Food for Thought Friday

Since this is my blog, I'm going to take some liberties with my "food for thought" this week and give you the inside scoop on a film you will want to mark your calendars to see when it arrives in theaters on August 10th.

I was lucky enough to score tickets to an advance screening of "The Help" (thanks Cinemoms!), a book I read years ago and loved. If you are one of the few dozen women who have yet to read it, I urge you to grab a copy. I often go into films based on books with a skeptical eye since they rarely measure up to their original format. Fortunately, this is not the case with this movie.

I can't remember the last time I left the theater feeling as moved as I did after seeing "The Help." Like the book, it is at once powerful, funny, heartbreaking and filled with messages of hope and sisterhood. As a woman who was raised in the South, I can assure you that the overall themes of racial inequality, even the dress and entire look of the era, are impeccable. I hope the film is well received because I think it will push more people to the book and its message, though set in the 1960s, is one that still resonates today.

The casting is dead-on and I guarantee that the movie will bring new respect for young actors like Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard, as well as the fabulous Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis. Kathryn Stockett's bestseller is elevated to new levels through this film and I'm proud to call her a fellow Atlantan!

I promise you, I have nothing to do with the movie or the studio. I'm simply a viewer (and reader) who was touched by this wonderful story and think it may inspire you as well.

For more information about the soon-to-be-released film, here's a link to the film's official site.