In Theaters Now: DreamWorks Studios' The Help Movie {Review}

I'm not a "movie person."

Along with the fact that it is hard to find one that will entertain both my husband and I, I'm just not a person who seems to have the patience to sit still for a couple hours and not be constantly fidgeting and checking my watch, thinking of all of the other things that I could be doing with that time.

Let me tell you, when the lights came back on after watching all 137 minutes of The Help, I didn't regret a single one of them.

It was... amazing. Important. Moving. Heartbreaking. It was, it is, the must-see movie of the summer.

It should be known that I cry at things. Happy stories on the news, tragedies from around the world, triumphs in sporting events, and pretty much everything in between.

So when I arrived at an advance screening of The Help and there was a box of tissues at the check-in table, I really should have taken it much more seriously than I did.

It started with tears rolling down my cheeks. Then I laughed. And then I sobbed. And then no sooner had I gotten over that, I cried a whole lot more. Even though my life is in no way similar to those in this film, I felt as though everything that appeared on screen touched me and the way that I live.

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, The Help stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Academy Award-nominated Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk.

From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Taking place during the civil rights movement, Skeeter dreams of being a journalist and doesn't yearn to fit the mold of the other young, upper class white women who only aspire to land husbands and have babies.

Having grown up with a maid who raised her, Skeeter decides that she wants to write a book from the point of view of the help... only to find out that getting them to share their stories is more difficult than she had imagined. Worried about their livelihood and their safety, Skeeter manages to turn one interview into enough tales from maids throughout the town that they are able to publish a book that rattles the minds of everyone who reads it.

There are some scenes in The Help that will make you shake with laughter and some that will make you shudder with tears, as the moving portrayal of each character combines to make this an entirely powerful movie.

Each actress puts forth a stunning performance and there is no way to leave the theater not inspired by the humor, hope, and courage of the movie. This timeless and universal story about the ability to create change has so many ups and downs that you'll find yourself riveted to the screen to see what happens next.

Don't miss it.

Just be sure to bring tissues. Lots of tissues.

In theaters today, August 10, information about The Help can be found on The Help Movie website, Facebook, and Twitter (and at #TheHelpMovie).

(Other than the complimentary ticket that I was provided on behalf of DreamWorks Studios, I was not compensated or enticed or to do this review in any way. This review is solely my honest opinion of this movie.)