Ok, Dear Readers…I couldn’t let the summer pass by without a post about the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”. I haven’t really been keeping up with how much hype this movie was getting, until I went to Cost Plus last weekend and was appalled by the entire “Eat, Pray, Love” merchandise section…pasta, yoga mat bags, prayer beads, and candles tagged with “EPL” labels. (Oy vey. What a cash cow.) I didn’t read a single review about the movie before I went, because I really wanted to form my own opinion (and I wanted to LOVE it!).
I read the book when it first came out because I am a big fan of travel writing. I read through the Peter Mayle “Provence” books, a bunch of books on Italy, and a couple of books on Japan, and I enjoy the joys of armchair travel. This book was covering Italy, India, and Indonesia – three places that always seemed very alluring to me – so I dove headfirst into Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir. Even though I’m not a thirty-something divorcee, I felt her pain. I understood the feeling of feeling broken, needing great change, seeking God. It was actually this book that got into yoga again, and interested in meditation…but it served as a reminder that nothing is permanent, the Divine resides in each of us, and there is nothing to be gained by waiting for something to happen to you.
Long story short – I loved the book. So, we went to watch the movie last night along with about 30 other women in the theater (and one lone guy, who we think may have lost a bet or done something really f**ked up to deserve 2.5 hours of a Julia Roberts chick flick).
The verdict? Well…it is a beautiful film. They managed to capture of romanticism of Roma, the hustle & bustle of India, and the lush, tropical sexiness of Bali. But beyond the pretty backdrops, gorgeous Julia Roberts and a hunky Javier Bardem, I was disappointed. So much of the book was Gilbert’s introspective voice, doing the entire movie in voice-over would be appropriate, but incredibly strange…but the attempt to capture her inward transformations were pretty weak. They skimmed over details that were huge parts of the story. If they wanted to include most of what was in the book, the movie would have needed to be released in parts (part 1: Italy), or made into a miniseries. We see her break out a yoga mat all of ONCE on the entire journey, and though you do have a few scenes of Liz meditating, it seemed a bit contrived every time they cut to her sitting serenely in lotus pose.
When I left the movie, I was bummed that I didn’t absolutely love it. I checked out some other reviews, and realized that I wasn’t alone in my opinion. Basically, if you loved the book, you might be a little disappointed that the movie skips a lot of the rich detail that Gilbert provides on her daily experiences in each location, but you’ll get it. If you’ve never read the book, you might enjoy the film, but you might not connect with Liz Gilbert all that well. All in all, it’s a beautifully shot movie with a respectable and believable leading lady, that carries a good message. But you may want to save it for your Netflix queue, I’m just saying.
