Georgia Rule

Georgia Rule is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall, written by Mark Andrus and starring Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman. The original score was composed by John Debney. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but the lead cast was praised for their performances.

Georgia Rule
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGarry Marshall
Produced byJames G. Robinson
David Robinson
Written byMark Andrus
StarringJane Fonda
Lindsay Lohan
Felicity Huffman
Dermot Mulroney
Garrett Hedlund
Music byJohn Debney
CinematographyKarl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited byBruce Green
Tara Timpone
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • May 11, 2007 (2007-05-11)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]
Box office$24.9 million

Plot

Rebellious and uncontrollable, seventeen-year-old Rachel is promiscuous, does drugs, and drinks. With her latest car crash, Rachel has violated the final rule in the San Francisco home of her mother, Lily. With nowhere else to take the impulsive and rambunctious girl, Lily hauls her daughter to the one place she swore she would never return to: her own mother's house in Idaho.

Matriarch Georgia lives her life by a number of unbreakable rules — God comes first, and hard work comes a very close second — and she wants that whoever shares her home to do the same. Now saddled with raising the young woman, it requires each patient breath she takes to understand Rachel's fury. Georgia arranges a job for Rachel as the office girl of Dr. Simon Ward, the local veterinarian, who also unofficially treats people. His two nephews, Sam and Ethan, are often at Georgia's house.

Simon does not show interest in Rachel or other women; so, she thinks he is gay. However, Simon's sister Paula reveals that he is still mourning the death of his wife and son who were killed in a car collision three years earlier. He refuses to have sex with Rachel even when she tries to seduce him, but retains some feelings for her mother Lily, whom he has dated in the past.

Rachel performs oral sex on Harlan Wilson, who was not yet married and still a virgin because of his LDS (Mormon) religion. He confesses to his LDS girlfriend, June, who is shocked. Later, a team of LDS girls spy on Harlan to make sure he does not have sex again as well as on Rachel.

After almost running them over with Harlan's truck, Rachel explains to them that what happened was over and that they can go back to having their summer fun.

They agree to do so, but they tell Rachel to go home leading Rachel to threaten them by saying if they have anything to do with her and Harlan again, she will find all of their boyfriends and "fuck them stupid". That is the point when they stop insulting her and end their spying on Harlan and Rachel.

While trying to make a point to Simon about survival, Rachel bluntly says that her stepfather, Arnold, sexually molested her from the time she was 12 until she turned 14. Seeing the effect of her revelation, Rachel tries to convince him she lied. However, Simon tells Georgia about the abuse, and in turn, Georgia tells Lily, who thinks Rachel is lying.

Heartbroken, Lily comes to believe her daughter. She begins to drink heavily and asks Arnold for a divorce. When Arnold arrives, Georgia tells him to leave and refuses to let him in the house. Finally, she forces him to leave by hitting him with a baseball bat. When he still refuses to leave the property, she threatens to vandalize his new red Ferrari. Rachel sees that Lily cannot accept the truth, and lies to her about being molested.

At the motel where Arnold is staying, Rachel tells him that she has a video tape of them having sex when she was 14 and Arnold seems worried. Rachel demands $10 million if he does not keep Lily happy. She admits to him that she told Lily lies because she does not want her to be upset anymore. On the way back to San Francisco, Arnold tells Lily that he is giving Rachel his Ferrari, and Lily realizes that he is guilty.

Lily starts a raging argument/attack and Arnold finally admits to having molested Rachel numerous times, using the excuse that Rachel seduced him, Lily's alcoholism drove him to it, and that Rachel enjoyed it. So, Arnold drives off and leaves Lily to walk home. Georgia, Simon, Rachel, and Harlan catch up with Lily in Harlan's pick-up truck, and a tearful Rachel apologizes to her mother for her behavior. Harlan tells Georgia that he is in love with Rachel, and plans to marry her when he returns from his two-year mission.

Cast

Production

Ostensibly set in Idaho, per the ending credits and DVD extras, the film was actually shot in Southern California, and much of the scenery was created with CGI.

The production of the film came to media attention when a warning letter from Morgan Creek Productions CEO James G. Robinson to Lohan was leaked online on The Smoking Gun; in it, he criticized her heavy partying and lateness on set, calling her "discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional", comparing her to a "spoiled child."[2][3][4]

Release

Reception

Georgia Rule was panned by critics. The film earned a Rotten rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 18%. The site's consensus states: "Comedic and dramatic in all the wrong places, Georgia Rule is a confused dramedy that wastes the talents of its fine cast."[5] The film also had a low rating on Metacritic with a score of 25, which means Generally Unfavorable Reviews.[6] Georgia Rule was rated the #2 worst movie of 2007 by AOL.[7] The movie received "two thumbs down" from Ebert and Roeper, with the guest critic calling it "Lindsay Lohan's Gigli" (many critics would compare Lohan's following star vehicle, I Know Who Killed Me, to Gigli) and "a sitcom about sexual abuse".

Home media

Georgia Rule was released on DVD on September 4, 2007.

Nominations

The film received nominations at the TCA. The film received two nominations for Choice Movie – Chick Flick and Choice Actress – Drama for Lohan's performance. Felicity Huffman received a Prism Award nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film.

Year Ceremony Award Result
2007 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie – Chick Flick Nominated
Choice Award for Choice Actress – Drama: Lindsay Lohan Nominated

References
  1. "Georgia Rule (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  2. "Lindsay Lohan: The Truth Behind The 'Georgia Rule' Rumors | Access Online". Access.
  3. "Hollywood Big Blasts Lohan". The Smoking Gun. June 12, 2014.
  4. ""Georgia Rule" Controversy Haunts Lohan". www.cbsnews.com.
  5. "Georgia Rule (2007)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  6. "Georgia Rule" – via www.metacritic.com.
  7. "Yahoo". movies.aol.com.
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