Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle-aged black maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son. Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) is another black maid whose outspokenness has gotten her fired many times and built up a reputation for being a difficult employee, but she makes up for this with her phenomenal cooking skills.
Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating from the University of Mississippi[4] to find that her beloved childhood maid, Constantine, has quit while she was away. Skeeter is skeptical because she believes Constantine would have written to her.
Unlike her friends, who have all married and are having children, Skeeter is interested in a career as a writer. Her first job is as a "homemaker hints" columnist in the local paper, and she asks Aibileen for her help in answering domestic questions. Skeeter becomes uncomfortable with the attitude her friends have towards their "help", especially Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her "Home Help Sanitation Initiative", a proposed bill to provide for separate bathrooms for black help because she believes that 'they' [black people] carry different diseases to 'us' [white people]. Amidst the era of discrimination based on color, Skeeter is one of the few who believe otherwise, and she decides to write a book, The Help, based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire life taking care of white children.
The maids are at first reluctant to talk to Skeeter, because they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or worse. Aibileen is the first to share her stories after she overhears Hilly's initiative and realizes that the children whom she has been raising are growing up to be just like their parents. Her friend, Minny, has just been fired as Hilly's maid and has gone to work for a wealthy social outcast, Celia Foote. Minny initially declines to participate but later agrees to share her stories as well.
Skeeter writes a draft of the story with Minny and Aibileen's stories in it and sends it to Miss Stein, an editor in New York, who thinks there may be some interest in it, but requires at least a dozen more maids' contributions before it can become a viable book. Believing that the book will only be publishable during the Civil Rights movement, which she likewise believes is a passing fad, Stein advises Skeeter to finish the book soon. No one comes forward until afterMedgar Evers is assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi – with racial tensions running high, the maids realize that Skeeter's book will give them an opportunity for their voices to be heard, and Skeeter suddenly has numerous stories to include. Minny shares one last story with Skeeter and Aibilene, which she calls the "Terrible Awful," to ensure that no one will think that the book was written about Jackson, Mississippi. As revenge for firing her and accusing her of stealing, Minny bakes a chocolate pie and delivers it to Hilly. After Hilly has finished two slices, Minny informs her that she has baked her own feces into the pie. Minny tells Aibilene and Skeeter that by adding that part into the book, Hilly will try to prevent anyone from figuring out that she made her eat human feces and will convince the town that the book must be about some other town.
The book is accepted for publication and is a success, much to the delight of Skeeter and the maids. She shares her royalties with each of the maids who contributed, and is offered a job with a publishing company in New York. Later in the afternoon, Hilly hatches a plan to get rid of Aibileen as her help, by falsely accusing her of stealing silver while arranging it for meetings. As Aibileen tries to convince Hilly and Elizabeth of her innocence, Elizabeth's daughter, Mae Mobley, arrives and jumps on top of her, watching Aibileen being fired. Aibileen renounces Hilly as a godless woman and tells her that she will never have peace if she continues her vindictive ways and leaves her in limbo. Elizabeth is forced to accept the unacceptable firing of Aibileen, and Mae Mobley cries by the window shouting for Aibileen, as the maid leaves to start her own life.
Cast
Production
In December 2009, Variety reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of The Help, under their production company 1492 Prods. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its release.[5]
The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, when it was reported that Emma Stone was attached to play the role of Skeeter Phelan.[6] Other actors were since cast, including Viola Davis as Aibileen; Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.[7][8][9] Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, The Jackson Journal.[10] Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.[11][12]
Filming of The Help began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Brunson Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the movie there. Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the movie is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for 40 years until April 2010.[13]
The Help was the most significant film production in Mississippi since 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?[14][15][16] "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi", Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.[14][15][16]
- Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a college graduate and aspiring writer.
- Lila Rogers as Young Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan
- Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the town's racist and snooty ringleader.
- Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson
- Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote, Minny's naive employer and Johnny's wife.
- Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt, Aibileen's employer.
- Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother.
- Anna Camp as Jolene French
- Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.
