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Preview review: Affection for Julia Roberts in ‘Eat, Pray, Love’

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Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ -- the 2006 bestselling memoir of a post-divorce journey of self-discovery -- suggested a natural big-screen adaptation, what with the book’s huge fan base and exotic locales that offer attractive, ready-made set pieces.

The trailer for the new Julia Roberts vehicle, which was released Thursday morning, confirms that instinct. The film’s backdrops are impressive, and the trailer, like the book, effectively conveys the memoir’s theme of a mundane life redeemed by a grand gesture.

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It, of course, requires a tricky balance to portray that universal feeling while still endearing the main character to the audience. After all, Elizabeth’s predicament is difficult to sympathize with and all too easily solved. Tired of her cushy city life, she has the luxury of picking up and traveling to beautiful foreign lands where she indulges in local cuisines and is romanced by a sexy Brazilian (Javier Bardem). Maybe she doesn’t have it so bad, after all.

There are also some parts of the trailer that are just too schmaltzy. James Franco, who plays Liz’s first post-divorce rebound, folding her ‘delicates’ in a laundromat and presenting them to her by saying, ‘Your underwear, my queen,’ was nauseating. Other aspects are seemingly stereotypical: Elizabeth touching the nose of an elephant in India, riding her bike over a rattling bridge and gaining weight because she eats -- gasp! -- some spaghetti and pizza.

But even though my initial inclination was to dismiss the trailer for its triteness, I’m still intrigued by the film. And I think that’s because of its inspirational tone -- we’re watching someone take a hard look at her life and do something about it despite luxe circumstances that could easily have had her doing nothing.

Roberts – whose character comes across as emotional and impassioned in the trailer – also seems to take this mission seriously. Her performance looks strong enough that we’ll be able to ignore some of the film’s more contrived moments. After her recent cameo in ‘Valentine’s Day,’ it’s nice to see her back in the type of leading romantic role she inhabits so well. And it’s encouraging to see a popular book translated so well on the big screen.

-- Amy Kaufman

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