Norma Jean & Marilyn

Rating:
Summary: casting error - horrible casting error
Review: Mira doesn't look anything like Marylin Monroe and it's very important in a film for an actress to look the part. And although Mira Sorvino can generally act in other movies, her performance in this film wasn't very good. Her voice is irritating. I think Ashley Judd's and Mira Sorvino's role should have been reversed. How did the casting directors make such mistake? Mira sorvino just doesn't look like a sex symbol.

Rating:
Summary: Ashley Judd should be the only actress playing MM
Review: This film is a great showcase for Ashley Judd. The movie itself is okay. It's an HBO movie...what does one expect? Judd does a great job portraying a fictional Marilyn Monroe. Then when Mira Sorvino comes on the screen...BAD BAD BAD... She was so wrong for this part, and didn't have any of the mannerisms of MM at all. She was just annoying!! It was simply disasterous!! On the contrary, I really like Ashley Judd, and I thought that her "Norma Jean" was great. So i say watch the first hour or so, then turn it off, we all know what happens.... For Marilyn fans(like myself), this movie is more of a fictional account than a biography. I much prefer to watch the real Marilyn that fluff like this.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent film!
Review: This movie is a great portrayal of Marilyn Monroe's life. When I watched it on HBO in '96, it made me more interested in her life. I wound up starting a collection of Marilyn's movies. She was bipolar (which has been declared a fact recently), and this movie is interesting as well as fact-based (although no movie is completely factual). I LOVE IT! Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd absolutely shine! They are awesome actresses!

Rating:
Summary: Sorvino doesn't make a convincing Marilyn.
Review: This video, which details the latter part of Marilyn Monroe's life, is played out by two actresses, the beautiful Ashley Judd, who portrays Norma Jean Baker, and the not-so-convincing Mira Sorvino, who portrays Norma in her later years as Marilyn Monroe. Judd does a good job of acting out Norma Jean's part, and she kind of even looks like Norma. Sorvino, on the other hand, makes it hard to visualize Marilyn. Her poor acting and too-breathy voice just doesn't convince me.
As for the plot, it details the point in Norma Jean's life where she longs to be a star, and so begins her journey of sleeping her way to the top. Along with flashbacks of her childhood, and dangerous mixes of pills and alcohol, Norma slowly transforms herself into the fabulous Marilyn Monroe. We see her marriages to various men, which don't last, her depression, and her delusions. Her past, Norma Jean, constantly follows her, giving unwanted advice, and eventually driving Marilyn mad.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed, and finished watching with a sort of sadness in my heart, not wanting to believe that what I just saw was Marilyn's life.