Thursday, November 12, 2015

MOVIE WEEKEND: WILD

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today and tomorrow I present Reese Witherspoon x 2 = Good Movies

Today's movie is Wild (2014, Rated R, Available On DVD).


Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) is devastated by the death of her mother, Bobbi (Laura Dern). When Cheryl's marriage ends, she takes Strayed as her last name because of her drug use and casual sex with strangers.

Cheryl gets clean and hikes more than one thousand miles of the Pacific Coast Trail, alone, in what becomes a healing, though perilous, journey. The trek in the film feels quite real.

Witherspoon was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for Wild, while Dern was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The acting is good. The movie is lovely. I believe it has spiritual overtones that I don't understand. I hope to appreciate the story by reading the book of the same name by Cheryl Strayed. It's available on Amazon at http://goo.gl/4yqSA6.

For now, Wild earns The Janie Junebug Seal of Toe Nail ApprovalRemoval & Exhaustion. This film is definitely not for children, but depending on how much of a teaching tool you think it can be with teens, you might watch with young people about sixteen and older. It has pretty graphic sex scenes and drug use.

I watched Wild on a DVD graciously provided to me by Netflix because I pay my bill every month.

Happy viewing! I have another Reese Witherspoon movie for you tomorrow.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug


15 comments:

  1. I have this in my queue. Going to have to watch it sometime soon. Sounds interesting, but like you'd have to be more clearheaded than I am now to watch it--LOL! ;)

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    1. If you understand it, then please explain it to me. I like it, but I feel as if I missed something.

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  2. Hi Janie - I imagine you'd get wonderful landscapes in the film - interesting to think of it as a teaching tool ... logical though. I don't think I'll watch it. Cheers Hilary

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    1. I think it would be a teaching tool for parents who wants to talk with their older teens about relationships, drug use, and sex. Cheryl Strayed went to some very dark places, literally and figuratively.

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  3. I saw Wild in the theater with no preconceived notion or knowing anything about it, and I loved it. Not being a big fan of Reese Witherspoon, this movie made me a believer. I wouldn't call the sex she was having in dirty alleys "casual" there has to be something sub-casual, like perfunctory sex? Then there's the parts where she's hiking and meets creepy dudes and it just feels menacing like something bad is going to happen to her and you realize, oh, yeah, that's what women have to deal with all the time with gross guys who might be rapists. It was disturbing and beautiful and sometimes tense. I really did like it.

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    1. I like it, too, but I'm not sure why, other than good acting and an unusual plot. I probably don't know what casual sex is. At times, she was more into what might be called blackout sex. Those men on the trail were frightening.

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  4. I have been meaning to rent it but have not gotten around to it yet. It sounds like one of those spiritual journeys. I saw a horrible movie with her and Sofia Vergara-don't bother unless you are sick and can't change the channel

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    1. I promise: No Reese Witherspoon with Sofia Vergara. One time about ten years ago, I was so sick that picking up the remote to change the channel was too much for me. I turned on the TV in the morning, and it was on the same channel all day. I remember I actually watched Martha Stewart--first and last times.

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  5. I don't think I'll order this one!!

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    1. Okay. I won't force you to watch it. I have a feeling you wouldn't be WILD about it.

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  6. I haven't seen this one either. This movie looks like something I'd enjoy more than The Good Lie, but I could be wrong.

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    1. I don't know you well enough yet to feel confident about recommending a movie or a book to you.

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  7. As long as it has your toe nail!! You make me laugh, you nut.

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    1. I learned that if your hiking boots don't fit right, then your toenails fall off. It's not pretty.

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  8. Now, you're sure it was Cheryl - not Cherdo? I've heard those names can be mixed up.

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