Rambling Oscar speech aside, Renee Zellweger richly deserved her Best Actress trophy for her incredible portrayal of July Garland in 2019's JUDY.
Focusing on a very specific time in her life, we watch Garland realize her finances have hit rock bottom as 1968 comes to a close.
Her biggest opportunity is to take on a long engagement in London, where rabid fans are still excited to see her.
Garland's demons are well known and numerous. The sheer amount of booze, cigarettes and pills she consumes daily are jaw dropping, but the film is as unpredictable as Judy, and that's a good thing.
We see flashbacks to her early days battling Louis B. Mayer during the filming of "Wizard of Oz". We watch her rebel against the constant diet pills, uppers and downers her studio guardians push on her. The roots of her addictions are planted early and never let go of her.
17 year old Darci Shaw is terrific as young Judy.
I loved that the film never sets Judy up to perform on stage until 40 minutes in, after denied rehearsals, as the opening night curtain goes up.
I had no idea what to expect.
Zellweger is fantastic. You knew from "Chicago" that she can sing and dance, but she transforms into Garland without over-indulging in her familiar mannerisms.
The quiet moments between Garland and two loyal London fans, and stolen phone calls with her children are just as powerful as the many verbal battles with the men in her life.
Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist) is a hell of a sparring partner as Syd Luft, Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) is very good as much younger love interest Mickey Deans and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter) commands the screen as the owner of London's Talk of the Town nightclub.
Newcomer Jessie Buckley stands toe-to-toe with Zellweger as Garland's personal assistant in London, Rosalyn, who has the thankless job of getting Judy on stage every night.
Not a musical, it does feature some incredible songs from Zellweger, especially the very moving conclusion featuring "Over the Rainbow".
I never knew much about Judy's career beyond the obvious. Like Elton John's parents in his "Rocketman" biopic, her parents utter lack of commitment and support as a child greatly impact her entire life.
Talented and tortured in equal measure, Garland's life deserves the first class telling it receives here.
Zellweger is fantastic. She trained with a vocal coach for a year and then another four months with the musical director before shooting began. All that work is on screen.
JUDY gets an A.
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