TOM TANGNEY

Renee Zellwegger gives an Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Judy’

Sep 27, 2019, 11:31 AM

Judy Garland was one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. A brilliant singer, dancer, and actress, Garland was rarely out of the spotlight after her star turn in The Wizard of Oz at the age of 16. By the time she died of an accidental overdose at 47, she was almost as famous for her off-screen personal troubles as she was for her on-stage virtuosity.

Renee Zellwegger takes on the enormous task of portraying this multi-talented but tormented icon in the new movie, Judy. And for her troubles, Zellwegger is receiving some of the best reviews of her career, with the Oscar buzz only getting louder and louder. She definitely deserves the acclaim.

Zellwegger is a decent singer, witness her starring role in Chicago. And in Judy, she does all her own singing, and according to the director, it was mostly done live on the set. If Jamie Foxx can win an Oscar for Ray without singing, and Rami Malik can win as Freddie Mercury by “blending” his voice with Mercury’s, than Zellwegger certainly can lay claim to “Oscar-worthy.” But clearly, she can’t match Garland’s pipes.

‘Downton Abbey’ is flawed, but fans of the show won’t mind

Smartly, the film is set in the last year of Garland’s life, when Judy was already ravaged by addictions, marital disputes, custody fights, and depression. When she performed at London’s Talk of the Town for a five-week sold-out run in 1968, she was fighting and, for the most part, overcoming her demons. She persevered but it was an energy-sapping struggle. Her voice by this time was not exactly shot but certainly constrained. It’s that voice that Zellwegger can do. When Garland has to “act” her songs as much as “sing” them, that’s Zellwegger’s sweet spot.

That is nowhere better exhibited than in Zellwegger’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”

In most musicals and musical bio-pics, the songs are the highlights and that holds true for Judy. A whole slew of Garland standards, from “The Trolley Song” to “San Francisco” are trotted out in full nightclub style. But tracking the circumstances of her life at the time, the songs are on a downward trajectory. They never quite reach the exhilaration levels that fuel the best musicals because we’re so tense, just hoping she makes it through the number without imploding, which sometimes happens. Instead of classic closing showstoppers — think Liza Minnelli at the end of Cabaret, or Lady Gaga at the end of the most recent A Star is BornJudy gives us a faltering, heartbreaking rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” It’s very moving, but you won’t leave the theater with an extra bounce in your step.

Ad Astra feels like a sci-fi version of Apocalypse Now

Rather than expressing the kind of optimistic hopes and dreams of a young Kansas girl, as Garland does in The Wizard of Oz, Zellwegger’s version is more a wistful recognition that those hopes and dreams aren’t ever going to happen in this world.

“The dreams that you dared to dream really do come true.” The sad fact is they never did for Judy.

Tom Tangney

Belfast...

Tom Tangney

Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ is a crowd-pleaser that doesn’t quite hit the mark

"Belfast" has plenty to recommend itself but it's not nearly the moving testament to fraught times that Kenneth Branagh thinks it is or wants it to be.

2 years ago

Eternals, Marvel...

Tom Tangney

‘Eternals’ has to do a lot of heavy lifting for a single film

Imagine the daunting task Marvel sets for itself in "Eternals." It has to introduce 10 new superheroes, not to mention an entirely new cosmology.

2 years ago

French Dispatch...

Tom Tangney

‘The French Dispatch’ is unmistakably Andersonian

Wes Anderson is an acquired taste. But luckily, after 10 full-length movies, most critics and many movie-goers have acquired it.

2 years ago

Dune...

Tom Tangney

All set-up and no payoff: ‘Dune’ is world’s longest and most expensive trailer

It's hard to find the right metaphor for the new "Dune" movie. Whatever comparison you choose, it must reflect a sense of incompletion.

2 years ago

Last Duel...

Tom Tangney

Poor Marguerite’s story saves ‘The Last Duel’

Tom Tangney says, ultimately, The Last Duel is a proto-feminist take on the Middle Ages with Marguerite's take that brings the film into focus.

2 years ago

James Bond...

Tom Tangney

Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie comes full-circle

The 25th installment in the James Bond movie franchise may be titled "No Time to Die," but "Too Much Time to Die" may be more fitting.

3 years ago

Renee Zellwegger gives an Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Judy’