Unless you have been too busy eating, praying or loving, you have probably heard of this Julia Roberts vehicle — the first film she’s carried by herself in years — based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name.
In the film, directed by “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, Roberts plays Liz, who find she needs a new direction in life. She divorces husband Stephen (Billy Crudup) and dates flighty David (James Franco) before going on a globe-trotting journey of self discovery. She does a lot of eatin’ in Italy, a lot of prayin’ in India and a lot of lovin’ in Bali (with new flame Felipe, played by Javier Bardem).
Obviously, this film is about Liz’s relationship with herself, but the following clips shine a light on the relationships with the men in her life.
In the clip “Best Restaurant,” Liz and Felipe go through a busy Bali marketplace, part of Felipe’s tour of Bali. To end the tour, Felipe says they have to go to the best restaurant in town — his place.
At a party in the “Too Charming” clip, Liz awkwardly speaks with David and informs him that he looks shorter in person than he is on stage. Realizing her snafu, she says, “It’s unnerving when a total stranger sees you more clearly than you see yourself — that’s what I mean by saying you’re short.”
In the third clip, “Liz meets Ketut,” as is a man in Bali who reads her fortune. He tells her she will live a long life, have many friends and many experiences. She will also have two marriages, one short and one long. Ketut tells Liz she’s going to lose all her money, but that she will get it all back. And then he tells her that she’ll come back to Bali for three or four months to teach him English; he’s never had anyone to practice his English with. You could have fooled me, Ketut!
During the “James Taylor” clip, Liz has an argument with “Richard from Texas” (Richard Jenkins), a man she meets in India. He is teaching her about the importance of meditation, something Liz is having problems grasping. “You need to learn to select your thoughts in the same way you select your clothes every day,” he stresses. After a pause, Liz asks Richard if anyone has ever told him he looks like James Taylor. Yes, he says, every day. (Eh… I’m not sure I agree with that comparison).
Finally, in “Lunch Relationship,” Liz tells her friend, “I’m in love — I’m having a relationship with my pizza.” Her friend doesn’t seem to feel the same way, saying she’s gained 10 pounds since they’ve been in Italy, and now has the dreaded muffin top. Liz says she’s ready to throw thoughts about weight out the window. She’s tired of thinking about what she ate the night before, “counting every calorie I consume so I know how much self loathing to take into the shower… enough with the guilt.”
You can eat, pray and love along with Roberts when the film hits theaters on Aug. 13.
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I have some friends who read the book and fell in love with it, but tending to be more of a movie guy over book guy I have been waiting for this movie to come out. To see how well they translated this book to film. Julia Roberts in the right role can carry an entire movie, lets see how this one fares!