Movie Monday: The Help

You must see this movie. 

Based on a book by the same name, The Help is the story of Skeeter, a young woman in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's, who decides she wants to write a book telling the perspective of the black women who work as maids for rich, white families.

You can imagine at that time, these women were treated - well, horribly. I'll spare you the history lesson, or the civil rights sermon, mostly because talking about it makes me sick to my stomach.

But the movie isn't sad. Yes, there are sad moments. I cried - more than once. Parts of the story also made me mad, and wonder what makes some people tick. But I also laughed out loud, smiled, cheered, and even clapped.

It's amazing to me the strength that these women had. In a situation where most people would just roll over and give up, they kept pushing forward. Yes, they'd resigned themselves to that life. But they raised their children to believe they could do more, and be more. They had hope, and faith, and they treated others with dignity and respect, even when they were shown none.

That takes strength, and it's inspiring to see.

The movie has a lot of funny moments, as well. I won't spoil the story for you. Just know that you will find out what the terrible-awful is that Minnie does - just pay attention.

The Help is well written, and the acting is amazing, though with the cast, you would totally expect that to be the case. It's about 2 1/2 hours long, but it won't seem that way while you're watching the movie. You'll like the characters, want to see what's going to happen next, and find yourself cheering and rooting them on at the end.

Definitely five starts in my book.