If you want to honor Judy...
Friday, February 14, 2020 at 10:33AM 
Within the realm of Oscar races, there are few campaign strategies more annoying than the "honor the movie, honor the man" variety. It's reserved for biopics, putting forward the idea that to shower a certain production in gold laurels is a way to retroactively reward a dead celebrity. This same logic was somewhat utilized to catapult Renée Zellweger towards her second Oscar win. Let's make one thing clear, Renée's win for Judy is a prize for her bold performance but in no way does this victory actually honor the Oscarless Judy Garland. You don't get to pretend you gave Judy an award Academy -- you lost that chance long ago!
Still, we appreciate that Renée mentioned Garland in her speech and that her movie might inspire people to watch more of the late star's great roles. After all, there's no better way to honor her memory than to explore her wonderful filmography...
If you do you'll marvel at her craft and range in both musicals and straight dramas, weepy romances, and riotous comedies. Spanning from her teen star years in the 1930s to the naked despair of her last screen appearances in the 1960s, the star had one hell of a fascinating career. With that in mind, here we present a list of recommendations for anyone interested in honoring Judy in the aftermath of this year's Oscars…
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
After years playing second fiddle to Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland finally had a chance to showcase all her talents with The Wizard of Oz. The production was troubled and the way the studio treated her left scars that would last a lifetime, but none of that mars the perfection of the final product. As Dorothy, Judy is wonderful, modulating shades of childish innocence with emotional intensity, humanizing a preposterous story and selling the hell out of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
GIRL CRAZY (1943)
Like in most of her collaborations with Mickey Rooney, Judy is always overshadowed by her leading man in Girl Crazy. However, that doesn't mean she doesn't get a chance to shine in this erratic musical delight whose last few minutes are an extravaganza of the highest caliber. She oozes charisma and peppy energy, charming the audience with ease.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)
No director knew how to shot Judy as well as Vincente Minnelli, who would become the starlet's husband. Meet Me in St. Louis is their masterpiece, pulsating with warm nostalgia and shining in glorious Technicolor. In it, Judy delivers two of her best songs ever, electrifying the screen with "The Trolley Song" and proceeding to break all of our hearts with her rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
THE CLOCK (1945)
This Minnelli helmed melodrama marks Judy Garland's first movie appearance where she didn't sing a single number. That said, the emotional candor with which she usually colors her musical interludes is still present in a story of a whirlwind romance. She and Robert Walker have great chemistry, partly because they're so bizarrely bombastic approach to two roles that could easily have been underplayed.
THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946)
We all know Judy can charm us to submission and reduce anyone to tears, but she was also a master of comedy, especially physical comedy. The Harvey Girls lets her show these particular talents like when her pious character enters the town's saloon guns ablaze with madness in her eye.
EASTER PARADE (1948)
Her only movie with Fred Astaire is a confection of musical wonder, full of hilarity and killer dance scenes. While our beloved Judy might play the ugly duckling to Ann Miller's tapdancing swan, her talent shines through and transcends even the most abysmal costume choices.
SUMMER STOCK (1950)
Speaking of horrible costumes, Judy spends the majority of this musical in the most unflattering dungarees the mind can conceive. Whatever her appearance or the real-life drama happening behind the scenes, she's luminous here. Judy and Gene Kelly are a great duo and her big number, the iconic "Get Happy", is a miracle of musical cinema.
A STAR IS BORN (1954)
In the second iteration of Hollywood's favorite story about itself, Judy gives us one of the best screen performances in cinema history. She deconstructs the mechanisms of stardom and movie acting while delineating a tragedy of doomed romance. There's a raw quality to it, an edge of desperation corroding her smiles and a hint of resilient pride balancing the melodramatic highs of this old tale.
JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961)
In 1954, Judy Garland lost the Best Actress Oscar to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl. She received only one other nomination, for Best Supporting Actress of 1961 thanks to her work in Judgment at Nuremberg. For that reason, this is an essential Garland film even though she's barely in it.
I COULD GO ON SINGING (1963)
Life imitates art imitating life in I Could Go On Singing, a tragic drama about an American star drinking away herself while performing a series of concerts in the London stage. Judy's work is a storm, bringing down the house with brittle abrasiveness and a voice that, while powerful, shows the signs of a strained existence.