- Cicely Tyson as Constantine Bates
- Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote, Hilly's ex-boyfriend and Celia's husband.
- Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Walters, Hilly's mother.
- Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan, Skeeter's father.
- Leslie Jordan as Mr. Blackly
- Mary Steenburgen as Elain Stein
- Nelsan Ellis as Henry, the waiter
- David Oyelowo as Preacher Green
- Dana Ivey as Grace Higgenbottom
In December 2009, Variety reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of The Help, under their production company 1492 Prods. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its release.[5]
The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, when it was reported that Emma Stone was attached to play the role of Skeeter Phelan.[6] Other actors were since cast, including Viola Davis as Aibileen; Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.[7][8][9] Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, The Jackson Journal.[10] Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.[11][12]
Filming of The Help began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Brunson Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the movie there. Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the movie is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for 40 years until April 2010.[13]
The Help was the most significant film production in Mississippi since 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?[14][15][16] "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi", Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.[14][15][16]
Release
On October 13, 2010, Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On July 5, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.
On October 13, 2010, Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On July 5, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.
Box office
The Help has grossed $168,753,480 in North America, and $30,100,000 in other territories, as of November 27, 2011, for a worldwide total of $198,853,480.[3]
On its opening day (Wednesday, August 10, 2011), The Help topped the box office with $5.54 million. It then added $4.33 million on Thursday, declining only 21%, for a two-day total to $9.87 million.[17] On its first weekend, The Help grossed $26.0 million, coming in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.[18] However, during its second weekend, The Help jumped to the number one spot at the box office, beating the previous weekend's number one film (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as well as all four new nationwide releases (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night and One Day). All this thanks to a decline of only 23%, the smallest among films playing nationwide, to $20.0 million.[19] The Help retained first place in its third weekend, again beating all three new nationwide releases (Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother) dropping only 27% to $14.5 million.[20] The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release, becoming one of only two titles in August 2011 that achieved this.[21] On its fourth weekend (Labor Day 3-day weekend), it became the only 2011 film, and the first film since Inception, to top the box-office charts for three consecutive weekends.[22][23] Up just 0.4% to $14.6 million, it out-grossed all new nationwide releases (The Debt, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D).[24]During the 4-day weekend, it was still in first place with a $19.9 million haul,[25] which was the fourth largest gross for a Labor-day weekend.[26] As of September 2011, it is the 7th highest-grossing Drama-Summer film (serious drama that debuted in the summer), according to Box Office Mojo.[27] Notably, The Help topped the box office for 25 days in a row. This was the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense (35 days), which was also a late summer release, in 1999.[28]
The Help has grossed $168,753,480 in North America, and $30,100,000 in other territories, as of November 27, 2011, for a worldwide total of $198,853,480.[3]
On its opening day (Wednesday, August 10, 2011), The Help topped the box office with $5.54 million. It then added $4.33 million on Thursday, declining only 21%, for a two-day total to $9.87 million.[17] On its first weekend, The Help grossed $26.0 million, coming in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.[18] However, during its second weekend, The Help jumped to the number one spot at the box office, beating the previous weekend's number one film (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as well as all four new nationwide releases (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night and One Day). All this thanks to a decline of only 23%, the smallest among films playing nationwide, to $20.0 million.[19] The Help retained first place in its third weekend, again beating all three new nationwide releases (Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother) dropping only 27% to $14.5 million.[20] The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release, becoming one of only two titles in August 2011 that achieved this.[21] On its fourth weekend (Labor Day 3-day weekend), it became the only 2011 film, and the first film since Inception, to top the box-office charts for three consecutive weekends.[22][23] Up just 0.4% to $14.6 million, it out-grossed all new nationwide releases (The Debt, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D).[24]During the 4-day weekend, it was still in first place with a $19.9 million haul,[25] which was the fourth largest gross for a Labor-day weekend.[26] As of September 2011, it is the 7th highest-grossing Drama-Summer film (serious drama that debuted in the summer), according to Box Office Mojo.[27] Notably, The Help topped the box office for 25 days in a row. This was the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense (35 days), which was also a late summer release, in 1999.[28]
Reception
The Help received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 75% of 188 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average critical score of 7/10. The site's consensus stated, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast -- particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own."[29] Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 40 reviews.[30] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A+ on an A+ to F scale.[31]
Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film: "Appalling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days."[32] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."[33]
More on the mixed side was Karina Longworth of the Village Voice: "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes."[34] Rick Gloen of The Globe and Mail, giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."[35]
Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the book's level of greatness. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but The Help doesn't."[36]
Many critics praised the performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars and commented, "With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally, moving drama that remains highly entertaining." David Edelstein from New York magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."
