‘Gimme’ a Second to Tell You About this Movie

Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen any of these movies.

• High School Musical? 
• Encino Man? 
• Josie & the Pussycats? 

Aww, come on. Don’t be shy. You guys know no one here can actually see you, right? The thing is … if you’ve seen those movies, you’re familiar with Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser and Rosario Dawson. Or at least you’re familiar with one side of these actors. Please allow me to introduce you to another, completely unrecognizable side of each of them.

There’s a movie opening this week called Gimme Shelter. These people are all in it. Along with James Earl Jones, Ann Dowd and a whole cast of other very talented people. You’ll hardly recognize them, especially Vanessa Hudgens. Think of it as her version of Charlize’s Monster (only she’s the good guy in this one). Take a look at the trailer.

Mel and I were lucky enough to be asked by our friends at Grace Hill Media to pre-screen the movie. (Heck, yeah! I felt special.) The running time for the movie is exactly 100 minutes. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it held my attention from the very first minute to the very last. (You’ll see.) It’s based on a true story so I never felt I could predict the plot line. It surprised me. It made me cry. It made me smile. It made me angry. And (truth?) it made me want to be a better mother. (That’s always a good thing, right?)

It is not a film to be taken lightly.

But it is a film that found me Googling the real story and the real people behind it as soon as the credits rolled. Speaking of which … the film makers employed the use of split screens featuring the actors alongside their real life inspirations.  I always love that. And I wanted to know more, what parts were real and where people were today. I’m weird that way.

And you will be, too.

Gimme Shelter. Plan to see this one. It’s sure to be poised for a few nods. My two cents.