Georgia Rule

Release date: May 11, 2007
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Starring: Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Lindsay Lohan, Dermot Mulroney

Taking cues from her much maligned personal life, Lindsay Lohan plays a rebellious, out of control teenager in director Garry Marshall's ridiculous Georgia Rule. Before heading off to college in the fall, Rachel (Lohan) is forced by her mother Lilly (Huffman) to spend the summer in Hull, Idaho with her aging grandmother Georgia, played by the iconic Jane Fonda. Georgia, with her famous house rules has been trusted to straighten Rachel out, because her mother can't handle her anymore.

But wait? What's behind Rachel's bad behaviour? Could it be a dysfunctional, alcoholic mother? Why yes, absolutely! Add to that the tumultuous relationship Lilly has with Georgia and you've already got a multi-generational family breakdown to heap on Rachel's poor, freckled shoulders. Oh, and don't forget to toss a side of sexual molestation onto Rachel's plate of woe, stir in some drug abuse, sprinkle on some pathological lies, and then bake it all up with her need to consistently screw up everything she touches. Wow, how many cliches can make up one character?

The problem with Georgia Rule is that you can't make an "issue" movie, one about serious, troublesome topics like sexual molestation and abuse, and turn it into a sitcom. There's very little honest comedy to be mined here and absolutely zero integrity when it comes to the gravity of the issues. Case in point: when it comes out that Rachel's stepfather has been abusing her for years, a seesaw storyline of "is she or isn't she lying" becomes the film's focal point. And while this is supposed to explain her behaviour, the emotional and/or psychological impetus behind Rachel's actions are never explored or taken seriously.

In fact, Rachel is such a ridiculous character stuffed inside an abysmal performance that caring about whether or not she's lying or has been abused is a moot point. Where does the comedy come in? Well, isn't it funny how Rachel's mother can't control her drinking? It's hilarious. Or not. And it's just sidesplitting when Rachel toys with a boy's affections and then ruins his relationship with his fiance. Actually, not so much. Most of the "comedy" in the film falls into the Tuesday night network TV variety.

For Lohan, playing "troubled" means teetering around town on three-inch heels, wearing giant Nicole Richie-sized sunglasses and off-the-shoulder short dresses, taking the Lord's name in vain, and running amok with the feelings of a local Mormon hottie. For a lot of sophisticated moviegoers, this kind of film does nothing but insult your intelligence and fail to develop consistent and true relationships between the characters. It devotes too much time to Lohan's various costume changes and gathering cheap laughs about sexual innocence, good "American" values and old people. And even when Rachel frequently uses her sexuality in a situation where her brain would have been a better choice, there are no real consequences to her actions.

Fonda's great, but she's not given much to do. Huffman tries to deliver a solid performance with substandard material. And other than trying to resist the sexual advances of Rachel, there's little for any of the male characters to work with. Marshall's directing is formulaic, tired and betrays the integrity of the female characters he's purporting to embrace. Georgia Rule is a bad flick with cheap laughs that will leave a sour taste in your mouth.