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The Help

Play trailer Poster for The Help PG-13 Released Aug 10, 2011 2h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 233 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college with dreams of being a writer. She turns her small town on its ear by choosing to interview the Black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent white families. Only Aibileen (Viola Davis), the housekeeper of Skeeter's best friend, will talk at first. But as the pair continue the collaboration, more women decide to come forward, and as it turns out, they have quite a lot to say.
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The Help

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Critics Consensus

Though it fails to fully engage with its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast -- particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own.

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Critics Reviews

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Shubhra Gupta The Indian Express Yes it has drawn some criticism for not being authentic enough in depicting the painful disparity, but in putting rarely heard voices on screen and telling it in a story as regonisable as this, The Help deserves only praise. Rated: 4/5 Mar 29, 2019 Full Review Anna Smith metro.co.uk The Help is a somewhat light-hearted take on the relations between black maids and their bosses in 1960s Mississippi, giving a simplified yet well-intended story of Kathryn Stockett’s novel for the big screen. Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2018 Full Review Roxane Gay New York Daily News At one point, Minny rhapsodizes about fried chicken and the solace of its preparation... I was convinced the movie was satirical. May 24, 2018 Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson The Help balances the three lead voices wonderfully and molds a book-within-a-book plot that delivers as many tears as it does laughs. Rated: 4/5 Oct 17, 2024 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight As a piece of entertainment, it works. As a historical document, its contents are too sanitized in an effort to avoid inflaming old tensions and that mutes its impact. Rated: 3.5/4 Oct 10, 2023 Full Review Nadia Dalimonte Next Best Picture While the narrative includes Black characters’ perspectives, the writing holds them at a distance, not providing more in-depth character development overall. Rated: 7/10 Apr 6, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kevin P A very engaging historical dramedy about the deeply ingrained systemic grip the white south had on African American women as their maids as late as the 1960’s while presenting a relatively creative way to combat this with their collective experiences and grievances being the perfect batch for an anonymous NY best seller book. The main cast is very solid, with special shoutouts to Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Octavia Spencer. The sh*t pie gag reveal was hilarious, though my favorite joke was the lawn toilet sale typo bit. The movie has a good amount of drama to balance out the tone and acknowledge the severity of the subject matter without exploiting it, minus the unfortunate white savior/focus on good white characters so white audiences don’t feel too bad about racism” aspect of the movie. That being said, I’d argue that this movie certainly handles it better than other similar offenders like Crash, The Blind Side, or Driving Miss Daisy. The ending felt fittingly bittersweet, but ultimately hopeful and liberating. The movie was colorful and well-shot with a fine soundtrack. It’s a slightly dated, but very solid movie and I’m glad it helped launch so many careers for so many of its stars. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/25 Full Review Arjon Henrich R From an average viewer's perspective, it is amazing. The storytelling was amazing, if you cant predict what is coming next, you know it is good. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Almir C Beatiful movie !!! Viola as usual delivering an acting show !! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/29/24 Full Review jacek j Once again, the "professional critics" review misses the mark. Movie was amazing, there is nothing else we should say. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/05/24 Full Review Horror fan 4 The performances alone make this a much watch. Octavia Spencer is amazing and the dessert scene is hilarious. Tim Treakle Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review William B Brilliant performances from all involved, one of the most culturally important films in film history. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Help

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college with dreams of being a writer. She turns her small town on its ear by choosing to interview the Black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent white families. Only Aibileen (Viola Davis), the housekeeper of Skeeter's best friend, will talk at first. But as the pair continue the collaboration, more women decide to come forward, and as it turns out, they have quite a lot to say.
Director
Tate Taylor
Producer
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
Screenwriter
Tate Taylor
Distributor
Walt Disney
Production Co
1492 Pictures, Harbinger Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Material)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 10, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$169.7M
Runtime
2h 26m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital
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