The Help Review

Rated PG-13 (Thematic Material)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 26 Minutes

Cast:

Emma Stone-Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan

Viola Davis-Aibileen Clark

Octavia Spencer-Minny Jackson

Bryce Dallas Howard-Hilly Holbrook

Jessica Chastain-Celia Foote

Ahna O'Reilly-Elizabeth Leefolt

Allison Janney-Charlotte Phelan

Sissy Spacek-Mrs. Walters

Mary Steenburgen-Elain Stein

Anna Camp-Jolene French

Chris Lowell-Stuart Whitworth

Mike Vogel-Johnny Foote

Ted Welch-William Holbrook

Aunjanue Ellis-Yule Mae Davis

Cicely Tyson-Constantine Jefferson

Directed by Tate Taylor

The cast deliver great performances but "The Help" ultimately plays it too safe with its themes.

Looking back, it’s surprising to see that only forty-three years have passed since the end of the African American Civil Rights Movement yet it would be naïve for one to think that racism has been eliminated. Formal racial discrimination was effectively banned in the U.S. in 1964 but its ugly legacy continues to permeate all facets of modern American society from socio-economic inequality among minorities to racial stratification in areas such as employment, education, housing, lending, and government. Hollywood and mainstream media in general, has perpetuated racial stereotypes and continues to do so. People will always harbor prejudices against other races. This is simply the reality of the world we live in. Now we have “The Help,” a film based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling fiction novel of the same name which explores the racial discrimination faced by African American maids living in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960’s. I must admit, the initial previews failed to impress me as it came off as one of those emotionally manipulative, lightweight dramas that Hollywood sees fit to recycle every year so I decided to hold off on reviewing it until the Blu-Ray was released. However, the strong word-of-mouth combined with the surprisingly positive reviews from critics made me change my mind. Although bolstered by strong performances from Viola Davis and a lively Octavia Spencer, my initial impressions of “The Help” weren’t that far off as ultimately the film plays it too safe by not fully exploring the ugliness of racism that pervaded America in the time period it depicts. 

Recent college graduate Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan (Emma Stone) returns home to Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 with aspirations of being a writer. She manages to land a job at the Jackson Journal newspaper writing the ‘Miss Myrna’ housekeeping column and reconnects with her old friends, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O'Reilly). All of the wealthy white households employ at least one African American maid and Skeeter asks Elizabeth if her maid, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), can help her with writing the Miss Myrna columns. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees on the condition that it does not interfere with Aibileen’s duties. Hilly is currently lobbying for a bill dubbed the ‘Home Health Sanitation Initiative’ which would require all white households to build a separate bathroom to be used solely by the ‘colored’ help and requests Skeeter to advertise the proposed law in the Jackson Journal as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Skeeter’s sick mother, Charlotte (Allison Janney), repeatedly chastises her daughter for still being single and unmarried. Skeeter confronts her family about the whereabouts of their former maid, Constantine Jefferson (Cicely Tyson), the woman who raised her as if she were her own child and suspects that she did not quit by choice. While reminiscing about Constantine and viewing first-hand the way the Leefolts treat Aibileen as property rather than as a human being, Skeeter gets an idea and calls Elain Stein (Mary Steenburgen), the editor of Harper & Row Publishing, about writing a book from the point of view of the help. Stein agrees that she’ll take a look at whatever she writes if she can get one of the maids to be interviewed. At Hilly’s house, her maid Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) needs to use the bathroom but is unable to step outside due to a raging storm. Although Hilly’s mother, Mrs. Walters (Sissy Spacek), says she can use the bathroom in the house, Hilly absolutely forbids it and fires Minny when she catches her using it. Skeeter asks Aibileen about being interviewed for her book but she refuses, afraid that she will lose her job or face violence for speaking out against her white employers. Aibileen eventually relents after being inspired by a sermon in church and begins to tell Skeeter about her experiences and true feelings about working for the Leefolts. Her close friend, Minny, decides to contribute as well but makes it clear that what they’re doing is crazy and dangerous. Minny manages to find a new job working for a wealthy naïve woman named Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) and bond due to their ostracized status. 

