This is one of the worst films on a famous person's childhood I have ever had the misfortune to watch: saccharine, vague, wooden performances all round but especially wooden is McArdle, a butch kewpie doll who is badly miscast in the lead. And her singing! Nothing like the nuance and subtleness of Garland's, just a strident noise to chill the blood. Blessed are the inventors of the remote, which meant I could mute the sound from the comfort of my sofa every time McArdle opened her mouth.
The thing I don't get is why child labour is frowned upon in every arena except that of entertainment, and the obscenity that is the Child Star. If you really want to know about Judy Garland's childhood, don't bother with this garbage, read Gerald Clarke's GET HAPPY: THE LIFE OF JUDY GARLAND. As a book it's fascinating, well-researched, and blessedly *silent*.
The thing I don't get is why child labour is frowned upon in every arena except that of entertainment, and the obscenity that is the Child Star. If you really want to know about Judy Garland's childhood, don't bother with this garbage, read Gerald Clarke's GET HAPPY: THE LIFE OF JUDY GARLAND. As a book it's fascinating, well-researched, and blessedly *silent*.