We all know her for her clicking heels in The Wizard of Oz and hitting incredible notes at Carnegie Hall, but Judy Garland’s life wasn’t a walk down the yellow brick road.
This is shown in Judy, where Garland, played by Renée Zellweger, is in a downward spiral near the end of her life. Garland is hooked on pills as she attempts to find income to put a roof over her head and gain custody of her children. In a last ditch effort, Garland plays shows in London to get cash.
While Zellweger does an incredible job as Garland, it doesn’t dive as deep as you’d like.
Without a doubt, a star is reborn in Zellweger. It’s been a while since she’s had a breakout role, but the actress looks, talks, and sings just like Garland. Zellweger impressively uses her own vocals as Garland and sounds great.
Zellweger captures the star, but the film is just short of. This isn’t a cradle-to-grave biopic; rather, a look into her life at that particular time.
It gives us insight on how Garland struggled through her custody battle, London concerts, and bad habits. There’s even some flashbacks of Garland’s dark upbringing on Hollywood sets.
The film makes clear that Garland was a victim of the Hollywood machine. She was an incredible talent who loved to perform, yet Hollywood ate her up and spat her out.
However, I feel there’s more to Garland’s story than just this. Garland had a storied life filled with twists and turns, and I left wanting to know more.
The film does its job by checking the boxes for an Oscar and audience favorite. Judy skims the surface, but there’s more to these songs I want to hear.
We all know her for her clicking heels in The Wizard of Oz and hitting incredible notes at Carnegie Hall, but Judy Garland’s life wasn’t a walk down the yellow brick road.
This is shown in Judy, where Garland, played by Renée Zellweger, is in a downward spiral near the end of her life. Garland is hooked on pills as she attempts to find income to put a roof over her head and gain custody of her children. In a last ditch effort, Garland plays shows in London to get cash.
While Zellweger does an incredible job as Garland, it doesn’t dive as deep as you’d like.
Without a doubt, a star is reborn in Zellweger. It’s been a while since she’s had a breakout role, but the actress looks, talks, and sings just like Garland. Zellweger impressively uses her own vocals as Garland and sounds great.
Zellweger captures the star, but the film is just short of. This isn’t a cradle-to-grave biopic; rather, a look into her life at that particular time.
It gives us insight on how Garland struggled through her custody battle, London concerts, and bad habits. There’s even some flashbacks of Garland’s dark upbringing on Hollywood sets.
The film makes clear that Garland was a victim of the Hollywood machine. She was an incredible talent who loved to perform, yet Hollywood ate her up and spat her out.
However, I feel there’s more to Garland’s story than just this. Garland had a storied life filled with twists and turns, and I left wanting to know more.
The film does its job by checking the boxes for an Oscar and audience favorite. Judy skims the surface, but there’s more to these songs I want to hear.
IMAGE TAKEN from The Wall Street Journal