In his own review, Roger Ebert admits that he enjoyed watching “The Help” despite it being ‘a feel-good fable, a story that deals with pain but doesn't care to be that painful.’ This is the main issue with the film as it handles its racial themes of prejudice and discrimination in a way that is too simple and safe, as if afraid to offend anyone. At times, the film almost seems self-congratulatory about the progress America has made in achieving equality, making it seem like racism is now a thing of the past. One scene that really captured the fear that gripped all African Americans living in the Jim Crow-controlled South is when Aibileen and another man are ordered off the bus by a police officer as someone has been murdered. This ‘someone’ is Medgar Evers, a civil rights activist who was assassinated outside his home on June 12, 1963, just hours after President John F. Kennedy’s speech on national television where he proclaimed his support for the civil rights movement. Aibileen runs home in fear of being violently accosted because this was the reality of the world she, and all African Americans, lived in. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between as director Tate Taylor spends much of the film tiptoeing around its themes, exploring them in broad strokes without any shades of grey as characters are depicted either as idealistic, saintly, or prejudiced that border on being overly cartoonish. The film’s tone is often too saccharine to the point of being emotionally manipulative. Scenes involving Constantine are especially guilty of this as is the unlikely bond that develops between Minny and Celia. To a lesser extent, “The Help” also touches upon the limited opportunities of women and their imposed role as housewives by a patriarchal society where a woman getting a job instead of settling down was considered shocking. In addition, wealthy women are presented as unfit mothers because they rely on their maids to do the child-rearing so much and are unable to provide the love their children needs. 

As an adaptation of a 544-page novel, Taylor’s script could have used some streamlining as many of the subplots are extraneous at best and contribute nothing but a bloated, two-and-a-half hour running time. We certainly did not need the romance subplot involving Skeeter and Stuart Whitworth (Chris Lowell) and the interactions between Minny and Celia is disconnected from all the other characters save for a few scenes. It seems to have been included as a way to reassure audiences that ‘not all white people are bad.’ To the film’s credit, it does boast some solid laughs, especially from Octavia Spencer’s Minny as a sass-talking maid who’s unafraid to speak her mind. She has a scene with Howard’s Hilly involving a pie baked with a secret ingredient that drew guffaws from the audience. Ultimately, “The Help” has its heart in the right place but its exploration of racial discrimination in the early 1960’s, combined with its thinly-drawn characters, is just too superficial and safe to make the emotional impact it wants. 

The cast manages to be the saving grace of the film, especially from Viola Davis, who deserves to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Davis, looking worn and tired, is a woman simply trying to survive but there comes a point where self-preservation isn’t enough and that for the sake of herself and everyone she has to voice her opinion, no matter how dangerous it is. Her character is the heart and soul of the film and I believe “The Help” would’ve been much better off just focusing on her. Octavia Spencer serves as comic relief with her exaggerated behavior and comes dangerously close to being a stereotype but the laughs she provides is simply priceless. She may very well end up competing with Davis in the same category. Although she receives top-billing, Emma Stone isn’t as integral to the plot, even if the film tries hard to develop her character. She is simply just the ‘glue’ that holds all the disparate plot strands together. Stone’s performance is fine but it is neither her best nor her most memorable role. Bryce Dallas Howard really makes you hate her as two-faced and hypocritical Hilly Holbrook but she ends up being a one-note character. There’s no attempt to explore why she is the way she is. Hilly is a racist, plain and simple. Finally there’s Jessica Chastain as a bubbly and easily excited airhead, which I found adorable. 

Released on August 10, 2011, “The Help” has received surprisingly positive reviews with 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics agreed that that the film is ‘arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, [but it] rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own.’ Although it had an opening weekend debut of $26 million ($36 million when including Wednesday and Thursday grosses), coming in at #2 behind “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” the film leaped to #1 in its second week of release, which is a rare feat helped along by positive word-of-mouth and weak late summer fare. With already $79 million in the bank, it’s already a hit in a summer that has been bereft of any drama films. Audience turnout was above-average for a weekday and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy the film. I believe I even heard a couple of sniffles. “The Help” boasts some excellent performances but its script is simply too pedestrian and needed to be more daring in its exploration of race relations in early 1960’s Mississippi. It succeeds as a lightweight drama for those who do not want to think too much but that’s ultimately all it does.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

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