Rene Zellweger was Horrible as Judy Garland

I haven't seen it so I shouldn't comment but my grandparents turned me on to Judy 50 years ago and the clip I saw of Rene doing Judy was terrible so I've avoided watching it. Judy was so weird and quirky. The only people who've pulled off a decent impersonation have been drag queens who understood and appreciated her nuances.

You may eat your words when she wins the Global Globe tonight.

You're crazy, OP. Zellwegger has gotten a lot of critical acclaim for her performance.

And they would be wrong r3.

She sucked in that unnecessary movie.

Zellweger was great.

I thought her performance consisted of pursing her lips to express emotion.

She didn’t even sound like her. No effort whatsoever.

And she just won the Golden Globe. Hollywood is so facile. Poor Judy.

Ahem.

What drugs was she doing last night?

And who designed that beaver-shot gown for her to wear? The front needed desperately to be stitched closed.

You're crazy OP, she was terrific and deserved the award last night.

I hope she wears blue. I like blue.

I'll give you blue, Joey Luft. BLACK and blue. Now get your ass into the kitchen and finish Bedazzling™ those protest posters. We've got less than a month.

The performance was great but the movie sucked ass.

I thought she was really good. The most surprising thing was her singing, which was done live. I expected her to be awful, but her singing was actually pretty good.

I thought she was good in it, but the story itself was rather bland.

Renee can't sing like Judy - but who could? - but I admired her acting performance. The thing I liked about the portrayal was how funny it showed Judy to be. But those flashbacks to girl Judy at MGM were unnecessary.

r17 not really it was to juxtapose her love for her children vs how badly she was treated as a child. I loved the line, "don't call me a bad mother, I know what a bad mother is.."

I think Renee captured Judy Garland's sense of humour.

She was good in the film (sometimes better, particularly in the scenes between Judy and Sid), but she wasn't in Judy Davis' league. I thin it was a mistake for her to do her own singing as RZ isn't a particularly good singer to begin with and she didn't sound remotely like Garland.

The film itself was very weak.

This means the Oscar is now a shoe-in for her.

R21 = Glenn

For those who didn't like Rene's performance, who would you recommend to play the part in her place?

[quote]For those who didn't like Rene's performance, who would you recommend to play the part in her place?

No one. Me and My Shadow was the ultimate Garland bio.

Hell, Andrea McArdle in Rainbow was less wooden.

I've told some friends who saw the movie to watch the "Sid and Judy" documentary. Zellwegger was good playing someone (who I'm not sure was Judy Garland}. What didn't come across to me was why was this character so revered and people so excited about. IF you didn't know who she was you wouldn't get the impression that there was anything important about the person.

No one will ever top Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard in “Me and My Shadows”. That actually should’ve been a big screen biopic.

I finally got around to seeing this tonight. I would have enjoyed it more if they had called it "Neely" instead.

Squinty MacDoogle.

OMG. Judy Garland was such a mess.

I'm like R1 -- could barely watch the preview on youtube -- and other clips on tv -- without cringing so I haven't seen the film, but thought Zellweger came off like Glenn Close last night. LIke she expected and deserved to win. Her speech was SO condescending and patronizing, as if she was one of The Great Stars.

Sheesh.

She did a decent job in her acting and movement but the singing was terrible. Like a road show version performance from a Broadway musical about Judy. Agree with the poster above that if you had never heard of Garland you wouldn't be impressed. Judy Davis was so much better.

Her mannerism in the movie is awful and infuriating like try-hard impersonation. I would be phenomenal in this role with good makeup!

MEH!

I can't imagine Judy Davis as Judy Garland. Zellweger ( in the trailer, I won't watch the movie thanks, I hate biopic, they ALWAYS suck) ) But anyway nothing can be worse than giant frumpy dark eyed what's-her-name, the poor man's Julia Roberts-resurrected-from-planet-oblivia woman who ' played ' VIVIEN fucking LEIGH in ' my week with Marilyn. But then again, miss Kenneth was cast as Olivier and that Goose Williams woman was cast as Marilyn Monroe, so I assume the casting director of that movie was psychotic and off her meds.

Anyway, Zellweger managed to have something in that trailer, that was reminiscent of late Judy Garland

R33, watch ME AND MY SHADOW and judge Judy Davis for yourself.

I thought Michelle Williams was better as Monroe than I was expecting. No one is really going to fully capture Marilyn.

Not even Marilyn Monroe could fully capture Marilyn. I read that in the later years, it took 9 HOURS to make her up, and then she could only work for so long before collapsing.

I thought she was great

[quote]I read that in the later years, it took 9 HOURS to make her up,

Um, no.

I could have done without the scene of Rene fingering that young woman in the back of a car while she used her other hand to casually smoke a cigarette.

It was in very poor taste.

