Video:  A perfect Girl's Night Out!

By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Approved!

When author Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir of her time spent traversing the world in search of herself first graced bookshelves in February of 2006, it was met with considerable fervor....and intense female controversy. As a character, Liz was both celebrated and condemned for having left her seemingly happy marriage in search of an existence which would afford her greater self-knowledge and a better measure of inner peace. The book's cover suggested "summer beach read", but the storm that rose as a consequence of its release opened up a whole new dialogue on feminism and freedom of choice. It seemed the female gender would erupt into Civil War - and Elizabeth Gilbert...formerly a historical writer and journalist...would become the "everyman" pivot point for a greater gender discussion, drawing out perspectives only vaguely addressed and attributed in the past to feminist leaders like Gloria Steinhem. Cut to 2010....and, enter Julia Roberts.

"Eat, Pray, Love" follows Liz Gilbert, played by the enchanting Julia Roberts, through the messy process of divorce, painfully punctuated by a heart-wrenching plea from ex-husband, Stephen, played by Billy Crudup, to find herself within the confines of the marriage...to give him a chance to make her his single focus. However, Liz is determined to find her own defining "word", and after briefly losing herself in a new relationship with David, played by James Franco, Liz commits to a year-long excursion marked by eating in Italy, praying in India and searching for balance and self-love in Bali.

Having left her friends and family behind, Liz discovers a new family in Italy derived from a mish-mash group of travelers and locals bent on finding the joy in simply existing. She takes on a few inches around the middle but learns to love herself regardless of her pantsize. Upon traveling to India, Liz finds that clearing out her mental baggage is not as easy as she had hoped, and that transferring her focus to someone else helps to allow for more mental quiet. She meets a Texan named Richard played by Richard Jenkins, who teaches her that the most important part of easing the spirit is to learn to forgive one's self. Once in Bali, a jovial medicine man named Ketut helps to draw her lessons together as he advises her in the art of securing balance.

Despite her efforts at preserving her single nature, Liz finds herself whisked into a new romance with a Brazilian divorcee named Felipe, played by Javier Bardem. Her challenge is to discover whether love has a place in her new atmosphere or whether she must close the door on relationships until she can learn to control her impulses.

The backlash surrounding the book might be softened by Ryan Murphy's incredible visual imagery and Julia Roberts' portrayal of Liz as a sympathetic and fault-assuming character who is truly plagued by her inability to settle into more common conventions. Murphy's use of natural light and the glow of Julia's smile take a sometimes cold and abrasive text and infuse it with an emotive cuddliness that will likely make fans out of former Gilbert dissenters.

"Eat, Pray, Love" might not be the best date movie in the world, but it makes the perfect subject for a girls' night out and will likely create a forum for discussion amongst friends who thought they knew each other well. It is rated PG-13 for language and sexual references, and it is now playing in theaters across the bay area.