What are your favorite Judy Garland flicks? Lots more on Judy Garland here
Reader Comments (50)
Ouch. I don't think it was some evil scheme cooked up by Zellweger (who you must think can greenlight and gain any role she chooses) to win a lead statuette like the tone of the into of the piece conveys. When Nathaniel acts ignorant to the anti-Zellweger bent, especially in his own house, it's baffling.
I don't think anyone is stupid enough to believe that by honoring Renee Zellweger, they are literally or figuratively retroactively giving Judy Garland an Oscar. Was Cate's first Oscar justice for Katharine Hepburn, who was denied a fifth win in her lifetime?
More like they're both popular actresses who gave entertaining and well-received performances as movie legends. Yes Renee paid lip service to Judy and that injustice when she gave speeches but imagine the outrage if she didn't, lol.
Liza -- I'm sorry, but I'm a bit lost. Where do I suggest this was an evil scheme by Zellweger? I even call her performance bold, a positive attribute in my opinion. The actress herself has nothing to do with the narratives that grow out of Awards Season, especially when it comes to biopics. If anything, I'm criticizing the sort of promotional strategies associated with biopics. Zellweger should be celebrated for her performance, her achievement, not because her awards are a retroactive recognition of Garland herself. If you want to honor the late star, then watch her movies. That's the point of this piece.
I never intended to bash Renée and I'm honestly a bit confused about how what I wrote could be understood as hateful towards our new Best Actress champion. I'm truly sorry you felt that way while reading this piece which was meant to be celebratory rather than bashing.
Just your daily (sporadic) reminder that Renée Zellweger is a two-time Academy Award winning Actress.
It just feels like such a straw man argument to pretend any critical mass of people believe Zellweger's win somehow avenged Judy Garland. You would swear Renee had "A vote for me is a vote for Judy Garland" tattooed on her forehead all season the way people talk about it.
Great post.
I only prescribe to the award for Renee being an award for Judy theory to a certain degree.
Was it an award for Meryl or did the academy want to honour Maggie Thatcher?
JF -- She didn't and this sort of thinking doesn't need to be promoted by the actors themselves. I've watched this year's Academy Awards ceremony twice, once with Portuguese commentary between breaks, another with English pundits discussing the awards. Both times, people mentioned that, by honoring Renée, the Academy was honoring the late great Judy Garland. I've seen the same logic expressed in other places like Twitter and Facebook, even the Portuguese website for which I write regularly.
After years of campaigns like that for "The King's Speech" and "Imitation Game", it's normal for people to apply the same logic to a biopic like "Judy", even when the filmmakers themselves don't support such claims. That's the nature of Oscar narratives and Awards Season.
This piece wasn't intended as an attack towards Renée, but a celebration of Judy Garland. I think it's great that people may be inspired to watch some Garland classics after having their curiosity spiked by "Judy" and Renée's performance.
I apologize to all Renée Zellweger fans that may read this piece and feel like their beloved actress is being attacked. The aftermath of an Oscar victory is cause for celebration and I'm sorry if I've spoiled the experience for you.
Off topic, but to keep Garland’s life in the Oscar orbit, I’d like to see a prequel to Judy. My interest who be the time period after the suicide/s attempt, firing from MGM and the path leading towards A Star Is Born.
Claudio - great piece. Makes me want to watch her entire filmography, I've missed plenty of these!
The Zellweger fans need to settttttle. I don't read this intro as a slam at all, in fact praising her performance before going into the whole point of the article: JUDY GARLAND. Yes, the Academy loves mimicry biopics regardless but you're out of your mind if you think the campaign team behind "Judy" didn't use that spin.
I think maybe it's a language thing and you didn't realise the connotations of how the intro came off, especially on a site like this, the home of the dismissive "Zee.
Judy's LAST scene in Judgment at Nuremburg was electric! The way she sputters and rattles that podium is purely volcanic. It's a truly great, great piece of acting.
"A Child Is Waiting" (1963).
Kendall -- With great shame, I must admit I never watched that one. Still, the idea of Judy directed by Cassavetes seems so wild and bizarre I have to see it asap. Thank you for the recommendation.
Agreed while the article bulids Garland up it takes Renee down intentionally or not.
At best I think the movie and Renee get people to examine Garland's life and movie career. To movie fans Garland is a legend but to modern movie going public they may only know her as the girl from Oz. I was talking to my coworkers who had seen the movie and when I talked about her life they had no idea what she had to go through or her long list of movies. Perhaps now people will at least google and check out her movies and her history. It is too late for Oscar to honor her, but we can keep honoring her forever. If the movie Judy brings new fans and people to the person Judy then who looses?
