{"id":1423,"date":"2018-05-02T18:50:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T18:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/dev\/?p=1423"},"modified":"2018-08-21T18:55:39","modified_gmt":"2018-08-21T18:55:39","slug":"tully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/tully\/","title":{"rendered":"Tully"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Motherhood is one strange state of mind and although this film is billed as a comedy, it is more like an adult fairy tale. There are plenty of laughs, but you\u2019ll see, here, that motherhood is serious business.<\/p>\n

Charlize Theron plays exhausted, overwhelmed and depressed pregnant Mom, Marlo, stretched in more ways than one. Theron, known for the glamorously sleek, body you\u2019ve seen in movies and perfume ads, is not even close in this film. She gained 50 pounds eating sugar and processed foods for this role and the pregnancy belly she wore weighed another 40 pounds. She looks pretty haggard for most of the film. She says carrying around that extra 90 pounds was no fun.<\/p>\n

This is the 3rd collaboration for Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult)<\/span> and the second collaboration for both with CharlizeTheron(<\/span>Young Adult<\/span>).\u00a0\u00a0Theron has two children and knows well how much work babies are when you don\u2019t get enough sleep. Cody just had her own third child when she came up with the idea and she sent a script to Reitman which she wrote in just 6 weeks. Reitman was impressed and taken aback since it took him 7 years to write <\/span>Up in the Air! <\/span><\/p>\n

Reitman portrays Marlo sitting slouched, belly up, in a chair, looking as if she hates the world. You can feel the burden and the pressure building. The director shows in every scene how hard it is handling house, spouse, and kids wielding a belly that\u2019s a ton of discomfort while hormones are raging and totally exhausted. But she still tries to pretend that everything is fine when she goes out into the world. Cody so accurately reflects the edginess and resentment in her screenwriting of what Marlo has to deal with daily. That sharp edge cuts right through.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”1426″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInUp”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”1427″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInUp”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”1428″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInUp”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]\n

Marlo has a needy daughter, but her anxiety-ridden son, who may be autistic, is the biggest challenge.\u00a0\u00a0He routinely kicks the back of her seat while she\u2019s driving till it vibrates. He gets into trouble in school so often that the Principal has a hot line to her cell phone. Marlo\u2019s nerves are raw to start with, so the scene where she goes from exhausted blob to sarcastic, screaming banshee in the school principal\u2019s office gets totally out of control. Theron does full-on tantrum so well, it\u2019s funny. We can just see Reitman yelling, \u201cGo for it!\u201d And she does.<\/p>\n

Marlo\u2019s hormones are already raging when, after delivery, postpartum hits the sleep deprived Mom like a mack truck. Everyone thinks having a baby is so wonderful and such a blessing, but this shows how it wreaks havoc with body and psyche. There is nothing glamorous about Marlo, staring off into space, attached to an noisy electric pump on each breast. The scene where Marlo is so tired she drops the phone on her baby\u2019s face is pathetic, conveying her exhaustion without a word.<\/p>\n

Her passive husband, Drew (Ron Livingston – Office Space, Swingers<\/span>) is a nice guy who calmly stays out of the fray. Livingston plays detached, especially in the scenes where where he\u2019s lying in bed, consumed by his video games with headphones oblivious to the needs of his emotionally, mentally and physically drained wife. You want to goose Drew to help Marlo more. Reitman says it\u2019s much harder to show the dynamics of a family already settled in their own routine than to show a new couple falling in love. But he captures their nuances realistically. <\/span><\/p>\n

Marlo\u2019s brother, Craig, (Mark Duplass) is super successful with the perfect politically correct life, wife and kids. This irks envious Marlo no end. Seeing that his sister needs help, Craig offers to gift her a night nanny for relief. Marlo balks but finally gives in. Duplass plays the brother role perfectly as generous but a little obnoxious.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e5D3O4yCmCg” el_width=”70″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\n

Here comes guardian angel, Tully (Mackenzie Davis-Blade Runner 2045, The Martian<\/span>.) Davis had the unusual look and the energy Reitman says he\u00a0\u00a0was looking for. Everyone would love to have a Tully. She is a modern day Mary Poppins who anticipates every need before you do. Marlo is suspicious at first. Tully knows exactly how to handle not only the baby and Marlo, she takes care of her, the house, the kids, even offering a wealth of self-help advice to help Marlo regain confidence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reitman has cinematographer, Eric Steelberg shoot their scenes together tight and hand-held so it looks like Marlo glows in the shadow of Tully. Marlo slowly gets back in control to become the happy, efficient wife and mother she wants to be. In the process, she and Tully bond and become besties.<\/p>\n

Reitman takes it a step at a time, showing the trust, tenderness and friendship that develop to help Marlo begin to find herself again. Theron and Davis have their own chemistry which makes their relationship seem very positive and hopeful. But writer, Cody, always puts in a twist. This is where the film takes a turn. It becomes raw and unrealistic for a purpose. Marlo is taken to the very edge before the filmmakers drag her back to a new reality.<\/p>\n

The third act is confusing but thought-provoking. Cody and Reitman show how the pain of motherhood all too often comes after <\/span>the birth. Theron\u2019s commitment to the role is solid and strong. Davis plays magical nanny well. Many Moms will surely relate to this film. But with this portrayal of motherhood, don\u2019t look for it to become a Mother\u2019s Day classic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Focus Features\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01 hour 36 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0R\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reviewed May 2, 2018[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Motherhood is one strange state of mind and although this film is billed as a comedy, it is more like an adult fairy tale. There are plenty of laughs, but you\u2019ll see, here, that motherhood is serious business. Charlize Theron plays exhausted, overwhelmed and depressed pregnant Mom, Marlo, stretched in more ways than one. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,35,107,25,85,110,109,106,105,108],"class_list":["post-1423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review","tag-charlize-theron","tag-comedy","tag-diablo-cody","tag-drama","tag-family","tag-mackenzie-davis","tag-mark-duplass","tag-mental-health","tag-motherhood","tag-ron-livingston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1423"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1429,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1423\/revisions\/1429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviesandshakers.com\/staging\/4428\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}