Well, how noble that the narcissistic cunt who dumped her loving, decent husband for no reason (except, apparently, to go fuck some other, younger dickwad who she also dumped for no reason) didn’t say anything bad about him. What a fucking saint.
Ferret Herder’s link is right on a target. If a man had done all this shit, women would be hissing at him.
That’s ****ing hilarious!
I have neither seen this movie nor read this book, and I strongly suspect my own intestines would jump out of my body and strangle me to death if I tried to do either. And yet I admit that I’m oddly fascinated by the whole phenomenon and I’d like to understand it.
From those who saw or read it, and particularly from those who enjoyed it: is it possible to sum up the lessons that Gilbert learned or the insights she gained during her travels? This was supposedly a journey of self-discovery; what did she discover, exactly?
gasp You said the C-word!!!
Who said she was a saint? 
Every time I see Julie Roberts, I have an irrational impulse to slap the shit out of her. So I won’t be seeing this film anyway.
I also feel I have to step in and defend the author a little bit. I just finished the book last night so it’s all fresh in my mind.
I don’t know what people thought she should have done…stay with a husband she no longer loved? Go ahead and have kids even though she didn’t want them? That would have been a better choice? And she fully accepted all blame for the divorce–she apologized over and over and was willing to give her husband anything and everything they had built together during their marriage. As someone said upthread, it was only until he started demanding a share in her *future *earnings that she said no.
And she didn’t leave her husband for a younger man. She just happened to fall in love with him while the divorce was still in the works. And she didn’t leave him for no reason, either. But it’s complicated like all relationships are–she was too needy, and the needier she got the more distant he became, etc.
Much of what I liked about the book was how self-deprecating she was. I don’t get this mindset that if you have money, family, etc., if you have a good life, you’re not allowed to get depressed or have a crisis of identity. Depression happens to everyone, and if a painful, drawn-out divorce wouldn’t set it off I don’t know what would.
I saw this movie last night because I adored the book. I left the theater with maybe half an hour left in the film. It just doesn’t translate well into movie format.
Yes. Love is an act of will and intention, not emotion… if you are married to a decent person and don’t love them, it’s your own damn fault.
Ah yes, I forgot about that!
I haven’t seen the movie because this thread pretty much says what I was thinking, although far more hilariously.
Best Review of the Year. Two Thumbs Up!
All I’ve seen is the trailer (which was enough to leave me thinking “gee, I’m glad I didn’t have lunch yet”), but if Bardem is supposed to look old enough to be Roberts’ dad, someone picked the wrong makeup artist.
Indeed. I just looked it up, and he’s actually 2 years *younger *than her. Grr.
Sorry, Jules. You’re a gorgeous woman, but you can’t pull off “early 30s” anymore.
Movie?
I got 20 pages into the book and thought “This character is the most despicable, unlikeable character I have ever read about.”
Then I found out it’s actually sort of a true story, and I shiver with fear that I actually share the same atmosphere with a person as awful as Elizabeth Gilbert.
I would rather hit myself in the nuts with a hammer than watch the cinematic version of this soul-crushing dreck.
You know, I’ve never even for a second considered reading the book or seeing the movie - but this thread is entertaining the shit outta me. Carry on! 
Right on. Here, we get all the good stuff without having to wade through the stinking book or sit through the godawful movie.
Sounds like my last trip to the bathroom.
I don’t need a movie about that.
Hmmm…can’t say I totally disagree with you. I’ve been married for going on eight years and yes, there are days when I although I love my (wonderful) husband, I don’t like him very much. A relationship does take work and good intentions.
But it does seem like there comes a point, when you’ve tried therapy, etc., and all the options, that sometimes you just have to say “enough.” Life’s too short to be miserable, and we can’t always control how we feel.
And also, you failed to address my other point: what about kids? He wanted them, she didn’t. Sure, she should have known that when she married him, but people do change. Obviously, she shouldn’t have had kids unless she really wanted them. So that’s a pretty big obstacle for a marriage to overcome–either they have kids despite her reluctance (not so good for her or more importantly, the kids,) or they don’t have kids, which makes him unhappy and possibly resentful. It’s a no-win situation.
The movie didn’t show any indication that there was anything wrong with the marriage other than she (literally) heard a fucking voice in her empty head telling her to arbitrarily abandon her husband. It came off as completely shallow, flippant, capricious self-absorbtion.
Well, okay…I haven’t seen the movie so I can’t speak to that. I was just talking about the book, where she explains it in a bit more depth, and for what it’s worth, she accepts full blame for what happened. She knew it was a crummy thing to do, but she didn’t feel she had any other options.
Did they address the children/no children problem at all in the movie? To me, that’s the most important issue.