Eat Pray Love

Most people I know are going to see this film for Julia Roberts. It is that mysterious link that film stars create with their audiences. We develop a sort of craving to see them again. So a new Julia Roberts movie? Sure. Absolutely. I'm only a few years younger than Julia Roberts which means we have grown together. So, to see her play a woman facing a sort of middle age crisis makes you look inwards with a smile, the nervous kind. I must also say I'm a guy, heterosexual, but not fanatically so. I don't have the fears that, Jay Leno for instance, shows, when confronted by a "chick flick" If anything "Eat Pray Love" proves that men and women are not that far apart, we simply deal with the same problems in different ways. Here, the filmmakers don't shy away from the conflict and the balance is real. Julia's husband, played beautifully by Billy Crudup, accuses her of leaving the marriage without an explanation. He is the one with the broken heart. In Italy, Julia eats and our own gastric juices start to do their thing. I glanced at my watch, I was ready to run into the nearest Italian restaurant and have a relationship with a pizza myself. Italy, Rome and even Naples look so clean that I hardly recognized it. CGI? Luca Argentero plays Julia's tutor/tourist guide. He is a good looking guy that after appearing in the Italian version of the Big Brother reality show, he became a sort of local movie star and shows promising acting chops. Here, strangely enough, he looks small but charming all the same. India brings the wonderful Richard Jenkins and a solid piece of advise: "don't give up on love" Bali, well, Bali is something else and it is there that Javier Bardem comes into the picture and provides us with the best scene in the film. I'm not going to tell you what it is but let me just say that involves his son and gives us, finally, a side of Julia we didn't know how much we missed. Empathy. Feeling something for somebody else's feelings. I think I may see the film a second time just to see that scene again. I also should mention that James Franco plays a young actor - not what I call a stretch - considering he is my favorite of the young actors around. I will challenge other members of my sex to go and see it. Not to be afraid to feel identified or even chocked up. I can assure you it's not going to diminish you manliness in any way and will awake your appetites, big time.

I love travelogues and I'm a fan of Julia Roberts but, what happened here? I'm not sure in what period, time wise, it this set. The only turmoil seems to be in this very selfish forty-something. What about the rest of the world? She goes for a sort of journey of discovery in a world that doesn't really exist. Did I miss something? No wars, no economic crisis, no nothing, only the intimate qualm of a woman who I, personally, cannot feel represented by. I grant you I'm from another generation but, please! What is this. I loved the food and Javier Bardem and it is in fact the Bardem episode that brings some kind of recognizable something to the proceedings. So, let me recapitulate and ask you if we've seen the same movie...A woman facing an existential crisis and moves out from her marital abode without even having a discussion about it with her husband - a scrumptious Billy Crudup - then she has an affair with James Franco - who wouldn't, right? - but the Franco in this movie is just a plain reflection of the Franco from "Milk" just to name one title. The Naples presented here seems out of the mind of someone who's never been to Naples. I don't know what to say. I'm a bit puzzled and, I should confess, a bit annoyed.

When I first saw this movie in my 20s I thought it was about a bold, confident woman who runs away to travel and learn about life and love. Watching it in my 30s is a completely different story. Do I agree with all the other reviewers that our leading lady is selfish for leaving her husband, being flaky and indecisive? Yes. Do I think she's wrong for being all that? No.

What this movie showcases is the reality of life choices, as well as the pressure and obligations of society. At the start she questions if she wants kids, if she wants to even be married. She's in her 40s and still not being true to herself. She's never had that "aha" moment where you feel you're on the right path. It's a commonality that a lot of people who don't have a strong sense of self will use a romantic partner to help feel more whole. However there does eventually come a point where you question if you really are truly being accepted by your partner or whether they love you because you made yourself out to be what they wanted. Julia Roberts in this role is very clearly that type that has been a chameleon in relationships, as is witnessed with her first marriage and subsequent partners following. Even her good friend states the obvious.

To me this isn't about a woman traveling the world and finding her soulmate. Cause to be honest, it's not a romance in the slightest. It's a narrative about the imperfect relationship we all have with ourselves. How we eventually learn to accept and work with ourselves, our wants and desires.

It's a good film if you've been dealing with identity issues. Julia Roberts isn't a hero or someone to look up to, but what is admirable is that she does actually take the chance of experiencing self discovery, as opposed to remaining unhappily settled, as many people do. People do change and generally it's important to find a relationship that allows you to grow, but if you don't even know who you are then how are you expected to find that sort of relationship?

What this movie is getting at is that the relationship with yourself is THE most important relationship in your life.

Eat Pray Love is not the appealing romantic comedy it's being sold as. It's a dark character study of how someone loses themselves. Julia Roberts the queen of romantic comedies (another way to sell the film) is front and center as Liz, and she deserves a Best Actress nomination.

Roberts really brings Liz to life in both the enchanting ways and the dark ways. It's not the typical Julia Roberts performance you'd expect. The scene early on in the film where she prays for the first time is chilling. What makes Roberts so good is the fact she's a movie star, but a movie star with talent and range.

Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins also play roles in the second and third act. They both have a magnetic connection with Roberts. Jenkins has so much fun playing his colorful character. He's the old guy you want to have long talks with. His character has a surprising arc during the last minutes of India. Bardem's Phillippe is charming, handsome, and emotional. Bardem yet creates another memorable character and a great supporting performance.

The story didn't sell me at first. As Liz feels confined, I felt confined and uncomfortable in the NYC scenes. They aren't bad, but a term I've used to describe this film before: dark. But, when she goes to Italy, lets go, and frees herself, I felt freed too. From there until the credits roll, the film doesn't have that problem but it's a big problem. I personally hold the director at fault there. He could've smoothed it over.

The cinematography is gorgeous, Roberts is beautiful with support from two stand-out men. What more could ya ask for? Be warned: this is a darker movie then the trailers may imply so it's not for everyone; 8.

Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a modern woman with a husband, a job, and a house. Then she divorces her husband. Confused and lost, she sets off on a quest for enlightenment.

Ryan Murphy wrote and directed this film based on the popular book. I don't know if there's anything especially offensive to me (moviewise) in this movie, but I don't find it involving. It feels very bourgeois. And it goes so slowly. She's so full of herself. Julia Roberts just doesn't give a sense of somebody in crisis. Can boredom be a crisis? That's what it seems to be. If there is one movie thing that I object to, it's the narration. There's nothing more boring than being told how unfulfilled you are in narration. It doesn't make the movie any better.