FILM

USA 2011 146 mins Dir: Tate Taylor Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain

Adapted from the inevitably Oprah-approved bestseller by Kathryn Stockett, this sprawling, mushy epic set against the backdrop of the sixties civil rights movement in Mississippi is yet another entry in the undistinguished genre of movies revealing how black folks achieved liberation only through the intervention of well-meaning whitey. That's Spike Lee revolving beneath the topsoil in his career graveyard as Tate Taylor's politically timid crowd-pleaser makes everyone who isn't actively a member of the Klan feel good about themselves.

Perky Emma Stone plays the liberal figure who returns home from college with her head full of dangerous new-fangled ideas about pursuing a career as a journalist rather than bagging a man and becoming a housewife. After landing a crappy job on the local rag and tussling with her evasive parents over what became of the family's maid, she alights on the idea of recording the experiences of these black women who spend their lives raising white children. This brings her into conflict with eminently hissable, Stepford-esque, racist town queen bee Bryce Dallas Howard, whose proposed Home Health Sanitation Initiative would make it compulsory for households to build separate bathrooms for their domestic negroes on the grounds that "they carry different diseases".

You don't need satnav to find your way to the end credits from here. The fearful maids who have to be coaxed into participating run the usual gamut of stereotypes from stoic and noble (Viola Davis) to large and sassy (Octavia Spencer, Queen Latifah presumably being unavailable). At least there's a bit of humour to leaven all the leaden platitudes and sermons, though Howard's crowd-pleasing scatological come-uppance is milked for a full 30 minutes, potentially launching a new genre: the inspirational grossout. (Robin Askew)

website http://thehelpmovie.com/us/

Opens: October 28

Copyright Robin Askew 2011