The Help question

I love the book but I also love some of the changes that were made in the movie. My favorite change was Skeeter's mother having more of a backbone.

The book was amazing, I love it. The movie was just ok. so much was different in the movie. The Help will always be one of my favorite books.

Absolutely, I seen the movie before and when I started reading it I was very suprised how the movie was acurate. I think they chose the characters wisely.

I highly recommend the audio version of this book - it's excellent. The movie was very good but, of course, they had to leave out a lot of stuff that makes the book so much better.

I have never seen a movie that truly does justice to the book, but this one comes close. I loved both the book and the movie, even with the differences. My husband does not like to read so it is always such a disappointment when I make him watch a movie based on a book I loved and it is completely different. This was the first time he was able to get a feel for why I had enjoyed the book so much.

the movie was kind of boring. the funny scenes could have been much funnier, but they were always kind of akward in the movie. dunno.

The book was really intense but so was the movie. I disagree that the movie followed the book dead on. The final confrontation with Skeeter and Hill was very different than the book. Also in the movie Skeeter's mother had a change of heart that was not present in the book. In the movie she was repentant and supportive of Skeeter in the end. I did not see that in the book. However I did enjoy the book more then the movie, but the movie was really great as well.

No movie is ever really better than the book. You also have to read the book before you see the movie. I loved it and I think the actors did a great job!

I thought the movie was done well and held true to the book but I loved the book more.

Surprising, the movie did justice to this fine book. I credit the casting, in large part. The actors had credibility in their roles and were not over-the-top.

I really loved this book and was apprehensive about watching the movie, but I found I just had to see the characters I loved brought to life. I wasn't disappointed with the movie, although the story was changed just a bit. I don't know that I would have enjoyed the movie if I hadn't already read the book. I was able to fill in the blanks in the movie because I had already read the book. Compared to a lot of adaptations, I think this movie was probably one of the closest to the actual story that I have seen.

I loved the book and couldn't wait for this movie to come out. They did a good job of casting and the storyline. Sure, some things were missing, but the audience was able to get the pertinent issues. I'm not a fan of 'movies from books', they usually disappoint, but the director did a great job on this one!

I read the book first and thought it was a wonderful read. This did not hold much hope for the movie (never does usually) But in this case i enjoyed the film, not as much as the book, but overall it is a movie i could watch over and the cast was brilliant.

I for one thought the book was entertaining, nothing special. The movie could have been made for LifeTime TV.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I haven't seen the movie yet but hope that it portrays the characters the same.

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I think you have to take the book and movie separately. The movie worked well as a movie and illustrated the book pretty well. Amazing book and pretty good movie.

The movie had good actors, but I thought the story was slow and underplayed - so I was disappointed.

I bought the book and immediately after I finished I ran over to Blockbuster and rented the movie. I LOVED the book. It has been one of my favorite books thus far. I probably should have waited some to watch the movie, because I was disappointed with it in relation to the book. Don't get me wrong, the characters were represented well by their actors and it did get the story across nicely. Some of my favorite scenes in the books were altered for the movie, although those kinds of things are not a surprise. I guess it just comes down to the cliche -- the book is always better than the movie. :)

The problem when a movie is made out of a much-loved book is that you form images of the characters in your mind, and the actors chosen to play the parts of those characters do not always fit those mental images. I guess this is to a large degree inevitable; however Skeeter in the book is portrayed as awkward and self-conscious, and I don't think Emma Stone puts that across. As regards the story line, I agree that some compromises had to be made, but I think that some of the rougher edges of the book were smoothed out, such as for example, in the portrayal of Skeeter's mother who is much more of a racist in the book than in the movie.

The movie sufficiently captured my heart, and my attention, however, having read the book, I wish they had put the same story. They did not have the full beginning and the story of why Constantine was fired was not the one in the book. The story in the book was better.

I also saw the movie first and then read the book and I agree completely with Zoe. It was as close as a movie can get without being twelve hours long.
It was like the movie versions of "True Grit" or "No Country for Old Men". They did a great job getting the important dialogue in, left out exactly what I would have left out and didn't change the story too much.

I think the movie did do justice for the book. Sure, they let a lot of details out, but that's understandable, you can put everything together. They succeeded in sending the message the book sent. Emma Stone did brilliant job as well as the other actors.

I agree. The actor/actress choice was perfect. The woman that played Minny couldn't have been better. Everyone was else was just as good, and I love Emma Stone!!! :)

I was not disappointed by the movie, impressive acting and the themes were delivered very well.

I watched the movie and then read the book. Only because at the time I hadnt heard of the book. I think they did a really good job. Although I must say that I like the book better (I always do). But they pretty much stuck with the story line and most movies dont. So they get kudos for that.

I think we tend to forget as readers (and some of us writers) that books and movies are two very different mediums. What a writer can accomplish on the page can't always be portrayed on screen in the same way, and vice versa. We cannot expect a movie to follow a book verbatim; it is unrealistic. You have to judge each individually. I find that when I've read a popular book AFTER I've seen the movie I can give a more objective view between the two. (Please see my Book-to-Movies Classic blog on The Woman in Black: http://blog.raynettastocks.com/2012/0...). The Help as a book (more than 500 pages) can give more description and detail in places where a 90- to 120-minute movie cannot. A movie has to hit the high points, and I think it definitely did that, and extremely well. It was as moving and thought-provoking as the original work intended; the integrity of the written work was still well-preserved, which is a success in my book.

