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Admittedly, this was something that I had quite an interest towards when it was released seeing as it stars the gorgeous Julia Roberts, Oscar winner Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup and James Franco so it was pretty much the whole cast that caught my attention. However, when I watched it, I have not seen a film as empty as this in quite a while. It just had no soul and there was no message or inspiration involved very much at all. We were expecting an adventure of a woman going on a trip to places over the world and experiencing a new life but this was no adventure! This felt more like a woman who just got bored and wanted to go from one country to the next.
Liz Gilbert (Roberts) had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having - a husband, a house, a successful career - yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali. Well, Julia Roberts, you may have looked extremely HOT in Eat Pray Love but what in the hell happened? I just couldn't get into her character very much at all but there were some moments where she was quite good. Javier Bardem was fairly decent, though. It was quite weird seeing him play a gentleman where he is best known playing a murdering psycho (No Country For Old Men).
Ryan Murphy perhaps directed this one like he tried so hard to make a successful film but unfortunately due to some of those flaws especially the film duration, he failed. I do like light-hearted romantic films but this is one of the very few that I have seen where I just couldn't feel any strong chemistry between Liz and any of her partners: neither David nor Felipe. I think the biggest problem I have with Eat Pray Love is that it was WAY too long! It really dragged on and that unfortunately made the script very cheesy throughout pretty much the whole film.
Overall, Eat Pray Love is a poor attempt at trying to make an adventure feel real. Julia Roberts, I adore you and you may have looked really hot in this film but as far as acting goes, she can do so much better. This really is for girls more than boys like pretty much all chick flicks. Guys, avoid this one!
4/10
