User Reviews

Renee immerses herself in the role of Judy Garland, locking up her 4th Oscar Nomination, and likely her second Oscar win, 15 years after Cold Mountain.

One would expect that a truly legendary and iconic actress / singer / dancer like Judy Garland would be enjoying the fruits of her long time successful career, and the accolades of her adoring fans, who would be lining up to buy tickets to see her perform. Alas, Garland's life eptomized the Hollywood cautionary tale of child stars.

Despite massive talent, and amazing work ethic, alcohol, prescription drugs, bad husband choices, despicable studio bosses, and an even worse mother, gave her little chance to bypass tragedy.

Renee clearly did her homework, nailing the nuances of Garland's personality, trooper attitude, eccentric stage mannerisms, and distinctive vocals - The buy-in to Renee as Judy was immediate and never wavered.

Brief flashbacks take us back to production of "The Wizard of Oz" whose namesake himself couldn't save Judy from the Mother from Hell or the Boss From Hell (Louis B Mayer), for just the right amount of time to give the story supporting background fill.

This is largely a spotlight film role for Renee, fitting for the part of Judy Garland whose spotlighted roles carried films.

Renee delivers to the audience a still enthusiastic, but destitute and barely "functional alcoholic" Judy Garland who still has her trade-mark trooper-attitude pragmatism, but is desperately trying to earn enough money to just have a place to sleep for her children and ends up taking the only gig she can get (In London where her fandom still burns bright and large) that gives her hope to earn enough money to right her sinking ship, and retain custody of her children back in America after her 4th divorce.

Judy's final tragic journey in her life is a roller coaster of desperation and sad realizations.

Renee hits one out of the park (and over the rainbow) putting forth what is clearly the best Lead Actress performance of the year thus far, earning her a 10/10, and elevating 'Judy' to an overall 8/10. Bravo

I have never before been so baffled by a movie, I found this one very difficult to review, and I will explain why, the movie itself did nothing for me, but the performance of Renee Zellweger, was nothing short of brilliant.

I was aware that Judy had a hard life, I wasn't aware just how hard her life was. It doesn't put Hollywood, and those that pulled the strings in a particularly good light, she was a tool to make money from.

It was nicely made, the story flows well, if I were more of a Judy Garland lover I may have scored it a bit higher, Zellweger is outstanding as I say, bits of it just left me a little flat. 6/10

Greetings again from the darkness. It's been 80 years since THE WIZARD OF OZ was released and 50 years since Judy Garland died. So why do we still care so much? Of course the obvious reason is that, for many generations, her adventures as Dorothy Gale from Kansas marked the first time many of us kids could put ourselves in the shoes (mine weren't ruby sparkles) of a lead character in a movie. Her fantastical journey ignited our imaginations and whisked us away to fight witches and flying monkeys, while making wonderful friends in a corn patch and enchanted forest. Oh, and that voice! However, there is another side to this coin. Judy's story is also an example of the dark and tarnished side of Hollywood ... she pulled back more than one curtain.

Renee Zellweger (Oscar winner for COLD MOUNTAIN, 2003) stars as Judy Garland, and her performance will likely put her in line for her fourth Oscar nomination. The film basically covers the last year of Judy's life, and director Rupert Goold (TRUE STORY, 2015) is working from a script by Tom Edge adapted from Peter Quilter's stage play, "End of the Rainbow". There is no Lollipop Guild here. Instead, the harsh realities of Judy's life are explored. The film opens with Judy and her kids, Joe and Lorna, performing on stage ... and then being unceremoniously denied a room at a nearby luxury hotel. See, Judy's career is in a bad way (admittedly undependable and uninsurable) - as is her health. She is broke, has no home, and offers for roles or performances have dried up. She ends up at her ex-husband Sid Luft's (Rufus Sewell) home, which after some former-spouse bickering, is where the kids stay.

