"THE HELP"- Must See Movie of the Summer!

(Mobile, AL.) August 14th--The movie "The Help" is bringing people together in movie theaters all around the country. Word of mouth reports have filled seats and sold out theaters since Wednesday. My mother and her girlfriends saw it opening night,  I decided to see what all the buzz was about Sunday. By the time I arrived after the previews the theater was packed.  From the opening scene to the closing credits, everyone was hanging on every word. Often times the laughs turning into sniffles as the story line served as a vivid reminder of the drama and real-life danger of the civil rights era in Jackson, Mississippi.

Montgomery Native Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis

Audiences in Mobile were especially thrilled by surprise "shout-out" about "The Port City", but that's not the only Alabama Connection.  The movie "The Help" is entertaining and contains a memorable cast. Viola Davis is strong,  however,  the scene stealer is Octavia Spencer who played the role of Minny Jackson. The Montgomery native's depiction of the "sassy-mouth" maid is
not only unforgettable, this is truly Octavia Spencer's breakout role.

A lot of the buzz this weekend has not been positive. Some historians have a problem with how the maids were depicted during the civil right's era. The film, based on the novel by Mississippi native Katherine Stockett, is told through the perspective of a woman who could be described as a surrogate mother, a care-giver, a cook, a seamstress, the maid.

I walked away from this movie not disturbed by what some have called the resurrection of "the mammy role," but embracing and even understanding "another voice" from those turbulent times. The applause at the end of the movie told me this audience of black and white, young and old, male and female also found this movie to be inspirational, sensitive and empowering! "The Help" is a vivid reminder of how courage can sometimes come "in a whisper".