Eat, Pray, Love

This summer, Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel Eat, Pray, Love will be coming to a theatre near you.   The film stars America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts as Gilbert and Javier Bardim as her love interest.  The semi-autobiographical story of self discovery solicited a cult following when it was released in 2006 and rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List.  As someone that read the novel, I was eager to see how the book translated to the big screen.

The movie is set in part in Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Indonesia (Love).  The skylines, historical buildings and tropical views that were captured in the parts of the film that were taped in Italy and Indonesia in particular were breathtaking.   But that’s where my positive feedback for this film sadly ends.  And I have to say it was all because I found Roberts to be a complete bore as the globe-trotting Gilbert.  I never thought I could be so disenchanted watching a mega movie star travel to foreign places while eating decadent foods (Italy), joining an Ashram (India) and falling in love (Indonesia), but it happened.

In the book, Gilbert draws the audience in with her quest to find a renewed purpose in life.  As readers we care about her process and happily go on the journey with her.  In the film, I couldn’t wait for Roberts to be done with the whole thing and hop her flight back to New York City ensuring that the ending credits were soon to roll.  And when she finally gets her guy (Bardim) in the end, I wonder… How?

An actress with a bit more spunk and life (something that before Eat Pray Love I thought Roberts had) in the lead role would have done this film better justice.  Perhaps Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie or Kate Hudson could have pulled Gilbert off with more energy and verve.

Because of the success of the book, I have no doubt that folks will flock to the theatres to check out this novel-turned-film when it is released worldwide on August 13th.  My fear is that more often than not those same people will leave the theatre wondering how their beloved book missed the mark once it hit the Cineplex.