eat, Pray, Love was an absolute disappointment. I kept thinking it would get better, because after all, millions of people had read it and loved it, but all it did was prove to me that Indeed, Millions of People CAN Be Wrong.

  53. lena says:

    Not seeing it, I don’t want to see a film about a pretentious, rich, overprivleged white lady who thinks she worldy because she has some passing knowledge of a foreign country. Bitch please.

  54. Statler says:

    @cowbell- Because sociopath is going to be the new (and possibly more accurate) ‘bipolar’. You can already see it trending that way.

    @original kate- Thanks for the book recommendation, it sounds much more interesting than EPL (God, even the title’s irritating).
    _______________________________________

    What’s with the sans culottes undertone in some posts lately? It’s not like privileged white women as a collective are responsible for our pitiful economy.

    Now navel-gazing narcissists are hella boring, I agree, but you can find them in both genders, every race, & all walks of life.

    @Eden- Just read your post. Awesome. Thank you.

  55. simplicity says:

    Thanks Taylor B

    A woman speaking her thoughts to herself, the wall, and an audience, (stage presence) had high appeal. No sense of superiority, or entitlement, simply the average woman who needed her own simple, extended self-awareness.

    As for Enchanted April, four women at Castello Brown in Portofino, who redefine themselves and their relationships.

    Simplicity is relatable.

  56. d says:

    I’ve ranted about this book before, but all the negative comments compel me to point out a few things (because I think people are taking the book too seriously):

    I think there is something to be said for the fact that:

    Gilbert was good enough at her job (writing) that the publishing company trusted her enough to risk or gamble a huge amount of money to pay for her to live as she did.

    She didn’t harm anyone.

    She was gutsy enough to put her foibles out there for all to see and criticize. Gilbert didn’t pretend to be good, imo, in fact, she seemed to mostly laugh at her weaknesses and mistakes. I certainly don’t think she took herself that seriously.

    She was gutsy enough to realize that she was living a lie, that she wasn’t being true to herself, and did something about it, something which most of society mostly disapproves of, and will judge harshly, which is that she left her husband. I think that can be a really hard thing to do, esp if the husband wasn’t really doing anything wrong.

    Now, the fact that she found a stereotypically romantic “tall, dark, handsome man” a la romantic novels, I am a little suspicious about (though I also wonder if a lot of woman are jealous of this). Then again, writers are a different breed and typically don’t follow the lifestyle that the majority of people do…and…living abroad as she, the people she met, … it doesn’t surprise me … in a way. (Do I wish I had met the love of my life — and that he was also tall, dark, and handsome — on MY backpacking trip around SE Asia? YES! But then I got over it.)

    Is she the kind of woman I’d hang out with? No. Is she way luckier in life than I am? Yes. Does she have higher social status? Yes. But does that make her story less? Is SHE less of a person of worth because she’s lucky? I just don’t think so. I don’t think her story should be dismissed entirely. I couldn’t relate to all of her story, there were some times I rolled my eyes, but it’s also not like I felt pressure to live my life as she did hers…hello, I have a mind of my own, I can think for myself. I mean, relax, it’s just a book, no one’s got a gun to your head telling you to believe or follow it!

    There were times when I could relate to some of what she was trying to discover or clarify, & to similar feelings and issues…trying to find meaning in something that was of value to me, not to everyone else, knowing how hard it is to meditate and calm yourself down and to be focused on what matters, instead of on society’s expectations or myths. And I know a woman who left her husband and what a s***storm that created — even though it turned out to be the right thing to do in the end.

    So, yeah, she’s privileged, she’s lucky, she’s in a circle that most of us don’t get to travel in. But, meh, it still doesn’t feel right to be so dismissive of her. I think she acknowledged all that and made an interesting attempt to find true meaning in her life, despite having all the trappings of a so-called successful life. She was challenging preconceived notions about success, which appealed to a certain demographic. I think she was trying to redefine in her mind what successful life really is, and what happiness really is…there’s nothing wrong with that. It is subjective, but still…

    Sure, you don’t have to travel to find this out or to find meaning for yourself. But I do think to learn about yourself, you need to travel outside of your comfort zone. She was just lucky that she had publishing world connections to go to zones that most people can’t, but the places she went to fired in people’s imagination, and the whole search for meaning thing is kind of popular. I think zeitgeist is the word I’m looking for. I think the publishing smelled a winner and/or lucked out…my bet is that they knew there was enough interests in the topics she covered for there to be a hit on their hands. \

    Not to say that the criticisms are invalid. But I don’t think Gilbert deserves ALL of the public excoriating. Personally, some parts I liked, and some parts I hated. Happens with alot of books.

