Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Georgia Rule Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 26, 2022

During his directorial career, Garry Marshall made 19 movies, and all of them had some level of comedic tilt to them. He was known for funny business, and he scored with vanilla entertainment, enjoying a reputation for making audience-friendly pictures, even with dire material (“Pretty Woman” is a good example of this). For 2007’s “Georgia Rule,” Marshall is gifted absolute darkness from screenwriter Mark Andrus, who creates a tale of multigenerational mistrust and destructive behaviors, looking into the corrosive ways of sexual abuse and alcoholism. It’s a grim screenplay with a strange sense of character engagement, and Marshall isn’t the person for the job, approaching such deep human suffering with a spring in his step, hoping to throw a party while everyone in the story tries to make sense of their suffering.

Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is a troubled teenager who’s weaponized her sexuality. After becoming a problem for everyone she comes into contact with, Rachel is sent to an idyllic small town in Idaho to live with her grandmother, Georgia (Jane Fonda), for a long summer. The matriarch doesn’t suffer fools, giving her granddaughter structure for the first time in her life, and Rachel bristles at the rules and expectations laid out for her. Rebelling at first, Rachel soon learns to engage with Georgia, revealing a dark secret from her past to test her caretaker’s loyalty. This brings her alcoholic mother, Lilly (Felicity Huffman), to town in search of answers she’s not prepared to process, forced to confront her complicated relationship with Arnold (Cary Elwes), Rachel’s stepfather.

It’s important to highlight the bleaker aspects of “Georgia Rule.” Without awareness, the picture could be dismissed as a harmless attempt at ensemble storytelling; a wildly uneven tale of habitual deceit and generational pain involving numerous characters. In reality, “Georgia Rule” is a patchy look at strained interactions and it’s troubling to see Marshall try to soften the material with displays of comedy and small-town quaintness. This story just isn’t that polite.

“Georgia Rule” is a mixed bag of a drama, pushing toward a major emotional catharsis involving carefully hidden secrets, but the effort is weighed down by the sticky intricacies of the plot and the overall atmosphere of devastating neglect. Marshall has certainly found some mammoth success before with dramedies, but this endeavor is a careful brew of themes and emotional textures, requiring an attentive director who doesn’t always have an eye on a gag to button a scene. “Georgia Rule” is an unexpectedly raw R-rated feature, with heavy emphasis on casual sex acts and truckloads of hurt, and while it’s nice of Marshall to try and challenge himself, he’s still not able to process everything the script includes with the care and honesty it deserves.

As the family tree in desperate need of psychological pruning, Fonda, Huffman, and Lohan manage to make something meaningful out of their characters. Each actress is handed disturbing behavior to work with, and they process the material with some degree of care. Georgia is the mannered matriarch; a grandmother who hasn’t been offered the chance to try out her role of age-defined power and is just getting used to the brakes. Lilly is unraveling; a woman clinging to her bad habits and crestfallen to see that isn’t enough to keep her daughter’s attention. Rachel is a sexual switchblade only now coming to terms with her toxicity. It’s a triangle of dramatic depth that keeps “Georgia Rule” on target at times and as emotionally real as possible with Marshall overseeing things.

Georgia Rule Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation secures strong detail throughout the viewing experience. Facial particulars are crisp, examining differences in age and character health, and clothing is textured. Town tours are deeply dimensional, along with outdoor adventures, getting a sense of the local area and character interactions around the frame. Colors are exact, detailing fashion choices and town signage. Primaries are vivid, exploring household and hospital interiors. The golden glaze of summer is also protected. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like.

Georgia Rule Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix secures clean dialogue exchanges, with balanced argumentative behavior and hushed emotional encounters. Scoring supports with a warmer orchestral sound, slipping into the surrounds for circular engagement. Soundtrack selections are also defined, with sharp instrumentation and vocals. Low-end isn't challenged, dealing with mild violence and percussion. Atmospherics are compelling, handling community movement and room tone.

Georgia Rule Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Garry Marshall.

• "The Making of 'Georgia Rule'" (7:30, SD) features interviews with director Garry Marshall, producer James G. Robinson, and actors Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Cary Elwes, and Lindsay Lohan. While Marshall claims he's been aware of the script for over a decade, Robinson is the one to finally take a chance on this "chick flick." Cast chemistry is examined and character beats are analyzed, with Marshall interested in the challenges of capturing coarse personalities. Instead of shooting the movie in Idaho, Los Angeles was utilized, requiring some CGI magic to get rid of all the California in the frame.

• "The Women of 'Georgia Rule'" (6:40, SD) features interviews with director Garry Marshall, producer James G. Robinson, and actors Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Cary Elwes, and Lindsay Lohan. While Fonda pays tribute to the screenplay by Mark Andrus, the featurette focuses on the actresses, with the interviewees identifying character flaws to play and individual gifts to explore, including Huffman's "tough" qualities.

• "On the Set with Garry Marshall" (5:22, SD) features interviews with director Garry Marshall, producer James G. Robinson, and actors Jane Fonda, Dermot Mulroney, Garrett Hedlund, Felicity Huffman, Cary Elwes, and Lindsay Lohan. This is an appreciation piece, with Huffman noting that Marshall "doesn't direct a movie, he hosts a movie." The helmer's creative approach is examined, attentive to themes and tone, but open to collaboration. He also maintains a fun atmosphere, inviting family members to visit during the shoot.

• Deleted Scenes (9:06, SD) or presented with or without commentary by director Garry Marshall, who's happy to provide them for all the "DVD people" out there.

• Gag Reel (7:18, SD) collects giggle fits, flubbed lines, a birthday surprise, a Garry Marshall impression from Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Lohan squeakiness, and a visit to the set from Penny Marshall. Interestingly, all the silliness is dialed down in the final minutes as the reel becomes a family photo book in a way, highlighting the good times of the shoot.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:33, SD) is included.

Georgia Rule Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Georgia Rule" embraces the appeal of picturesque small-town displays and kooky local personalities – this is a Garry Marshall movie after all. It wouldn't be the same if there wasn't a joke about an incontinent old lady or Hector Elizondo in a cameo doing an exaggerated accent for some reason. It's surprising to see the director occasionally give his cast breathing room to communicate the mistakes the characters make, and there's some effort to try and build an emotional arc in the endeavor, but it's always undone by misguided cuteness or sudden cartoonishness, including a graceless performance from a woefully miscast Cary Elwes. Every time "Georgia Rule" finds its footing, Marshall panics and the film quickly returns to the flavorless mush it feels most comfortable serving to viewers.