FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS -- CONTENT REVIEW: THE HELP

"THE HELP"
(2011) (Viola Davis, Emma Stone) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A young and headstrong white woman seeks to write a book detailing the plight of black housekeepers in the Deep South of the early 1960s.

PLOT:

In the early 1960s, Skeeter (EMMA STONE) has come home from college to Jackson, Mississippi, to get a job at the local newspaper. She is reunited with her ailing mother, Charlotte (ALISON JANNEY), and father, Robert (BRIAN KERWIN). But she is surprised to learn that their longtime housekeeper, Constantine (CICELY TYSON), has been fired for reasons that her parents will not go into.

At the same time, Skeeter is put off by the racist behavior of her former childhood friends, Hilly (BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD) and Elizabeth (AHNA O'REILLY), who stayed behind in Jackson to become wives and, in Elizabeth's case, a mother. Skeeter feels for the housekeepers in their employ, namely Aibileen (VIOLA DAVIS) and Minny (OCTAVIA SPENCER). Her dream has always been to write novels, so she gets the idea to tell their story as a means of getting published and to enact some social change. In doing so, she draws the interest of one publisher in New York, Elaine Stein (MARY STEENBURGEN).

Aibileen and Minny, though, are reluctant to talk. Minny's insubordination recently compelled Hilly to fire her and place Hilly's elderly mother, Missus Walter (SISSY SPACEK), in a nursing home. The only one who will employ Minny is the "white trash" town outcast, Celia (JESSICA CHASTAIN), who keeps the hiring from her husband, Johnny (MIKE VOGEL). Aibileen, meanwhile, doesn't want to get fired and leave the little girl currently in her care in the hands of her abusive mother, Elizabeth. At the same time, Skeeter becomes attracted to Stuart (CHRIS LOWELL), a local man who may or may not have her best interests at heart. They all come into conflict when Skeeter's book, "The Help," is published and the author is listed as "Anonymous."

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens with an interest in history may have some interest, along with fans of such younger cast members as Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard, while those who are fans of the source novel might also be interested.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For thematic material.

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