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“The Color Purple”
This is a dynamic, gutsy film that rediscovers the meaning of musicals. Though it drifts a bit at the end, the film is filled with powerful singing and marvelous dance numbers.
The film follows Celie (Fantasia Barrino) in the early 1900s as she is torn from her sister and two children by an abusive father. Forced to marry an equally abusive husband (Colman Domingo), she is slapped around as a maid with no pride.
As the decades pass, she falls under the spell of Shug Avery’s (Taraji P. Henson) charisma and holds out hope of dumping her husband and seeing her babies again. Again, the story is told through song and dance numbers that left the theater audience repeatedly tapping their feet.
Barrino reprises her Broadway role as you watch Celie’s journey of grief and survival. Wait until you see her singing “I’m Here.” It sums up the film’s story of resilience and perseverance.
The movie is based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel. Steven Spielberg is one of this film’s producers. If you haven’t already, you should also watch the original film starring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg that was released in 1985.
“The Boys in the Boat”
Here is the unfortunate thing about this film by George Clooney: Most of the movie leaves you watching students from the University of Washington do little more than row a boat in practice and competition. There are no surprises, as they always come from behind and win. That includes the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
There is little drama that captures your attention out of the water. While Joel Edgerton is compelling as Coach Al Ulbrickson, he does little more than frown as he sees his job on the line.
Joe Rantz stands out as one of the rowers who sits on the edge of poverty as he dates Joyce (Hadley Robinson), a student he knew in grade school. She flirts and kisses in a relatively amateur love affair.
The competition in Berlin saved this movie. While you know they are going to win the gold medal, it was rewarding to watch Hitler and his S.S. cronies stalk off in disgust.
Quite frankly, the ending captured my disappointment. As I left the theater, I laughed as I quietly sang the old song, “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, good movies are but a dream.”
Forgive me, but I added some changes to the last line for obvious reasons.•
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Robert Hammerle specializes in criminal law as of counsel with Hackman Hulett LLP. When he is not in the courtroom or the office, Bob can likely be found at one of his favorite movie theaters preparing to review the latest films. To read more of his reviews, visit www.bigmouthbobs.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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