Evelyn Ryan was a woman of intelligence and valor living in the small town of Defiance, OH, in the 1950s. Evelyn was married to Kelly Ryan, a man who gave her ten children but not much else; Kelly had a severe drinking problem, struggled to hold on to a job, and tended to spend his money as soon as he earned it. It was seemingly up to Evelyn to support the family, but with ten kids to look after, taking a job outside the home hardly seemed practical. But the resourceful Evelyn discovered a way to bring some extra money into the household - at a time when a number of companies held contests to find new advertising jingles for their products, Evelyn had a genius for coming up with slogans and winning contests, and for the better part of a decade Evelyn kept food on the table and a roof over her head by dreaming up jingles, tag lines, and ad headlines and winning contests with her handiwork.
This wasn't a great movie, but it was "cute". It was amusing to see what life was like back in the 1950's in terms of style and the latest consumer products. It was also a reminder of how far women have come with regards to their independence. The fact that this was based on a true story was the main reason it kept my interest - had it been fiction, my rating would have dropped by 1 star. The main draw is watching a stay-at-home mom single-handedly raise 10 kids by winning literary contests despite her alcoholic husband spending most of his earnings on booze. The fact that she stayed married to him until his death later in life was also a testament to the time period. Anyway, it's not a blockbuster, but is an interesting and remarkable story.
Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson
I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.
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