Back to Judy. My other favorite early Judy movie is Ziegfeld Girl. It's only partly Judy's show but she has to carry all the "entertainment" and does it terrifically of course.
In The Good Old Summertime is a solid movie, and The Pirate is hit and/or miss but has some great stuff in it too.
In regards to markgordonuk's comment, I feel like it's a culture around this website. I'd like to think they're ignorant of what they say and how about Zellweger, but it's been pointed out alot in the past weeks and Nathaniel especially just shrugs. He did coin the condescending and mean girlish "Zee" after all. Maybe an extra read through or have a pair of unbiased eyes give post with a Zellweger emphasis a cursory glance first?
I find it all a bit unfair about Renee,it's always a back handed compliment along the lines of "I always said I liked her in Nurse Betty" or "I stand by the BJD nomination" then a take down of the actress.
I don’t think that the recent Best Actress win for Judy is an effort to recognize the much beloved and long mourned musical icon.
However, I have often wondered about daughter Liza’s Best Actress win. The last lines of her acceptance speech are “Thank you for giving me this award. You’ve made me very happy.” While Minnelli never mentions her mother, there is an odd emphasis on the word “me” that leads to speculation of intent. Does the moment indicate that Liza feels gratitude for the Academy recognizing her after failing to honor Garland?
Of Garland's collaborations with Kelly, I prefer For Me and My Gal (1942): black-and-white and gorgeous and it's his big screen debut. The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born, Meet Me In St. Louis and Summer Stock feature some of her most iconic musical performances, of course, but my all-time favorite Garland flick is the obscure Presenting Lily Mars (1943): it's a weird one, but I'm a sucker for that phase when Judy was coming into her own as a young woman (see also For Me and My Gal). She gets the full-on MGM glamor treatment, too.
As for Miss Zellweger, I'm pleased to say this is the probably the first sentence I've written about her this entire season on any of these sites. And the last.
Penny and others -- How is "Zeeeeee" a condescending or mean girl nickname? I only started calling her that because I thought it was cute because her name has so many "es" in it. It's like when people call Scarlett Johansson "Scarjo".or Kirsten Dunst "Kiki" (her *actual* nickname in real life) or Catherine Zeta Jones "CeeZeeJay" (which is literally what my friends and I call her) These aren't insults. These are nicknames.. i SWEAR to you all that I never meant that as an insult but Zellweger fans seem to think every word we write about her is some weird conspiracy theory of hatred. It's not the case. I don't especially like her as an actress.and since people know that they interpret everything as a strange smear. Even things not written by me (which is COMPLETELY unfair to Claudio)
you all are attacking him for an article which actually begins by praising Renee's performance.You are all so quick to take offense for Renee that you dont even notice when someone is complimenting her!
Well Scarjo 3:16 is horrible and should be discontinued. If you want to call Dunst by her personal friends nicknames then I guess you can if you feel close enough to her to do so. CEEZEEJay I have thankfully never heard and hopefully will never hear again in my life. Unfortunately you have been nothing but negative on Zellweger most of her career (the token shield comments that markgordonuk has mentioned aside) so "Zee" carries that sentiment. Seems like time to retire it.
You can ignore the way you read it, but for so many to notice the clear condescension and barely shielded disdain, is the true insult.
Just know that you've set precedent right now that backhanded compliments can be counted solely as compliments.
i give up. If I wrote 2000 words about how wonderful her Bridget Jones performance is, or the joys of Down With Love, or what a discovery she was in Jerry Maguire or Nurse Betty you would absolutely find a way to think it was meanspirited at heart and condescending.
I agree that Scarjo 3:16 is a dumb nickname. I assume its biblical but i dont get how that relates to this discussion? This is nothing anyone writing for TFE has ever called her. Its just someone in the comment threads. I've never understood the name.
Claudio - thanks for this piece since Judy is one of my favourite actors of all time. To this list i would definitely add PRESENTING LILY MARS which is one of my personal favourites of hers. I've never understood its almost non-existent reputation.
NATHANIEL R -- Thank you. She's one of my favorites too. Though I love her performance in Presenting Lily Mars, I admit I'm not too fond of the film. That said, I've never seen a movie where I didn't like Judy so saying I loved her in that might not be saying much. I even think she's best in show in something like Ziegfeld Follies where she only has one scene.