With no other real prospective gigs, Judy accepts an offer from Bernard Delfont (Michael Gambon) to perform at his Talk of the Town theatre in London. Most of the film covers her time in London, and the challenges for all involved. She's 46 years old in the winter of 1968, and though her voice no longer carries the sublime purity of those early years, Judy still has incredible stage presence and an ability to connect with the audience. The challenges occur for her assigned assistant Rosalyn Wilder (who served as a consultant on the film, and is played here by rising star Jessie Buckley), as well as Judy herself. She misses her kids, and is battling loneliness and an addiction to pills - causing her to rarely eat or sleep. When her "friend" (and fifth husband) Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) shows up, Judy's attitude perks up, but her already questionable dependability falters.

Flashbacks to Judy's teenage years at MGM are used to portray how the studio and industry took control of her body, soul and career. Watching studio head Louis B Mayer (Richard Cordery) bully young Judy (played by newcomer Darci Shaw) by pretending to be a father figure while keeping her weight in line with a diet of cigarettes, diet pills, and soup, is just painful. These scenes, including those with young Judy's frequent co-star Mickey Rooney, help us understand why she was in such a state by the time she hit London. Ms. Zellweger embodies the blend of frailty and determination and talent, as well as the insecurities that simultaneously drove Judy and held her back. Of course, few singers have ever possessed the vocal talent of Judy, but Zellweger admirably brings the appropriate strain and pain to the songs she sings for the movie, including "By Myself" and "The Trolley Song".

Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Judy Garland first hit the stage at age 2, and never experienced a "normal" childhood or traditional relationship. Despite her immense talent, she was never able to find peace with the pressures of performing. Years of abuse led to an early death, not long after she finished her London run. The film never backs away from the tragic story, but also allows one of the brightest stars of an era to shine through. For those who only know Judy as that homesick girl from Kansas, or maybe also as the rosy-cheeked youngster on the Trolley in the holiday favorite MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (directed by her future husband Vincente Minnelli), there is likely a shock factor in seeing the broken icon in middle age. The film also deals with that always-present bond she had with her audience, especially with the gay community - although a certain sequence of the film seems quite improbable.

For a film like this to work (it was not sanctioned by Judy's daughter Liza Minnelli), it all rides on the lead performance. Renee Zellweger beautifully captures both the tragic essence and the stunning talent of the late 1960's Judy Garland, an iconic and revered entertainment figure. The film allows us to understand the lifelong mistreatment and heartbreak of this woman, as well as the strength and joy she received while performing live. Balancing the "early" Judy with the "later" Judy was a brilliant way of bringing her life full circle. Ms. Zellweger's performance goes so much deeper than singing on stage ... she embodies the insecurity and frailties of a woman who was never afforded the opportunity to live her own life.

NOTE: There was a 2001 TV mini-series entitled "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows", based on daughter Lorna Luft's memoir, in which Judy Davis (lip-synching to Ms. Garland's songs) delivered an impressive and Emmy winning performance.

I caught this film at this year's TIFF, and can confirm the raves for Renee Zellweger's performance as Judy Garland -- it definitely is one of the year's best. But I had problems with the film overall. There's just too much left out to make for a legitimate biopic.

The biggest omission: daughter Liza Minelli. At the time depicted in this movie, she was 23, already making movies, and on a career trajectory that would result in an Oscar three years later (before her career admittedly went off a cliff). But here she pretty much doesn't exist - only Garland's two later children do.

And when you reflect upon it, there's a lot more missing in this film. It also treats the period between Garland's Wizard of Oz/Andy Hardy MGM days and her final gig doing a London stage show in 1969 as a big blank, even though there were successes along the way well into the 60's, including two Oscar nominations and a Grammy award for Album of the Year. (Also a short-lived television show where she did a memorable duet with a 21-year-old Barbara Streisand.) Considering the range of celebrities she worked with, the opportunities for quality namedropping are limitless - but aside from Mickey Rooney, there's a pronounced lack of it

There are problems with inclusion as well. In real life, Garland had so many gay admirers that she gave rise to the "FOD" (Friends of Dorothy) acronym as slang for gays. In the movie, this angle is treated in very shorthand fashion by two completely fictional gay admirers of her London shows.

The film reminded me a lot of JACKIE from 2016, where Natalie Portman played Jackie Kennedy. Her performance was certainly Oscar-worthy -- and she did get nominated - but I had problems with the presentation, particularly how Kennedy's funeral was depicted as a national day of mourning. Zellweger is similarly a nomination lock riding in a flawed vehicle.

Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London in 1968 to headline a series of showcase performances. She is struggling with addictions, health problems, custody of her kids, and a lifetime of pressure to perform. Rosalyn Wilder (Jessie Buckley) is the overwhelmed producer trying to keep the unstable Judy on time. It doesn't help when Judy's boyfriend Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) arrives. He becomes her fifth husband and one more disappointment. In flashbacks, a young Judy (Darci Shaw) is under tremendous pressure from Louis B. Mayer to perform.

Zellweger's performance is terrific. Her only small flaw is her singing and that's not her fault. She is asked to embody both greatness and struggle. It's a high degree of difficulty. It would work better if all her singing is live and there is less of it. It leads me to the bigger problem of the structure of the movie. It should squeeze the movie down to her last two performances. The story has no ticking clock and feels meandering at times. The solution is to concentrate the timeline down to a couple of days. The opening with the kids can be better placed in a flashback. The best scene is the dinner with the gay couple and that would be a great antidote after the bad performance. It doesn't need Mickey's arrival and the quickie marriage. He's fine as the constant sycophant who disappoints. The structure flattens the emotional and dramatic tension of the film. Through it all, Zellweger's performance is terrific.

With Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland, you can not only feel her and see her, but you forget Zellweger is even there at all. Like many great performances, you see the character and forget that there is even an actor. Watching her performance is like watching a cosmic display. Some things are just meant to happen.

There have been many so-so bio-pics as of late, most comparably Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, in which another great actress, Benning, portrays the troubled last days of another great actress, Graham. Comparably, Zellweger's performance outshines the more renowned Benning. By contrast, Liverpool is also jaggedly uneven. That's not to say that Judy is perfect. Music bios are tough. Rami supposedly was great in Bohemian Rhapsody, but the film encompassed a superficial sentiment and lacked intellectual curiosity. Control, the Joy Division piece, is maybe the best in recent years... But Judy is right up there.

The story covers her last gig in London. The film uses flashbacks in order for the audience to understand her character. While most of those around her only see a washed up star, who was just forty seven.

What the story lacks in structure, it makes up with warmth. While this is a softer portrait, it still feels authentic. It finds no purpose in portraying her issues with callousness. Instead the narrative depends on Garland trying to understand herself, while making poor choice after poor choice. If you know anything about Garland, you know where she is going... But what you may not know, is she how she arrived there. It is a deeply sentimental portrait of a brilliant mind and troubled heart.

There have been some cynics saying that "Only a fool would try to play Garland." Dare, I say, Zellweger just made a fool out of you.

See this movie, it will remind you of yourself.

What a heart-wrenching performance by Renee Zellweger. At times I had to remind myself that this wasn't Judy Garland. Stardom is not always glamorous. The end scene and closing credits were so moving.

There is not much happy going on here. The performances are amazing. Just to displease other comments... Mickey Rooney is in the movie twice. This is just a wow that somebody so well loved could have been so emotionally tortured by herself and other. Great work on the entire movie from cast to production.

Judy has a tour de force performance from Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland in the last year of her life.

Garland had no money, no home and in a custody battle with her ex husband. She managed to get a gig at the Talk of the Town club in London, as she was still celebrated in Britain.

However Garland was a wreck. Middle aged but looking older, addicted to booze and drugs.

There are flashbacks to the young Judy Garland on the set of The Wizard of Oz where movie mogul Louis B Mayer coerces her to perform by any mean even by plying her with pills.

Director Rupert Goold delivers a meat and potatoes bio pic. It is all by the numbers and low key. Only a scene where Garland is taken for breakfast by two gay men stands out apart from Zellweger's acting.

Hindsight is 20/20 or so the aphorism goes. In the case of Judy Garland, however, hindsight is more like 20/90: 90 percent focused on the abused, drug-addled victim of Hollywood greed and 10 percent on the delightful human being who began her entertainment career as Frances Gumm, age 2. In the new biopic "Judy," Renee Zellweger delivers a fascinating impersonation of a near- anorexic end-of-life Garland, but there is so much more to Judy Garland than what this movie would have us believe.

