3/4

Judy [2019] ★★★

If you want to see Renee Zellweger transform herself completely to play an older Judy Garland, then this film is definitely for you. As someone who heard a lot about her sad demise, I was curious to know more about this legendary Hollywood actress/singer. And the movie does not disappoint. After an opening sequence that shows Garland as a teenager on the set of “The Wizard of Oz, the movie takes us 30 years in the future and focuses on her last days. She’s a shadow of her former self and can’t seem to score new gigs. Desperate to keep her children from being taken away by her ex-husband, she travels all the way to London to perform a series of shows. Nobody sings quite like Garland so even Zellweger cannot always keep up. But I am willing to forgive the film’s few shortcoming for the sake of a larger reality, and that’s what this endearing tribute manages to achieve. It’s an empathetic portrait of a Hollywood icon that deserved much more. And Zellweger gives an incredible performance on and off the stage. At the end, “Judy” may not be Judy Garland’s quintessential biopic, but it’s a good movie that will satisfy anyone looking to know more about her.

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