I NEVER like the movie better than the book, BUT in this case I did. The movie brought more details and dare I say more "life" to the story.

I enjoyed the film but I do not think that it was as good as the book

See I watched the movie before I read the book. I must say I was surprised with how close the movie was to the book in some parts. I must admit that Minny's part was not exact but Aibileen's part was pretty good, along with Skeeter's (but her part was also not exact). I also realized that with the movie we had a shorter timeline. The movie made it seem like a year after Skeeter moved back from college, while in the book it was two to almost three years.

But to answer the question, I am not sure. In some ways, I still like the movie. Whether it shows justice to the book is a little iffy. I do believe that the movie did do justice for some of the character, like Aibileen (not only getting a real good actor for the part, but also realistically portraying her from the book).

However, there are some characters I do not believe that the movie did justice to. One character that comes to mind is Hilly. I believe that the book was better when it came time to give justice to Hilly. The movie just gloss over on how Hilly tried to convince people not to believe it was Jackson, Mississippi, and people just believing her. While in the book, she was trying to convince people that the book was not about the town, but many of the ladies were realizing the truth and were deciding to not give in to her as much, as well as not voting for her to be in control of the league.

Absolutely, no question about it.

I read this book because I saw the trailer for the movie, and I wanted to read it before I saw it. I thought they made it into a movie really well, they changed some bits but the book was really long and drawn out, and the movie was long enough so it was probably a good thing that they changed a few bits. I really liked how they had Aibileen narrate the whole movie and didn't keep changing person

I read the book before the movie came out. Love it. Saw the movie the first weekend showing and love it. Our church rented a movie theater for saturday early morning and it was a sale out. We also were lucky enough to have some of the cast there that had a few small roles in the movie speak. It was wonderful. One of the best books I read and one of the best movies

Usually I prefer the book over the movie but in the case of The Help, I preferred the movie. Maybe I just read the book at the wrong time in my life, I was dealing with the death of both of my parents and my son leaving for the Navy so reading was something I did but the comprehension just wasn't there. Once the movie came out I finally connected many of the dots that I missed while reading.

I think the movie was accurate but prefer the book.

Maybe I should have watched the movie before reading the book because I was very unhappy with all the changed details in the movie. I did like the acters chosen, although found it funny that they actually tried to make Emma Stone look taller for the role.

I thought that the movie did a good job of condensing the stories of the characters, but that it ended on a down note, as if all the work that the women did and the chances they too made no difference--except that the redneck girl learned how to cook.

The book did not end that way for me, as I saw each of the main characters changing her life in a positive way. I think the director had her own agenda and changed some things that should have been left alone, and left out somethings that made the book more powerful.

There is no happily ever after, and racism has not disappeared. This is not "Happy Days" comedy, and I think the movie tried to go there.

I do remember the 50s, when black women had little choice but to work for white women, since there were few other jobs they could get.

I loved the book, and felt that the movie did it justice. I was pleasantly pleased.

I saw the film before reading the book. The film version came across as a poignant comedy, a glimpse of the deep south and the relationship of "the help" to their white employers. I was surprised that the novel, while having funny moments, was far more serious. I didn't understand from the film just how alienated Skeeter became. The fearfulness of the women was somewhat glossed over in the film. I felt like I got a glimpse of some of the things going on that made them afraid, but I thought they were afraid of being fired, not being shot, hanged, or dragged behind a car- all of which happened in the book alongside other horrific tales- and happened in that time period. While I enjoyed the film, it did not satisfy the intensity of the book.

Someone above commented "the movie was kind of boring." Two thoughts come to mind. There are those too young to have lived through that era and can say, yeah, that was a good/great movie or I thought it was kind of boring. I lived through those years, therefore, I was greatly moved by both the book and the movie. To some it's just a story. To others it was a part of our life. Our family couldn't afford a Minny or Aibileen, though some of my friends' family did. I'm happy to say the ones that did held more the Skeeter and Celia mentality toward their help

I did not like this film at all. It lost the complete nuance of the book by only having one narrator. That is what makes this book. You didn't get to find out about the characters at all. I was really disappointed, and didn't want to see it, but friends rented it for movie night. I would have preferred the movie be a little longer to explain the cast a little better. Although, I do have to say that Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly was bang on. She really enveloped the character and became her.

I really enjoyed the movie. The characters were portrayed really well. Some parts were left out and Skeeter's romance was completely backwards but it made sense to the movies progression for readers that may not have read the book. But I really like both the movie and book.

I think it was a fair job. I think once you read a book before a movie, which I have a strong habit of doing, you'll find, 9 times out of 10, that the movie doesn't hold up as well as you'd like and while I did feel like that in this case, I also have to judge it based on the fact that production companies are not making these movies for the readers but for the general public (see: Hunger Games).

It was good enough. Could've been better yes, but it presented the basic points and the audience enjoyed it. So I think job well done.

I'm gonna have to start listening to a wise booktubers though and watch the movies before I read the books cause then I'll be very, very cynical.

Yes, yes. Better than most.

The movie was excellent but it was not better than the book.

I thought they did an excellent job. I saw the movie first and when I read the book, it was dead on. The dialogue was remarkably consistent. I had a few questions when watching the movie ( like the backstory of certain characters) and the book filled in the blanks, but the story was just as impactful on the silver screen. Also think they did a great job with casting. One of the few movie adaptations that stayed true to the book.