Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Georgia Rule opens this weekend.
(R; 113 minutes)

Overall, Georgia Rule earns a C+

You probably first heard of “Georgia Rule” during filming, when actress Lindsay Lohan was publicly scolded by her studio boss for tardiness and other poor work habits.

Lohan’s alleged misbehavior almost makes sense in the context of her role. The 20-year-old star may have been trying to stay in character as a wild child named Rachel, the youngest of three female generations in a comedy-drama that’s as dysfunctional as the family it dissects.

Indeed, the cast members come off admirably in a film that’s derailed by an erratic script and an unusually tin-eared presentation by director Garry Marshall.

Former teen queen Lohan plays an incorrigible Californian exiled to Idaho for a summer by her mother. Oscar-nominated (”TransAmerica”), Emmy-winning (”Desperate Housewives”) Felicity Huffman portrays Lilly, the fed-up mom and struggling alcoholic. Huffman shows the two-edged emotions of a mother who is so eager to get Rachel out of San Francisco that she hauls her to the one outpost she would rather never visit.

That would be the ultra-traditional, all-American Idaho town where Lilly’s own mom lives. She is the Georgia in the title and she’s played by Jane Fonda in top physical and thespian form. Lilly and Georgia have been estranged for years, and so have Rachel and Lilly. That gives granddaughter and grandmother something in common, but it sure doesn’t mean they will get along easily.

Rachel does nothing to diminish her bad-girl image. Instead, she flaunts her spicy outfits and saucy language — especially when she decides to seduce a handsome but very innocent local lad named Harlan (Garrett Hedlund, from “Eragon”).

“Georgia Rules” follows predictable conflicts to their not-so-predictable conclusions, but the process seems contrived despite enjoyable performances by the three leading ladies and their able supporting players. Dermot Mulroney brings comic calm as a veterinarian who treats humans and Cary Elwes, as Lilly’s stepfather, plunges the film from crude comedy into dark drama with a plot twist that seems to come from nowhere. (Hint: It’s how Rachel explains her promiscuous tendencies.)

Fans of the three leads might catch this one in theaters, but most folks will be fine with it on video.

To see the Georgia Rule trailer, and other on-camera reviews and features, go to Bob Ross Movies.