Call Jane Movie Review

Though it seems as Roe was settled law (that is until this past June) forever, the truth is that it was just a hair’s breadth away from the half-century mark.

The new movie, Call Jane, is based on a true story. It takes place in 1968 in Chicago. Joy (Elizabeth Banks) is a middle-aged, happily married homemaker with one child and another on the way. During a visit to the doctor, she is told that her pregnancy is endangering her life. She has two choices: end the pregnancy or take a chance that both she and the fetus survive.

Naturally, the procedure is denied by the hospital board. Taking the underground route, fate leads Joy to the Janes. Among them are Virginia (Sigourney Weaver) and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku). The Janes are a collective of women whose goal is to provide safe (and illegal) abortions.

Joy quickly gets involved with the Janes, causing her husband, daughter, and neighbor/bestie Lana (Kate Mara) to wonder what she is up to. The question is, when will Joy fess up and will she have to be bailed out of jail?

I hate to say it, but I have mixed feelings about this film.

What’s good about the movie is that it is not about politics, but the story of an average woman having to make an incredibly difficult decision. Then, as now, it points out the obvious: those who have money will have the ability to end the pregnancy safely. Those who don’t will have to resort to dangerous and life-threatening methods.

What’s bad about it is the lack of tension and the slow pacing. I wanted to feel Joy’s anxiety and apprehension about what she was getting involved in, but I didn’t. I also wanted to feel like the police were forever on their heels and the Janes had to be one step ahead of them.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Call Jane is presently in theaters.

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Thoughts On the Call Jane Trailer

Martin Luther King Jr. once said the following about our laws:

One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Any law that uplifts human personality is just.

The trailer for the new movie, Call Jane, is the story of Joy (Elizabeth Banks), a woman who just found out that she is pregnant in the days before Roe v. Wade. Told by her doctor that the pregnancy is a danger to her life, she first goes through the “proper” channels to receive medical care. Unable to get the abortion, she discovers an underground network. Known as “Jane” Joy gets help from a number of women. Among them is Virginia (Sigourney Weaver).

I have seen the trailer twice and I am so ready to see the full movie. It is extremely timely and a reminder of how important it is for women to have full control of their own bodies and futures. What I am liking about the film (based on the trailer) is that it points out that some things remain the same, even after fifty-plus years.

Call Jane will be in theaters in the US on October 28. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Halloween than a scary story of my rights being taken away.

Flashback Friday-Heartbreakers (2001)

It has often been said that mortals plan and the creator laughs.

In the 2001 movie, Heartbreakers, mother and daughter duo Max (Sigourney Weaver) and Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt) have the perfect con game down to a T. Max marries older and wealthier man and Page seduces them as her mother walks in on them. Max then demands a divorce and receives a tidy sum as a settlement. This continues on until they are caught by their own con game.

There are some movies that are merely ok. They are not terrible, but they are also not the greatest film to ever hit theaters. Heartbreakers is one of these movies. But that’s ok. Sometimes I want a movie that is a little dumb, a little predictable and a little naughty.

I recommend it.

Throwback Thursday – Galaxy Quest (1999)

In the early 1980’s, Galaxy Quest was one of the most popular shows on television. Nearly twenty years later, the cast is stuck reuniting at sci-fi conventions to pay the bills.

Believing the show to be fact and not fiction, an alien race in danger of extinction reaches out to the Captain Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen). Jason brings his skeptical crew, Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver) whose only job is to repeat what the computer has stated, Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) a trained Shakespearean actor who plays the resident doctor/alien and Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub) the ship’s engineer onto the alien ship. With the help of uber fan Brandon (Justin Long), can the cast of Galaxy Quest help this alien race survive?

This movie is incredibly funny. What I love about this movie is that it makes fun of the entire science fiction genre and it’s fan base without malice.  The running joke of the movie is that the actors are unable to move on in their careers, constantly being typecast to a character they played decades ago.   It is one of those movies that will always make me laugh.

I recommend this movie.