This is easy.... I do not like Renee .... I love Garland. Is there any doubt as to what I am
saying????
@Nathaniel - You cannot blame Zellweger fans to be easyly offended by anything it is said or not said about her on this site. You had it coming, remember when you even critized that Zellweger was going to win every critic group award when the season just started? Lol that was so silly. At the end, most of the prizes went for Lupita. But please, let us just be happy for Renee achievement.
@Claudio - Lovely piece of writting. As JF said, it would be stupid if you think giving Renee the oscar makes Garland an oscar winner. The only thing it might do is people wondering who Garland was and which movies she had. She is -in a way - remembered and introduce to millenials and centenialls. Nothing more.
A long time ago I saw, I think in Showtime, a special version of A Star Is Born with Judy Garland. It included deleted scenes from the original (mostly the audio with some stills). I remember that the commentary on that version was that with the added footage Garland might have won the Oscar.
People are projecting way too much onto the opening of this wonderfully loving piece. Similarly they’re also blatantly ignoring the fact that all over the internet people were saying some sort of variation of “it’s like giving Judy the Oscar”. This was even said during the actual Oscars. And of course it’s only now that people are coming to Renee’s defense. Most of the comments on this site regarding both Renee and her work in Judy has been far nastier than this opening sentence.
People are also ignoring the FACT that Nathaniel had plenty of positive things to say about Renee in Judy, both on the podcast and elsewhere. He has even praised her Chicago performance in the past and has mentioned the performances of hers that he likes, basically most of what she did before cold mountain. And of course everyone says catty things about actors they don’t like. Literally everyone. So this holier than thou attitude is ridiculous. Nathaniel is hardly a primary offender in this regard.
I have the 1954 version of A Star is Born as that's the version I'm going to see next having already seen the 2018 version and the 1937 version. Then I'll watch the 1976 version.
It's so bizarre to me that actors get to be nominated by portraying other Oscar nominated actors. I need to take a moment to analyze this meta situation before even going on the winning factor either from the portrayed performer, the portrayer or both, in some cases. I don't know if I should classify that as self-congratulatory, tactless, respectful, egotistic and or a combination of any/all of these and if it reduces the artistic work or if it's another form of valuable art. The philosophical sensation it creates in me feels endless.
If you guys hate this site so much then get off it! Sick of all this complaining in every post. You guys have no appreciation and respect for Nathaniel, Claudio, etc
Lovely article about Judy and yes the best way to pay tribute to her is to see her films.
Fortunately every single one of her films is available in some format or another. Far more rare than you would think, even many hugely iconic stars like Bette Davis (Seed), Ginger Rogers (Hatcheck Girl) and Rita Hayworth (Paid to Dance) have at least one and often more movies that aren't considered lost but are downright inaccessible. So take advantage I say and you can systemically watch her talent be refined (it was always there) and evolve.
It's true she really took off after Oz but some of her earlier films offer a nice glimpse of her boundless early energy. Thoroughbreds Don't Cry is a bit too much Rooney but Listen, Darling is a sweet little film and it's cool to see Mary Astor as her mother years before St. Louis.
She looks gorgeous in Presenting Lily Mars and you get both Spring Byington and Fay Bainter but the film is sort of lumpy in shape. I do love her scene with Connie Gilchrist to Every Little Moment, it's actually my favorite part of the film.
The lumpiness holds true for For Me and My Gal as well. It's terrific until they all go off to war and then it devolves into Gene Kelly's over earnest eagerness. But Judy is golden throughout.
Of her films with Rooney Girl Crazy gives her the best showcase, Embraceable You and But Not for Me are all the better for Mickey's absence and she looks lovely.
But I think Ziegfeld Girl shows her at her youthful perky best. She has two great numbers in it, one intimate (her rendition of "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" is exquisite) and one lavish (Minnie from Trinidad" is immense but where the production would swallow almost any other entertainer Judy holds your eye) plus you get Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Jimmy Stewart too!!
St. Louis, The Clock and Harvey Girls are all wonderful, though Harvey Girls drags at times, but Easter Parade really shows her skill as a comedienne. It's also the first time when her weight struggles appear clearly on screen, in the Midnight Train to Alabam number is is clearly chunkier than the rest of the film-even in the scene following where she's wearing the same dress she's slender again. Be that as it may she really has a terrific chemistry with Astaire, it's too bad their other proposed pairings never came to fruition.
