To be fair, I am not the target demographic in which Eat Pray Love was made for. I am a single man in his mid 30’s who was more excited to see this week’s other major releases (Scott Pilgrim vs the World & The Expendables) than I was the new Julia Roberts film. I was not close-minded to the film. After all, I have enjoyed many Julia Roberts films. Also, the movie was directed by Ryan Murphy who brought awesome TV shows like Nip/Tuck & Glee to life.
Julia Roberts plays Liz Gilbert, a woman who seemed to have her life together. She had a successful career, a beautiful house, and a husband (Billy Crudup) who loves her. Even with her seemingly dream life, she felt lost and unbalanced. Liz decides to divorce her husband and then shortly after meets a young actor named David (James Franco) whom she develops a relationship with. Still feeling lost and confused, Liz decides to put all her belongings in storage and travel the globe for a year. She hopes that this drastic decision can help her in finding herself.
I found that the best moments in Eat Pray Love were during Liz’s trip to Italy. They were honestly the most fun. Liz was beginning to enjoy herself, making new friends and giving in to the seduction of carbohydrates. I have to tell you, almost all the food that she ate while in Italy looked amazing. I so wanted a big bowl of pasta myself while I was watching her scarf down a nice helping of it. There is also quite a bit of humor in those scenes.
Shortly after Liz arrives in India, the movie starts to really slow down. Her time in India is spent praying and trying to learn to let go of the guilt that she is holding on to. This is when she meets Richard (Richard Jenkins) another American who is trying to overcome his own guilt for reasons that are explained later on in the film. Jenkins is a terrific actor and I always enjoy seeing him on screen. He is very effective as Richard, taking Liz under his wing to help her come to terms with what she needs to do.
When Liz finally reaches Bali, the film starts to really drag it’s feet. I could not help but become completely restless. Liz does meet a man named Felipe (Javier Bardem), but I felt like there was no chemistry between the 2 actors. By this time, I really did not care if Liz found herself or not.
There are quite a few elements about Eat Pray Love that do work. Roberts does give a very good performance and there are some beautiful locations on display. When it comes down to it, if you are watching a 2 hour and 30 minute movie and it feels like it’s at least 2 hours longer than that. There is a problem.
By: Marc Ferman
