#3, Girl 27

As you might be able to tell, I am on break from work again, which means MOVIES (two of these I actually watched back in February but am just now writing up)! Tomorrow I am finally going to see The Hunger Games, so expect a post from me then! (Who am I talking to, exactly?)

#3: Girl 27 (2007, documentary)

I love the classic Old Hollywood era -- or rather, I love its mystique. I love the glamor and glitz and the world of ladies and gentlemen and high society. Of course, like all beautiful and iconic things, this image takes a lot of work to manage and maintain.

Girl 27 tells the story of what MGM execs were willing to do to preserve that image. In this documentary, extra Patricia Douglas exposes how she and many other young girls trying to break into the industry were tricked into attending an industry event (they believed they were going to a casting call), where she was forced to drink alcohol and ultimately raped. This is obviously an event from which she never recovered -- as she lived out the rest of her life very reclusively. She summoned all of the courage she had to pursue justice and was failed not only by a corrupt legal system but also by the all-powerful MEDIA. She was slandered left and right and ultimately shamed into obscurity.

Not only does the filmmaker paint a complex view of MGM at the height of its power, he also paints a portrait of a woman (and family) destroyed by that very same power. When Whitney Houston died two months ago, Dr. Drew (formerly of Loveline, currently seems to be marketing himself as an addiction specialist) made a lot of talkshow/CNN rounds. The best thing he said was in response to a question about why so many celebrities wind up with serious addictions. He explained how celebrities do not have the same consequences for bad behavior that the rest of us do. That is why Lindsay Lohan continues to flail about. I found myself thinking of this lack of consequences as I digested Girl 27 -- how much wrongdoing people are willing to ignore in the face of celebrity

Final Grade: B
This was very interesting and the story was compelling. At times, the pacing was very slow and I'm not sure when/if I'll ever want to watch it again but I was very emotionally involved as a viewer.