Parents' Guide to Judy

Rupert Goold gives us a heartbreaking reminder that the giddy, life-is-swell, rolling-in-money lives depicted through curated photos don't tell the whole story. This is an especially powerful reminder in an age of endless entertainment platforms and social media sites that seem ready to offer quick fame and fortune. The bulk of the action in Judy takes place when Garland had less than a year left to live, but Goold flashes back to key teenage moments when things went off-kilter for her due to emotional manipulation, pill pushing by authority figures, and bullying. The story could help teen viewers understand the magnitude of how authority figures can use soft-spoken intimidation in devious, life-altering ways. If only Garland's hopeful, put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other outlook had resulted in a different outcome, her story could have been a triumph instead of a tragedy.

Zellweger is the pot of gold at the end of Garland's rainbow. When she belts out "By Myself," it's like watching a caterpillar metamorphosize in front of your eyes: squinty, insecure Bridget Jones is gone, transformed into the gaunt but graceful doe-eyed legend. Zellweger nails Garland's speaking voice, mannerisms, and body positioning -- but it's not an imitation, it's an explanation. She pulls at her scarf, and we read just how uncomfortable she is in her own skin. When Garland performs, she's shoulders-back confident; when she rests in private conversation, her shoulders curve in, her back forms a C, and we realize it's a form of self-protection (which is necessary because literally no one else has her back). Zellwegger's Garland has a way of making others feel at ease and special, creating a warmth over the course of a short interaction. But Zellwegger also shows us that these are one-sided gifts Garland would give; she never received the authentic emotional connection she craved, except with her kids. And perhaps that's why writer Tom Edge put the entire story in the context of Garland's relationship with her children, so we could feel her inner destruction when it appears she's losing that, too.