Eat Pray Love: An empty serving of goo

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 19 August 2010 12:14

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help parents choose what to watch with their children. This week’s pick is a new film based on the best seller, Eat Pray Love.

The other evening, I stumbled upon Erin Brokovich while fanning the television channels. In just a few moments, before the inevitable commercial, I was again captivated by the authenticity Julia Roberts brings to the role. She is pitch perfect in every minor and major moment, never letting her persona get in the way of character. This appealing — if limited — actress can be most captivating when she is carefully directed, plays a well-written character, and is required to do more than simply smile.

I wish Julia had, however, smiled a bit more in her latest film, Eat Pray Love, because after nearly 2-1/2 hours of watching her try to find herself I wanted her to remind me who she is. Nothing she does in this mess of a movie makes any sense. Roberts is never convincing, rarely focused, and seldom appears beyond bored. This is paint-by-numbers acting.

The film — based on that bestseller that so many have loved — tells the story of a woman, Elizabeth Gilbert, who tries to find the meaning of life after both a marriage and a romance sour. Her search for balance — aided by a book advance and, hopefully, a bounty of frequent flyer miles — leads her to indulge in pasta in Italy, meditation in India and a healer in Bali. I haven’t read the book so I can’t evaluate the accuracy of the adaptation; I can say that, after the film, I knew less about Liz than before it began but I did know more about Julia Roberts.

I didn’t like what I saw. I tried to imagine, actually, how spontaneous Roberts appears in her first films — the marvelous Mystic Pizza and the touching Steel Magnolias — before becoming a superstar with Pretty Woman, an Oscar winner with Brokovich and a serious, non-smiling actress in Mike Nichols’ Closer. Somewhere along the way the fun went out of her work. Even when Roberts is cast in bad pictures — like Sleeping With the Enemy or The Runaway Bride — she brings an ease to her performances that can make very little feel like a full helping. But now, playing a woman that believes excess can lead to clarity, she suggests a character rather than creates a portrayal.

There is a lovely scene Roberts plays — not in this film but in Notting Hill — where her character, an actress, speculates on the end of her career. She fears a moment when her “looks will go away” and the public “will discover” that she can’t, in fact, act. I am always taken by Roberts’ honesty in this scene; little did I realize she could be forecasting her own demise.

Visually, Eat Pray Love is sumptuous and, spiritually, I am sure it offers inspiration to those familiar with the story. But for the rest of us — clueless as to the magic potion the story is designed to deliver — the film only serves as an appetizer of what a real trip to those places could be if we could spend time with real people. This over-extended commercial — with a cardboard character as our guide — is an empty serving.

Film Nutritional Value:

Eat Pray Love

* Content: Low. The spiritual journey of Elizabeth Gilbert, perhaps captivating on paper, is empty on film.

* Entertainment: Low. The film takes much too long to deliver oh so little.

* Message: Low. As much fun as the film tries to deliver, it ends up saying little about balance and much too much about indulgence.

* Relevance: Low. At a time when excess is a distant experience for so many, the self-serving nature of the film seems out of place.

* Opportunity for Dialogue: Little. The only thing to talk about are the films where Julia Roberts actually works.

1 Popcorn Bucket

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