Overrated

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I'm a scientist who had used HeLa cells in my work in the past. I remember that proposal in Science about the cells deserving another species designation--and being dismayed by that myself. And watching the daughter character react to that provided a new perspective for me.The book was very well done and informative. It provided important awareness for those of us in science about the data we are using and about who provided it. Of course, there were many more details that can't be conveyed in a such a short retelling on film, but I thought it captured the key points very well. And it brought the family to vivid reality in a way the book text cannot. I am really glad to have been able to witness the portrayal of their feelings and reactions to this situation. It's a worthwhile film on an important topic that people should see and think about. And you should think about it before you submit your DNA to just any research or company that comes along. There may be times when that's the right thing to do--but do consider the implications.

I read the book and thought one the smartest things the writer did was to include the human side of the story. Watchers who want to see the scientific side of the story will be disappointed. Being a native of a place not far from Clover, I thought they did well with the culture of the family. The accent was way off but probably easier for the audience to understand. Too bad they didn't film in that depressed part of Virginia. Again the money went elsewhere.Oprah becomes the character in a way that you can forget about her other work. Oprah's acting is still a wonder to see.

In 1951 John Hopkins discovered that Henrietta Lacks had cells that can be stored and stay alive. This proved invaluable for medical research and has contributed to nearly every medical breakthrough since then. But who was she? The story is briefly about her life, but moreover it is about the hoops author Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne) had to jump through to get the story dealing with a dysfunctional family with misconceived ideas. Oprah Winfrey gave a strong performance as the paranoid hypochondriac daughter of Henrietta. Good drama with interesting characters.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

I read the book years ago and thought it was terrific. I was very excited to hear that it was going to be made into a movie and waited a long time for its fruition. What a disappointment! I watched it to the end, but honestly, almost turned it off several times. It was nothing like the book as I remember it. I wish I could un-watch this and get the 1 hour,35 minutes I spent watching it back.