Was that supposed to be funny R39?

Read REX Reed's review he nailed it

Ghoulish-faced Judy Davis in an orange wig recreating The Trolley Song in "Me and My Shadows" remains one of the most bizarre movie scenes I've ever seen.

Yes, Judy Davis did what I thought was previously impossible: Looking too old for Judy Garland.

But she got the twitchy Judy of the '60s' mannerisms down cold.

Just watched this absolutely slow mess of a movie. I thought RZ was great!

Serious question: Not into Garland but I want to see this film. Which movie or clips should I watch to get a feel so I can compare Zellweger's performance? Is there something that personifies Garland enough for me to get somewhat of an idea of how she truly was as a reference?

I've only seen a trailer for this movie, but based on that, I agree with OP. It was Renee's Bridget Jones shtick all over again.

R45 I would watch her (RZ) singing performances, because she emulates JG perfect. I was unfamiliar with JG as an individual, and she appeared to be a hot mess with a life full of bad mistakes. She was uninsurable and was not dependable so that is why her career stopped. Pills and booze, very bad combination.

The movie was slow. I could not finish it...

R41 Reason enough to love the film....which I did. He's an old clown.

Not one fucking bugle bead, sequin or palette on her Valley of the Doll Helen Lawson suit worn in the opening scenes OR the white version of the same suit worn later on in the film.

How second rate. Just like the lead.

I thought she was great. If you think of it as a fictional movie, you can see that she really created a character not dependent on the real Judy. And in brief shots you would get quick glimpses of real Judy that felt very eerie. The screenplay, however, was a sit-n-spin. Thank GOD for the flashbacks.

no the MGM flashbacks were all wrong.. Louis B Mayer was the same height as the child Judy, not the giant presented in the film.

R50: " If you think of it as a fictional movie, you can see that she really created a character not dependent on the real Judy."

That has to be THE most moronic comment I've ever read on the DL.

The film itself is mediocre, at best; however, Zellwegger’s performance is outstanding, and more than merits her award nominations.

I personally think it was a good idea not to have her singing dubbed by a more skilled vocalist, as she brought an immediacy to those scenes that would have been lost otherwise. The worst imaginable choice would have been to use Garland’s recordings. It would have put the film on a fast track toward being a kitsch-fest, which Zellwegger’s performance skillfully avoided.

[quote] Serious question: Not into Garland but I want to see this film. Which movie or clips should I watch to get a feel so I can compare Zellweger's performance? Is there something that personifies Garland enough for me to get somewhat of an idea of how she truly was as a reference?

This is also a serious question: If you've never seen enough of Garland to compare Zellweger's performance, how do you know you're not into Garland?

Me and My Shadows is perfection. The problem is that Davis adopted that approach to pretty much every movie she's done since then.

I think Rue McClanahan could have done a great Judy Garland. Both have similar physical builds. And I could totally picture Rue nailing Judy's less the nicer moments.

It's a RENEESANCE!!

Bump. Finally getting around to watching this. She does capture fragile Judy, gets the look and the speaking voice right most of the time; very well at times. The singing really bothers me, though. Yes, I'm well aware of how Judy sounded at the end, but this sounds like Rene Zellweger in a high school production. At least TRY for the wobbly vibrato. I totally hate the "young Judy" flashbacks with the nasty pill-pushing minder - I get it, it's a primer for the kids today who have no idea who Judy is. I'm sure millennials will swoon at the victim narrative.

That said, I'm enjoying it.

Oh, meant to add I, too, am a huge fan of the Judy Davis portrayal. The part here that starts at 13:30 gives me chills every single time.

Renee was far large too large and healthy looking for the role and her habitual squinting did her performance no favors. Agreed that Judy Davis was far better - but Renee does have an appealing vulnerability. Only it's not Judy's vulnerability. The decision to let Renee sing might have been bold but it wasn't wise. The movie is total crap.

Anybody know if Pink can act? She certainly could have pulled off the vocals.

I'm at the "Over the Rainbow" performance at the end. All I can say is.....OH NO!

Ok I enjoyed it but disliked it, does that make sense?

She's fine, a bit overrated (as Judy).

Tammy Blanchard never got enough credit for pulling off young Judy. She caught something that no one else has. And Tammy is tall, so it was no mean feat.

Davis was better than Zelwegger but I still greatly enjoyed the latters performance.

Just watched on Netflix. Not once did I see Judy Garland. All i saw was squinty eyed puffy cheeked Zellwegger in a black wig thrashing round a set pretending to be Judy Garland. Not enough pills, not enough neurosis. Zellweger is not a character actress or a method actor. Nor does she know pain. Davis was brilliant as Garland because i think she has neurosis/bipolar. Davis said it took a long time to let go of Garland after shooting, and I'd believe it. She WAS Judy.