I know it's considered a lesser film in her canon but I love Summer Stock (except for that hideous number with the dogs) and even though she looks different in almost every scene she's very engaging. Friendly Star is one of my favorites of hers and the challenge dance with Gene Kelly shows off her underused ability to dance.
A Star is Born...she should have won the Oscar...she's titanic...enough said.
A Child is Waiting is a fascinating movie in her filmography, so out of the norm and compelling. It's not one I go to often because of the heaviness, like Nuremberg, but a worthwhile view.
I Could Go On Singing is another one I love and the closest to her backstage life.. The musical scenes are the closest we'll ever get to what she was like in live performance and they are compelling. The scene where she's getting worked up for her entrance comes across as so real. The title tune isn't the best she ever had to work with but its a very Judy song and provided her a great final moment onscreen arms flung out singing to the heavens. The circumstances that prevented her appearance are horrendous but I'm so glad she didn't finish her film career in Valley of the Dolls.
Her short-lived television show is another treasure to seek out. The sketches the network insisted on are at times corny but whenever she sings it's magic. Her performance of Ol Man River is an essential viewing experience.
Renee mentioned Garland, among many others, in her incoherent, bizarre speech.
I cannot believe they give another mediocre actress their second Oscar. Hilary Swank and Zellweger do not deserve it. Period.
if you don't like this site, please leave. You are ruining it for the rest of us.
Thanks for this i am discovering quite a few features to put in my queue
Just use an intro along the lines of "After Renee Zellweger's Oscar win as Judy Garland it made me ruminate on the women herself and her storied career from the yellow brick road to her final curtain call". You guys are all writers, use and know the power and meaning of your words and don't play coy. Or anything without a dig or dogwhistled dig. Don't close off at valid criticism, that is literally the playbook of people who espouse progressive views, but get their feeling hurt and vote Republican. And before you take that the wrong way I don't mean you would, but it is the best parallel of the exact same defensiveness witnessed.
Sycophants only allowed! You may have an opinion, but please email it in for approval before posting thank you.
Skip to the Judy it's an A for article with no (righteous) cause for distraction. With the current intro it's a C, a D in the context of this site and it's history unfortunately. Time to banish the "Zee". Language and views evolve, don't be the old fuddy duddy's on their rocking chairs talking of ch*nks and negroes. Know better, do better.
@G.ShaQ - LOL your first comment sounds more 'if you don't share our loathe for Zellweger plesse leave'. I know she's no.actress for.all tastes but I cannot believe how much passion her win has created in both sides. Some things for clear: Nathaniel just didn't like Zellweger as an actress, he was sour about her and unfair about her achievements, which led to Zellweger lovers, and in general actressexuals, to raise. But yeah, now they've gone so far since her win and poor Claudio is an indirect victim of this. Everything they write now is an attack for Zellweger. I myself felt that when she was ommited on the what's next for the winners post. I felt offended as an actressexual not to have words for our new best actress winner just because she was no grata persona, but sure that wasn't their intention. Hope we can go on and talk about new performances soon.
Everyone -- Thank you for the feedback, both positive and otherwise. In the future, when writing about sensitive subjects for this site's readership, like Renée, I'll try to be more sensitive and explore the way my words can come off as unintentionally shady. In the introduction, I was trying to talk about Oscar narratives but I ended up sounding as if I was criticizing the Actress herself. If there's anyone I was trying to criticize with my intro, it wasn't Renée, but the Academy who never saw fit to give Judy Garland a competitive Oscar. I realize now, it didn't come off that way. For that, I apologize.
It saddens me a piece about celebrating Judy Garland turned into such a contentious thing. For those who shared their favorite Garland flicks, I'm very grateful. Thank you.
Mark -- I wrote the "what's next for the winners" post. In it I was trying to treat every winner equally, mentioning the future prospects of both the famous champions and the "bellow the line" victors. Because of that, I chose not to write about those whose future projects are unknown as of yet. If I talked about Renée, I'd feel obligated to do it for every other winner like Roger Deakins, Barbara Ling and so forth. The piece would have ended up gigantic. Renée's absence wasn't a jab against her. If she had her next project announced, she'd be featured in it. Again, I'm sorry that you were offended and hope you understand my reasoning when writing that piece.
Lorna & Banish the "Zee" -- I'd appreciate not being compared to Republican voters and racist jerks. I understand you feel incensed by this misbegotten intro, but there's no need for that sort of character attack. Thank you for feeling passionate about this piece enough to comment, nonetheless.