    Maybe in the end, knowing or confirming where you are in life, which is better than being aimless and drifting. Which happens to alot of people. Doesn’t matter if you’re the author or the reader.

    The movie: Not interested. I think they’ve removed some of the more reflective and interesting parts and so it’s a watered down version of the book, which is why it’s getting the “shallow” criticism.

  57. Kiska says:

    @ Original Kate

    I read “Down the Nile” and really enjoyed it. It was one woman’s account of rowing down the Nile in Egypt. There was no hidden agendas, no book deal, no drama. But most importantly, the story was about her experiences with the Egyptian people and how they perceive the Western world. Fantastic read and would make a great film

  58. KateNonymous says:

    “Under the Tuscan Sun” (the book–I didn’t see the movie) is a template for priv-lit. It wanted to be “A Year in Provence,” but wasn’t.

    I didn’t think “Eat Pray Love” was as bad, although it was still pretty silly. When I heard Julia Roberts was being cast, I thought, “Wow, that makes no sense.”

    If you want a good parody, try “Drink Play F@#k”.

  59. blah blah says:

    I start out with a fault—I have never been able to see this “beauty” that J.R. is supposed to have. I truly don’t see it. Seeing her in interviews and on Oprah, I learned that she is not a deep person who thinks about values or ethics. I mean, she sees a man, who is married, and grabs him from his marriage, at a time when she could have ANYTHING. When I saw that she was going to be in this movie…well. I was seeing the similarity between her and Paltrow, and someone #24? said it for me. Two woman who appear shallow and self-centered. Someone mentioned that older women might like this. Why??? We don’t get dumber.

  60. Linna says:

    You couldn’t pay me too watch a Julia Robert’s movie, can not stand her, loved the book but I won’t be seeing the movie!

  61. KateNonymous says:

    @Statler (#55): Love the sans culottes reference! Very nice.

    For me, in both EPL and Under the Tuscan Sun, the problem was less that the characters were privileged, and more that they didn’t question that privilege as much as I’d like–although I felt that Gilbert did a better job of that than Mayes. I never felt like Gilbert was saying, “Everyone should have my life,” more “this is what I did and how it helped me.” I think she lacked self-awareness even at the end, but Mayes seemed to be saying “Look at these entertaining Italian characters. Oh, and everyone should live like I do.” It was patronizing to both reader and subject.

    I compare EPL to Michael Crichton’s book Travels. Parts of it were interesting, and parts of it were pompous, but I wasn’t offended by reading either. Mayes, on the other hand, still makes me bristle.

  62. TxGal says:

    I really don’t like JR especially since she will always be a homewrecker to me. I did see her on Erin Brockovich and she did a good performance and did deserve the Oscar. But I still don’t care for her.

    A friend of mine was recommending the book that it was great. I did try finishing it but couldn’t. I felt the woman was very annoying with her whinny. When I heard that JR was playing her I felt they picked the wrong person since I believe the character was 32-34 and JR is older than that. Maybe I am wrong but that’s just my opinion.

    Now if you want to see a good movie watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s in Swiss but you can find a dub or the one with sub-titles. I am looking forward to watching The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

  63. Mouse says:

    @ Original Kate – Thanks for the recommendation! While I’m normally all about reading a book before I form an opinion, even the title of EPL turned me off and I haven’t heard anything good said about it, so…think I’ll skip it for now.

  64. IceBunny says:

    This could be the best film ever made in the entire history of films, and even though I am a film FREAK, I still would not see it. There one simple reason: Julia Roberts.

    Any dollar I can keep away from her, I will. She deserves that at the very least.

  65. Buddha DeCat says:

    All the hate on the “privileged white woman” is so blatantly sexist and the most horrible thing is, that the people spewing are so mired in the patriarchy that they don’t realize it and/or will never acknowledge it. There are countless books and movies based on “privileged white males” and yet I’ve never seen this kind of hate.
    Liz Gilbert travels for her work. She took the opportunity after her divorce to travel to Italy, India & Bali as part of her job. Yep, she’s got a great job. I wish mine was like that. She’s a decent writer & her book was ok (charming in parts; banal in others). The movie will probably not be good because a lot of the book itself will not translate (and JR is a big phony). But it is obvious to me is that if SHE was a HE the reception on this site to the book would be vastly, vastly different.