Among the most touching moments in the film is the fabricated dinner with two gay fans who stick with her to the end, but mostly this movie left me dry-eyed. The problem with this and every other Judy Garland biopic is that it portrays her as a pathetic victim rather than a heroic rebel who suffered greatly because she had no capable protectors. No doubt she was a handful, but the men in her life served only to show what double-handfuls they were by comparison.

Judy Davis's portrayal of Garland in the TV miniseries "Me and My Shadows" made her out as marginally less pathetic, especially in the scene where President John F. Kennedy asks her to sing "Over the Rainbow" to him over the telephone. She inspired so many, her talent was enormous, and to reduce it to the final lost years of her life does her no justice.

I saw "The End of the Rainbow," the play upon which this movie is based, about a decade ago in London and almost walked out because it was so miserable. Like the play, this movie is enough to make you regret that you ever enjoyed "The Wizard of Oz" or "Meet Me in St. Louis" because it makes you believe that Judy Garland made her way through those performances drugged and abused, as if she never had a good day in her life.

Anyone who has observed Garland's story through the years knows that there were two times when she was truly happy--one was with her children, the other was delivering a song as if she were giving birth to it.

At one point in "Judy" the nasty studio chief Louis B. Mayer presses Garland to choose between a career of Hollywood fame and glamour and a life as a dreary Midwestern farm wife. Somehow it makes us believe that she would have been better off cast in "The Wizard of Oz" as Auntie Em rather than Dorothy. Less obviously, it points out that she would have been the same woman with the same voice minus the studio bullying, the scrutiny of tabloid so-called journalists, and the sadistic voyeurs and users who somehow enjoyed her misery and felt that she had brought it upon herself.

Misery loves company, so if you want to sit in a theater for two hours and watch a reenactment of the last horrific months of Judy Garland's life, by all means squirm through "Judy." Otherwise, for a much more interesting and nuanced appreciation of Garland's contribution to 20th century popular music, watch the blogger Isabel's "Be Kind Rewind" tribute, "The 'Judy' Companion." She observes that this film makes a spectacle of suffering. That is the real tragedy of Judy Garland's life: the spectacle that has been made of it.

My wife and I watched this at home on BluRay from our public library. Renee really does give an award-quality performance. And she did in fact win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Who has never seen "The Wizard of Oz"? What would that movie be without Judy Garland as Dorothy? The early but difficult stages of a very significant career.

In this new biopic Renée Zellweger gives one of her better performances as Judy Garland, and her singing is very appropriate. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress. While biopics don't have lots of latitude, if they follow the factual life of the subject, they can be done dryly or they can be done with a spark. This one has that spark.

One spark I really enjoyed was when a couple of men, fans, encountered her after a London performance, just the three of them in the alley. She innocently asks if they want to go get food with her, they all end up in the apartment cooking eggs. That was Judy, off stage just another human willing to connect with ordinary people.

This movie is a very worthwhile look at the life of Judy Garland, focusing both on her early years and mostly on her last year when she died in 1969 at the age of 47. See it for Judy, or see it for Renee, or see it for both. It is a memorable movie of a memorable singer.

Renee kills it, a top notch performance. Her gestures, everything is perfect. And for once although there is some cigarette smoking its not the usual excessive product placement like Netflix movies.

Yep, the title sums my view on this movie pretty much. Zellweger deserved the Oscar, because this was her movie. This movie would've been way different if it wasn't for Zellweger. The source material in Judy Garland's life is huge but the way they present this is sloppy. Scenes are sometimes rushed and sometimes really long. Side characters were mostly just side characters, they were underdeveloped and the storylines didn't really create an impact(sometimes Zellweger's acting alone made an impact, that's different). The rise and fall of Judy Garland are both really interesting stories and the film doesn't really use them to their full potential. This movie is Renee Zellweger, and that's a fact. If they were to write no script and tell Renee Zellweger to act as Judy Garland it would also work. The movie did its best to give Renee Zellweger an Oscar, other than that they just made a mediocre movie. But you should still check it out, because Zellweger becomes Judy in this movie.

Renee Zellweger might try her hardest, but she can't overcome the inherent shortcomings of the script she's been handed in Judy. It's a weepy, downbeat, and joyless film to watch as we see legend Judy Garland suffer one career and personal low after another with precious levity in between.