Ida E. Jones, the national director of the Association of Black Women Historians, released an open statement criticizing "The Help" in An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help. The letter stated that "[d]espite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers." The group of scholars accused both the book and the film of insensitive portrayals of African-American vernacular, a nearly uniform depiction of black men as cruel or absent, and a failure to acknowledge the sexual harassment that many black women endured in their white employers’ homes. Jones concluded by saying that "The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment."[37]
Roxane Gay of literary web magazine The Rumpus articulated reasons the film might be offensive to African Americans, mentioning the film's use of racial Hollywood stereotypes like the Magical Negro and Gone With the Wind's Mammy.[38]
To help promote the movie, TakePart.com hosted a series of three writing contests [39]. Rebecca Lubin, of Mill Valley, CA, who has been a nanny for nearly two decades won the recipe contest. Darcy Pattison’s “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph” won "The Help" Children's Story Contest with her story about a tenacious young girl who refuses to take a good photograph while her father is away “soldiering.” After being chosen by guest judge and children’s book author Lou Berger, the story was professionally illustrated.[40] The final contest was about "someone who inspired you." Genoveva Islas-Hooker charmed guest judge Doc Hendley (founder of Wine to Water) with her story, A Heroine Named Confidential. A case manager for patients with HIV, Islas-Hooker was consistently inspired by one special individual who never gave up the fight to live.
The Help received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 75% of 188 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average critical score of 7/10. The site's consensus stated, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast -- particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own."[29] Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 40 reviews.[30] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A+ on an A+ to F scale.[31]
Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film: "Appalling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days."[32] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."[33]
More on the mixed side was Karina Longworth of the Village Voice: "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes."[34] Rick Gloen of The Globe and Mail, giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."[35]
Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the book's level of greatness. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but The Help doesn't."[36]
Many critics praised the performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars and commented, "With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally, moving drama that remains highly entertaining." David Edelstein from New York magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."
Ida E. Jones, the national director of the Association of Black Women Historians, released an open statement criticizing "The Help" in An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help. The letter stated that "[d]espite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers." The group of scholars accused both the book and the film of insensitive portrayals of African-American vernacular, a nearly uniform depiction of black men as cruel or absent, and a failure to acknowledge the sexual harassment that many black women endured in their white employers’ homes. Jones concluded by saying that "The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment."[37]
Roxane Gay of literary web magazine The Rumpus articulated reasons the film might be offensive to African Americans, mentioning the film's use of racial Hollywood stereotypes like the Magical Negro and Gone With the Wind's Mammy.[38]
To help promote the movie, TakePart.com hosted a series of three writing contests [39]. Rebecca Lubin, of Mill Valley, CA, who has been a nanny for nearly two decades won the recipe contest. Darcy Pattison’s “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph” won "The Help" Children's Story Contest with her story about a tenacious young girl who refuses to take a good photograph while her father is away “soldiering.” After being chosen by guest judge and children’s book author Lou Berger, the story was professionally illustrated.[40] The final contest was about "someone who inspired you." Genoveva Islas-Hooker charmed guest judge Doc Hendley (founder of Wine to Water) with her story, A Heroine Named Confidential. A case manager for patients with HIV, Islas-Hooker was consistently inspired by one special individual who never gave up the fight to live.
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