Judy

A 2019 film portraying the early and last years of singer and actress Judy Garland, it shows the tragedy of a celebrity's life manipulated and abused for others' gain, the painful repercussions of our wrong decisions in life, but also how God has given us dignity and power to affect other people's lives. The performance of Renee Zellweger is excellent and emotionally affecting, and it alone makes this biopic worth a watch.

I try really hard when watching a movie to judge it on its own merits without comparing it to anything I've seen previously. I'm not sure I succeeded when viewing this film. Let me say that Zellweger is truly transformative in this role, and while I wouldn't have given her the Oscar, it's an admirable effort to step into the ruby red slippers of a true legend. That being said, I couldn't help but be reminded of Judy Davis' spellbinding performance as Garland in the 2001 miniseries LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS. It will forever be the definitive portrait of Garland in my mind, and Zellweger frankly pales by comparison. Putting that aside, I don't think this is a really good movie in general. Unless you are familiar with the legacy of Garland, you're not going to get a grasp of what made her an icon by watching anything here. A few uninspired flashbacks to her childhood are no help whatsoever. None of the supporting performances register at all, with the exception of two fans she meets behind the theater after one of her performances. The scenes with them are by far the movie's best. And I have the utmost respect for Zellweger doing her own singing here, but she can't come close to nailing the raw intensity and emotion of Garland's legendary voice. It comes across as mimicry rather than embodiment - but in Renee's defense, no one on earth could succeed in such an endeavor. If you're a Garland fan, you'll probably get more out of this than most. But if you are using this film as an introduction to one of the great entertainers of the 20th century, you're likely to be disappointed.

Somewhat better than your standard Oscar baiting biopic (Zellweger is more understated than I anticipated and I'm glad the movie focused on a narrow span of time) but ultimately the movie is empty of any compelling ideas outside of stating the obvious about Judy Garland.

Renée Zellweger takes on the role of Judy Garland in Judy, a biopic set late in the singer/actress' life during a tumultuous London-based set of concerts. The film earned Zellweger several awards including a Best Actress Oscar. The true story of Judy Garland was always a rather tragic one so a biopic based on her life would have to dip into some pretty dark territory whilst remaining respectful and celebrating the subject's obvious talent. Some biopics achieve this sort of balance better than others. By being set near the end of Garland's career, Judy goes the Stan & Ollie route by focusing on one of the subject's rockiest moments. We first meet Garland as a young girl on the set of The Wizard Of Oz, speaking to her studio manager Louis B. Mayer, whose harshness intimidates her into taking her child star career seriously. We go back and forth between this period of her life as she spends time with Mickey Rooney, is forced to watch her diet constantly and deals with the abusive adults around her, and Garland in her 40's trying to take care of her children financially by performing. She travels to London, leaving her children with her ex husband, where her insomnia, stress and addictions instantly become a problem. Performing that very first night seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Against all odds, she delivers an excellent performance but the problems persist. Renée Zellweger's performance as Garland is a career best: physically, the actress does an incredible job at capturing the star's posture, mannerisms and voice. But this isn't just an impression as Zellweger goes deep trying to show Garland's rollercoaster-like range of emotions and you quickly forget you're watching good old Bridget Jones. The actress took something of a break between 2010 and 2016 so it's good to see her not only back and choosing challenging projects like this but knocking it out of the park. There are songs throughout the film but only a few. Each performance emphasizing the internal struggle Garland is going through at a particular time. Between the addictions, the eating disorders, lingering trauma, pressures of performing and bad relationships, this is a person you expect to break for good at any moment yet she persists, even when it looks she's about to give up, in order to keep the people she loves, her children, with her and deliver something truly special to the audience she respects. It's a touching story and the film does well to hammer home Garland's emotional and physical challenges, you definitely feel like she deserved better, much better. That said, Judy is also rather by-numbers in terms of its storytelling and it really doesn't tell us much about how Garland got to this point. A film like La Vie En Rose achieved what Judy tries to achieve a lot better by giving us a fuller understanding of just how much her life changed from her earlier years to her later days. Garland's interactions with a couple of her fans in Judy also feels a little forced, like the film wanted to show that she did have people supporting her and how she meant a lot to her queer fans but it doesn't quite know how. Despite writing that can be a tad slight at times, Judy is still a solid biopic with an impressive lead performance well deserving of its Oscar win. Renée Zellweger's against-type turn alone makes the film worth watching but this is a useful and effective look at how a child star can be moulded and destroyed by the very same industry, and the human struggle that follows long after. Not bad.

Fantastic! Renee Zellweger is absolutely amazing as Judy. Highly recommend!

this film is a great summary of Judy Garland's life, I say summary because Judy's life is definitely a catastrophe, Zellweger did a great job in making Judy she managed to show us perfectly the last depressing moments of Garland. Overall the movie is good and I would recommend it to people looking for a biography of Old Hollywood actresses

First watch, gobsmacked, sizzling from the beginning. Zellweger is engrossing.

Great movie! Renee Zellweger was phenomenal. Such a sad story about Judy Garland I had no idea of. I really enjoyed this.

Brilliant performance by Renee but also the rest of the cast. A somewhat sad story highlighting the abuse by her managers when young and her self abusive ways which resulted from the pain of her past. But her good heart and great talent shines through. A tragic life intermingledwith great success.

Bio-pics are often fraught with danger, especially when you are a fan. There are high expectations and fear that the casting will do the subject justice. I can breathe easily. Renee Zellweger honoured Judy Garland and then some. She was Judy warts and all. The fun Judy, the loving Judy, the vulnerable Judy, the insecure Judy. It was a magnificent performance. The creepy flashbacks with Louis B. Mayer highlighted the abuse Judy Garland suffered at the hands of the Studio system that stayed with her all her short life. It was a significant insight into her psyche and insecurities. It wasn't a brilliant film, far from it, but Zellweger was Judy for 90 minutes and it was worth it just for that.