JUDY, from Over the Rainbow
I’ve waited to do a story on Judy, the original face behind my blog. It is her rendition of Over the Rainbow that will be with me always. It is her that promotes hope and strong women, my blogs theme. Now that I have seen the new film “Judy,” with Renee Zellweger, based on the book/play “End of the Rainbow,” by Peter Quilter, it’s time to give credit.
Anything “Judy” captures my attention. I grew up watching all her movies and television appearances. Renee had huge shoes to fill for this brief window in time and carried it off by winning the Golden Globe award just last week. This biopic is a tragedy at its core, but one that still delivers poignant glimpses of an icon’s longing for happiness. This is the final act of Judy, the last husband and last hurrah.
The film kept flipping back to her childhood during the time of “Oz” filming, and the studio’s manipulation of her every move. The pill-popping to wake her up, help her sleep, suppress her appetite, which was with her even into adulthood, and which showed her addiction to the life she was given. Paranoia and confidence were her everyday reality struggles. By the time she married her 5th husband, broke and broken, it were her kids that was her focus. All she wanted was a “normal” life as a mom and her kids under her wing. She never had that dream fulfilled, having died in London, her children, Lorna and Joey, living with their father Sid Luft in the states. There was never a doubt of her devotion to her kids and of her addiction, even though the two are blurred by it.
The final scenes of her London come-back summed up her legacy, as she sang her final song, “Over the Rainbow,” while sitting on the floor. As she got to the final stanza, she couldn’t get out the words and started to sob on stage. This is where a couple fans started singing it and the rest of the audience chimed in. It was in these words she saw the bigger picture of the songs intent. It was quite beautiful and gave me a new appreciation of the songs impact on the world.
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why oh why can’t I?
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