Georgia Rule is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and starring Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney, Garrett Hedlund, and Cary Elwes. The original music score was composed by John Debney. The film received negative reviews from critics, however, several praised Huffman's and Lohan's performances.
Plot
Rebellious teenager Rachel screams, swears and drinks; she is, in a word, uncontrollable. With her latest car crash, Rachel has broken the final rule in her mother Lily's San Francisco home. With nowhere else to take the impulsive and rambunctious girl, Lily hauls her daughter to the one place she swore she'd never returnâ€"her own mother's house in Idaho. Matriarch Georgia lives her life by a number of unbreakable rulesâ€"God comes first, and hard work comes a very close secondâ€"and wants that anyone who shares her home do the same. Now saddled with raising the young woman, it requires each patient breath she takes to understand Rachel's fury.
Georgia arranges a job for Rachel as the office girl of Dr. Simon Ward, the local veterinarian, who also unofficially treats people. His two nephews Sam and Ethan are often at Georgia's house. Simon does not show interest in Rachel or other women, so she thinks he is gay. However, Simon's sister Paula reveals that he is still mourning the death of his wife and son who were killed in a car collision three years earlier. He refuses to have sex with Rachel even when she tries to seduce him, but feels some passion for her mother Lily, with whom he has dated in the past.
Rachel performs oral sex on Harlan Wilson, who, not yet being married, was still a virgin because of his LDS (Mormon) religion. He confesses to his LDS girlfriend, who is shocked. A team of LDS girls spy on Harlan to make sure he does not "have sex" again. After what seems like a run over using Harlan's truck, Rachel soon explains to them that what happened was over and that they can go back to having their summer fun. They agree to do so if Rachel goes home. Rachel threatens them by saying if they have anything to do with her and Harlan again she will find all of their boyfriends and "fuck them stupid", at which point they stop insulting her and stop spying on Harlan.
While trying to make a point to Simon about survival, Rachel bluntly says that her stepfather Arnold sexually molested and raped her from the time she was 12 until she turned 14. Seeing the effect of her revelation, Rachel tries to convince him she lied. However, Simon tells Georgia about the abuse, and Georgia tells Lily, who thinks Rachel is lying. Heartbroken, Lily comes to believe her daughter and begins to drink heavily. Lily asks Arnold for a divorce.
When Arnold arrives, Georgia tells him to leave, and she will not allow him in the house. Finally, she forces him out by hitting him with a baseball bat; when he still refuses to leave the property, she puts a bar of soap in his mouth. Rachel sees that Lily cannot accept the truth, and lies to her about being molested.
At the motel where Arnold is staying Rachel tells him that she has a video tape of the two having sex when she was 14, and Arnold seems worried. Rachel demands $10 million if he does not keep Lily happy. She admits to him that she told Lily lies because she does not want her to be upset anymore. On the way back to San Francisco Arnold tells Lily that he is giving Rachel his new red Ferrari, and Lily realizes that he is guilty.
Arnold finally admits to having raped Rachel numerous times and reveals his pedophilic nature with the excuse that Lily's being a raging alcoholic made him do it; after winning an attack Lily starts, Arnold drives off, leaving Lily to walk home and keep the money for himself. Georgia, Simon, Rachel, and Harlan catch up with Lily in Harlan's pick-up truck and a tearful Rachel makes up for her behavior. Harlan mentions to Georgia that he is in love with Rachel and plans to marry her when he gets back from his two-year mission.
Cast
- Jane Fonda as Georgia Randall
- Lindsay Lohan as Rachel Wilcox
- Felicity Huffman as Lilly Randall Wilcox
- Dermot Mulroney as Simon Ward
- Laurie Metcalf as Paula Richards
- Garrett Hedlund as Harlan Wilson
- Cary Elwes as Arnold
- Héctor Elizondo as Izzy
- Dylan McLaughlin as Sam
- Zachary Gordon as Ethan
- Tereza Stanislav as Violin Teacher
- Fred Applegate as Townie #1
- Cynthia Ferrer as Townie #2
- Destiney Moore as Waitress
- Christine Lakin as Grace
- Shea Curry as Melodee
Production
Ostensibly set in Idaho, per the ending credits and DVD extras, the film was actually shot in Southern California, and much of the scenery was created with CGI.
Reception
Georgia Rule was panned by critics. The film earned a Rotten rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 17%. The film also had a low rating on Metacritic with a score of 25, which means Generally Negative Reviews. Georgia Rule was rated the #2 worst movie of 2007 by AOL. The movie received "two thumbs down" from Ebert and Roeper, with the guest critic calling it "Lindsay Lohan's Gigli" (many critics would compare Lohan's following star vehicle, I Know Who Killed Me, to Gigli) and "a sitcom about sexual abuse".
Nominations
The film received nominations at the TCA. The film received 2 nominations for Choice Movie - Chick Flick and Choice Actress - Drama for Lohan's performance. Felicity Huffman received a Prism Award nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film.
Home media
Georgia Rule was released on DVD on September 4, 2007.
References
External links
- Official website
- Georgia Rule at the Internet Movie Database
- Georgia Rule at AllMovie
- Georgia Rule at Box Office Mojo
- Georgia Rule at Rotten Tomatoes
- Georgia Rule at Metacritic
- New York Times Review