Zellweger commits admirably and even does her own singing in the role, but it never feels like a natural fit and the script does her no favors - flashing back to her days on the MGM lot whenever it feels froggy. Garland, in this film, seems like a miserable person to be around and, for someone unfamiliar with her work, it's hard to tell why she was ever considered such a legend to begin with. We see none of that flair and humor and vulnerability that made her such a shining star to begin with. Perhaps more time with her children would have helped flesh her out a bit more.

As is, Judy is a fairly mundane bio pic that feels more made for TV than the actual made for TV biopic with Judy Davis that, at least, showed a more well rounded version of Garland.

I am not a big fan of Renee Zellweger, but boy did she blow me away. Her performance was flawless! Her singing was right on spot! I really enjoyed the story line. The way the film flashed between WIZARD OF OZ Judy and the London Judy was very well done. It really tied the beginning and end of Judy's career together.

As embarrassing as it sounds i had never heard of Judy garland before , my excuse is my age(27). Therefore I had not been dying to see this feature but it did grab my attention of course when Rene Zellweger won the Oscar for best female actress and after seeing this film I can see why .

Judy is set during her 1968 Visit to London which like the Marilyn Monroe film; " a week with Marilyn " works very well as it doesn't leave that awful typical biopic pattern where they try to cramp too much into nothing. This on the other hand allows us to take our time with Judy enabling us to get to know the character and with the support of timely flashbacks it begins to help us understand Judy and her crazy life in Showbiz .

Although the film is slow at times it is truly made up by how amazing Renee's performance is , a comeback of the ages.

Wow, what a performance by Renee Zellweger! She obviously did her homework to bring Judy to life on the screen!

Judy is quite a decent film. It shows the tragic last period of Judy Garland's life and gives us sad snippets into her life as a starlet. Renee carries this film all the way to the end. An absolute standout and worthy of her Best Actress Oscar win. She becomes and is Judy Garland from start to finish. This is a sad and tragic tale of a beloved icon who went away too soon. It also portrays Hollywood in a bad light. Despite the sad tale this is a fitting homage and tribute to Judy.

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of her passing, this is a sparkling, yet honest closer look at the legendary 1968 "Talk of the Town" engagement, the promising effort for a physically and emotionally exhausted Judy Garland to reignite her fading career. Renee Zellweger has not only literally transformed into the mature Judy Garland, but also delivers impressive singing performances. The script, costumes and sets take the audience on a virtual trip back into the last days of the ultimate performer's life.

Somewhere over the rainbow...Judy looks down and smiles. There will never be another Judy Garland, but Renee Zellweger's portrayal comes pretty close.

Oh dear, there's no scene with Judy chasing poor Joey down the hall with a knife; no scene where she lies on the floor in her own regurgitation spewing nonsense (well... almost); no sordid tales of Garland's sex life... And that's fine. I'm no Garland apologist. The woman was not entirely a showbiz martyr, but she was a one of a kind talent, devoted to those who loved her, friend, family and fan alike-- at least as devoted as she could be, and not deserving of mud-throwing anymore. It's been fifty years since she died for heaven's sake.

So, no: there is nothing new or revelatory to learn about Garland in this film, which is fine. What else to we need to know? It's a competently written, gorgeously produced film. As for Zellweger, she's actually even more impressive than I thought she'd be. And no, the singing isn't Judy, but she does a more than credible job with it, and sounds leagues better than she did in CHICAGO. Her commitment is incredible, and her performance is beautiful.

It's a fair look at what are indeed sad last months of a troubled lady, but handled with respect and affection. And that's fine by me.

I have been to see this film today with my wife. We both found it a long haul due to its slow pace. We didn't expect a 'musical' so its not the lack of Garland's song book that was a problem. After the first 15 mins. or so we were fidgeting in our seats! Half an hour later, had I been on my own, I would have probably left; but we stuck it out. A lot of problems arose wondering what was fact and what was 'artistic' licence. The dialogue was stilted and unnatural. It had been adapted from a play which I am sure would have worked better, perhaps the playwright should have done the screenplay. We both regarded the experience as two wasted hours, but it was forgettable so we will do that - forget it.