The scenery is nice to look at, and Julia Roberts is as luminous as ever, but without the spiritual and emotional weight of the book that inspired it, Eat Pray Love is too shallow to resonate.

This quote is from the Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review website that allows viewers to rate their favourite films, either earning them fresh or rotten tomatoes.  This new movie came out over the weekend, and although box office take wasn’t bad at all, I’m getting the impression the movie is a bit of candy fluff. I had a feeling it would turn out this way when I first saw the trailers with Julia Roberts smiling hugely at young men and giggling while chowing down on Roman fare. This wasn’t the way I had interpreted the book at all and I was disappointed Julia Roberts had been selected to be the lead. I saw someone like Naomi Watts or… mind freeze! Who’s the girl from Titanic and Revolutionary Road! I hate it when this happens so much! I want to say Catherine….Cath…. ahhh, Kate Winslet!! She can do angst so well and still look fabulous.

About two years ago the book club I belonged to did Eat Pray Love. I remember arriving at the table in the restaurant all prepared to talk about how wonderful the book was and how inspirational Elizabeth Gilbert had been to me. Instead the conversation was all about how self-centered and whiny and boring everyone found the author! I was stupefied! How could these intelligent, feeling women not understand Elizabeth’s struggle with her decisions? How could they not somehow empathize? It then occurred to me that these women were all either much younger than me and so had a lot less practical life experience, or were in a different place in their lives where all was sweetness and light. Several were either pregnant or newly married or freshly engaged. It seems none had ever been to the point of absolute distress so none could relate to Elizabeth Gilbert.

While I listened to these women completely squash Eat Pray Love I realized that if I was to be a participating member of the club I’d have to be honest and speak up for all the women (obviously not represented at this table) who had gone through some kind of emotional trauma and survived. I got up the nerve to say what I felt; that unless you’ve experienced the pain of a marriage break up or something similar you can’t criticize how someone else should or shouldn’t deal with it. I’ve never been divorced but I’m coming up to my 25th anniversary and you don’t get there by taking the easy road. Life can get difficult at times and everyone reacts to adversity in a different way. I’ve also been there for several friends who’ve gone through painful divorces or made difficult life choices, and one thing I’ve learned is to try not to judge their process. We are women, girlfriends, sisters and should support one another and not question or mock one person’s experience.

Now, when you put it all out there in a book you are bound to be critiqued. I get that.

In July my new book club, this time made up of women closer in age and education to me, chose Eat Pray Love to dissect in anticipation of the movie coming out. I was curious to see how this group of women would respond to the book. What startled me was that very few of the 15 women present in this group liked the book either! Come on! It was a best sellers for I don’t know how many months! Their reasons for not loving it were so different from the other group, though. They didn’t like the ‘diary feel’. Thought it read like a blog! Well!  What the heck is wrong with that! lol  These women, university educated, had decided the book wasn’t actually literature and I had to agree with them on this point, maybe… a little.  They all seemed to like the LOVE section the best. I thought the PRAY part was my favourite. Go figure. 4 months in an Ashram in India were more compelling than 4 months eating in Italy. Hmmmm.  We all agreed Elizabeth Gilbert is a pretty funny lady and that her humour was an important part of the book. I think one’s enjoyment of any kind of entertainment is directly proportional (proportionate? I didn’t say I finished university) to what experiences you bring to the table personally.  (I guess that’s why Zoolander will always be one of my favourite comedies  : )

So, getting back to the movie… without the spiritual and emotional weight of the book… says Rotten Tomatoes…  OK, now I know what NOT to expect and can go with my girlfriends and just enjoy it for what it’ll be – a lightweight chick flick.  Nothing wrong with those…

Reviews:

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“If a more likable writer than Gilbert is currently in print, I haven’t found him or her. … Gilbert’s prose is fueled by a mix of intelligence, wit and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible, and makes the reader only too glad to join the posse of friends and devotees who have the pleasure of listening in.” by Jennifer Egan

TIME MAGAZINE

“An engaging, intelligent and entertaining memoir…her account of her time in India is beautiful and honest and free of patchouli-scented obscurities.” by Lev Grossman

LOS ANGELES TIMES

“Gilbert’s journey is full of mystical dreams, visions and uncanny coincidences…Yet for every ounce of self-absorption her classical New-Age journey demands, Gilbert is ready with an equal measure of intelligence, humor and self-deprecation…Gilbert’s wry, unfettered account of her extraordinary journey makes even the most cynical reader dare to dream of someday finding God deep within a meditation cave in India, or perhaps over a transcendent slice of pizza.” by Erika Schickel

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

“This is an intriguing and substantive journey recounted with verve, humor and insight. Others have preceded Gilbert in writing this sort of memoir, but few indeed have done it better.” by John Marshall