JUDY

Judy for an hour "When walking (thru life) is enough" How do you start the conversation about a legend's biography? The film captures the essence of the woman of the legend. The main focus is the Personable Judy underneath the Star Judy grounded in life with small back stories chiseled out of her family, her arrangement of hits, her battle with intoxicants, her costars, her husbands. The greatness of Judy Garland is her voice along with her immense communication skills in telling a story with that voice. Zellweger has a task before her like no other. She succeeds in a respectful portrayal, never becoming a caricature or campy Judy. Honest, vulnerable, grounded. She also sings for herself, which also demonstrates the cello-osity of Garland's voice. She can not match the pipes or even touch them. She can tell the tell but not with the singing, so her singing inflects Judy. Which is good enough. A moving dignified human approach is portrayed without the hyper focus on her "bad days" or "star terrible" moments. Tantrums are thrown by everyone, and thankfully we are not defined by them. Neither should Miss Garland. ---in all actuality, in this late time period, Judy's voice was worn down by the years of La Vida Loca peculiarly parallelly coincidentally like the last year of Whitney Houston who lost her voice as well---so Zellweger's vocal rendition is true to the time. Judy's voice was a shadow then too. Zellweger has her mannerisms gestures as natural as one could get and you feel "Judy", more so when She interacts with "normal people". Warmth, cheerfulness, loneliness, sadness, being a legend or being ordinary are extremely exposed with the tiniest scenes. Every moment Zellweger's silhouette impresses and hauntingly invokes, ramblingly walks like a Judy Galland postcard, a collage of sightings. The clothes, the coiff, the simple act of sitting backstage after a performance. There is just Judy. Ordinary people can't relay to the life lessons of huge stars, today when huge stars are doing world tours, every minute is planned - even restroom breaks are scheduled. But this film's Judy hasn't lost touch and is only embellished by her triumphs and losses. The sets, costumes, locations, supporting stars all enhance fleshing out Judy's private world. Now, how much this biography is actual true to life or is an invention doesn't really matter, unless Judy wrote it Herself. She didn't. She left clues about it in her artifacts of movies, songs, and tabloid fables. Gleaned from these the writers, director, and actor give us a heartfelt humourous caring Judy. What more could one want. I feel there will be mixed reactions, older people who knew her may turn beat red by saying that's not her, middle aged people will say it was quite a formidable film, and younger people will say Judy who. Nonetheless, Judy Garland is there and you are reminded why She is still and always will be loved. And that is good enough for me.