  66. original kate says:

    @ kiska: i am so glad you liked “down the nile,” and i agree it would make a lovely movie. mahoney has written other wonderful books, too, whose titles escape me at the moment. one is something like “a pilgrim on sacred ground.” another amazing book is “cry of the kalahari” by mark & delia owens. they were zoology students who wanted to go to africa and study lions but nobody would fund them, so they sold every scrap of furniture, borrowed money from their families and went on their own. really interesting book, and on a personal note, i met mark & delia and they are really hilarious people. i also love “enchanted april.”

    @ #57 (can’t read name – di?): my main problem with EPL is that i felt it was disengenuous. she was paid alot of money to go on a “spiritual journey” so that part of the trip felt fake, like she was manipulating events to make for good copy. if she had written it as a straight travel book i would have liked it more, but her dialogue is horrible. the conversations with the texan in the ashram were just painful to read; the guy had more folksy sayings than andy griffith. i suspect some of those characters don’t exist but were thrown in for local color.

  67. IceBunny says:

    ps, Thanks to all those who gave tips on great women’s books and films to see. I have added them all to my list!! Just this morning I was reviewing Amazon for good biographies/autobiographies about women.. and went through a list of about 350 before giving up. The VAST majority are about men. It is just pitiful the lack of good books about women. Shameful really. Says a lot about the number of female role models in the world. I will never understand that.

  68. The Bobster says:

    A self-indulgent chick flick starring the hideous, home-wrecking Muppet Mouth? There’s no way the audience is going to be more than 1% male.

  69. Eden says:

    @d
    Well Said!!
    I could not put my brain around it as well as you did so thanks for writing such a well thought out and expressed post! I agree with every word you said.

  70. Amy says:

    I am reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now because recently it’s been all over the news that they are making an American version. The book is so so so good. As soon as I finish it, I’m running out to buy the second and third book. And I didn’t know there was a Swedish version of it! (Makes sense though since the book is Swedish)

  71. Perry says:

    @ 65 (Ice Bunny)

    I can recommend “They Went Whistling” by Barbara Holland. Here’s a review:

    http://www.washingtonian.com/bookreviews/49.html

  72. Tess says:

    ‘Eat, Pray, Hurl’

  73. IceBunny says:

    @Perry… that book looks fantastic!! Thank you so much. Buying it tomorrow.

    @Tess: LOL’ing myself off to sleep on that note! perfect!

  74. moi says:

    My catchphrase for this film, “Blubbering and contrived.”

  75. Mrs Odie 2 says:

    Just because a person is privileged does not mean she cannot have her heart broken, hate her body, thirst for God, or suffer crushing disappointment. And that a movie is made to appeal to women over 40 should not, in and of itself, be a condemnation.

    I love and have always loved Julia Roberts. But since I’m 38, white, and solidly middle class with no credit card debt and with a bit of money in the bank, I guess I am a self absorbed sociopath who is completely out of touch and because of me the terrorists win.

  76. 2centsnichols says:

    who better to play a self absorbed brat? that’s Julia to the core. please just let this woman retire to Mexico already!!

  77. benny says:

    Let me guess: she shows exuberance by doing an open-mouthed cackle. And contemplation by pursing her lips like a fish. I don’t need to waste $10 to watch Roberts try to “act.”

  78. Katija says:

    This book, its author, and everything about it is FAKE, FAKE, FAKE!!!

    Read up on “Eat Pray Love.” The trip around the world was financed with a hefty advance from a publishing company. As in, the author contacted a publishing house, pitched the book, and THEN went on the trip.

    Even if she’d done nothing but sit in her hotel room watching HBO the whole time, she still would have been contractually obliged to give them something good.

    This is NOT one woman’s journey of self-discovery. This is one woman’s contractual obligation.

  79. Confuzzle says:

    So, Mrs Odie 2, it’s all YOUR fault.

  80. becca says:

    People will go and see this movie because its escapism – nobody wants to take responsibility and own up to their own problems these days, and nobody wants to pay attention to the world around them.

    It’s somewhat similar to the way people will comment on how excited they are to be getting the new Droid 2 (or whine about how much they want it), in an article online about how Google and Verizon want to turn the internet into a financial caste system…

  81. gen says:

    I wouldn’t even rent this schlock….blech!
    What do they think, women will love it cause it has Roberts in it & she talks about having a muffin top?
    Well I guess they were right cause it came in number 2 for the weekend!!!
    I guess women went to go see this & the guys went to see The Industructables or whatever it was called.
    Now I went to see the number 4 movie this weekend…Scott Pilgrim vs The World….and it ROCKED!!!!!!

  82. freeway 4444# says:

    MARJALANE!

    WOW!! “I would guess there will be a number of 40-60 year old woman who will like it”!

    Are you kidding me? How very arrogant of you!

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