Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Robert Allan Ackerman

Writers (WGA):

Lorna Luft (memoir)
Robert L. Freedman (teleplay)

Release Date:

25 February 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Dorothy found the end of the rainbow. Judy spent her life looking for it.

Plot:

The Judy Garland story from the 1930s until her death.

Plot Keywords:

Child Star | Prescription Drug Addiction | Carnegie Hall | Film History | Stepfather

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Judy Davis	...	Judy Garland
Victor Garber	...	Sid Luft
Hugh Laurie	...	Vincente Minnelli
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Roger Edens
Sonja Smits	...	Kay Thompson
Jayne Eastwood	...	Lottie
Daniel Kash	...	Arthur Freed
Alison Pill	...	Young Lorna Luft
Aidan Devine	...	Frank Gumm
Stewart Bick	...	Artie Shaw
Tammy Blanchard	...	Young Judy Garland
Amber Metcalfe	...	Lorna Luft, age 6
Al Waxman	...	Louis B. Mayer
Marsha Mason	...	Ethel Gumm
Krista Sutton	...	Lorna Luft, adult

Also Known As:

Judy Garland: L'ombre d'une étoile (Canada: French title)
Me & My Shadows (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Parkwood Estate, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The character of Lottie was a combination of two people: Carlton Alsop (then husband of actress Sylvia Sidney) and Sid Luft's business partner Vern Alves.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The ages of Judy Garland's daughters Liza and Lorna at time of 1954 A Star is Born release would have been roughly 8 and 2 years old respectively. In this film Liza is played by actress who is at least teenage while Lorna is played by a grade-school age actress.

Quotes:

Young Lorna Luft: [in hospital after her collapse] I have to see Mama
Michael Sidney 'Sid' Luft: [forcefully] No
Young Lorna Luft: I have to make sure she's ok!
Michael Sidney 'Sid' Luft: And who's going to be there to make sure *you're* ok?

Movie Connections:

Features The 27th Annual Academy Awards (1955) (TV)

Judy IS Judy!

What starts out as a slightly better-than-average Hollywood biopic becomes sheer dynamite when Judy Davis takes over the role of the talented, tormented "Rainbow Girl" herself, Judy Garland. She perfectly conveys all the professional and personal highs and lows of a unique show biz legend. Garland herself was always something of a dichotomy. Professionally, at her best ("Oz," the Palace, Carnegie), no one could touch her; as a human being, no one in their right mind would want to BE her. Davis conveys this every step on the way. Even when her vocals are dubbed by the original Garland recordings, you're watching a true pro at work.

Not that she's the only reason for seeing this film by any means. Victor Garber brings his usual understated but powerful presence to the role of Sid Luft, Hugh Laurie is a solid Vincente Minelli, and the late Al Waxman, who died just before the film was aired, makes a good L.B. Mayer.

It would seem that Judy Garland would be just too big of a subject to bring to the screen. But the producers, and a lady named Davis, have done so, brilliantly.