It was an analogy to the lack of self examination and double down at criticism, but your new comment has shown you do not fit the analogy. But just like your beginning of the article gave off clear alternate meanings I can see how you have misunderstood mine and will also be more careful as to the words I use in future. We both did the same thing and thought about it an learned.
Presenting Lily Mars is an overlooked gem. I also love The Clock.
Judy Garland is like Marilyn Monroe in the sense that no matter how many stories come out about how awful they were and how much they would terrorize a set and make work miserable for the poor cast and crew members, people still feel the need to take their side, make excuses for the worst elements of their personalities/behavior and worship their iconography.
Zellweger, on the other hand, always feels like a punching bag, even with her most iconic roles:
- She breaks through with Jerry Maguire, but later "You had me at hello" became a joke people mock romantic comedies with, even in other romantic comedies.
- She establishes herself as a Hollywood leading lady with Bridget Jones, who, yes, leads a romcom series, but is basically the fat drunk loser mess version of uber protofeminist icon Elizabeth Bennett (see Ehle, Jennifer or K ightkey, Keira, for the kickass version of the part).
- She almost wins an Oscar for Chicago, amidst people constantly harping that she can't really sing OR dance (nevermind she was MILES better than the actual winner that year, Nicole Kidman, who was upstaged in her own movie by both Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep, but earned a compensation Oscar for Moulin Rouge/being dumped by Tom Cruise simply by virtue of donning a fake nose and deglamming in a stuffy real person role).
- Next year, she actually wins a compensation Oscar for Chicago by turning in what has become an almost universally loathed performance in a film nobody cares for.
- A few years/movies later, she plunges into obscurity for almost two decades, safe for the occasional "WTF did she do to her face" headlines.
And when she, against all odds and absent any type of "remember Renee? I miss her!" general sentiment, manages to claw her way back into relevance at an age women are usually throw to the wolves by a very unforgiving industry, and to win another Oscar, she STILL has to put up with people harping that no, for real, she CANNOT sing, y'all, much less like Dame Judy Garland of House Iconia, The World's Greatest Entertainer TM.
I mean, the woman cannot enjoy a moment of success without an entourage of (mostly gay) people having the constant need to remind her and everybody else who'll lend an ear of just how much she actually sucks. Even compliments have to backhanded and preceded by some kind of shade.
I find it so weird, given that Zellweger seems to be a kind, professional woman and she radiates an interesting queer energy in so mamy of her roles (Beatrix Potter, Roxie Hart, Nurse Betty, Barnara Novak).
I wish she'd get a Kids Are All Right or a Can You Ever Forgive Me type of showcase for her talents, so she could really explore that vibe. Or for her to turn one of those Blue Jasmine / Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf shut the haters up type of undeniable performances. Just for the fuck you factor.
It's sad that trolls with absolutely no intellectual depth are ruining the comments sections of this site. Claudio, your piece was fine, no need to get into it with these losers.
As I just said your piece was fine, but if you want to comment on valid criticisms that's your choice. I would not.
Carmen Sandiego - your comment is one hundred percent truth. I don't think Nathaniel or co. could argue with your accurate telling of Renee's timeline.
Renee's portrait of Judy is absoloutly fantastic. It's almost like seeing her alive again. That's why some people get confused about who's honoring who. I think the movie is a great compliment to Judy Garland. If Judy's watching I think she would agree. I was 9 years old when Judy Garland's death was announced. I was at an annual outdoor family reunion. Everyone was saying " Dorothy's dead...". We chidren that were there were in an absloute state of shock. Several of us needing to be consoled by adults. I'll never forget it. Thank you Remee Zellweger amd everyone involved.
@whunk - Is that level of sarcasm your brand of intellectual depth that will rescue TFE's comment section?
The whole point of hot takes is to foster discussion. They make people come back and comment over and over, in reaction to each other, which bolsters the site's readership, viewership and clicks. As long as, despite the cheek, the tone remains civil, this kind of silly actress-based skirmish, instead of "ruining the comment section", is actually quite good for the blog and the people who write for it and make a living from it.
Now, come off your high horse and play nicely with the rest of the kids.
"No director knew how to shot Judy as well as Vincente Minnelli, who would become the starlet's husband."
WTF ?! I had no idea that Garland was married to Vincente Minnelli!
^Isabela, you shouldn't be - Wikipedia and IMDB.com have a wealth of information on most notables. They are your "GoTo" sites.