I read Eat, Pray, Love before seeing this movie. Unfortunately, in the time allotted, there just wasn't the ability to convey all the emotions and relationship developement from the book. Also distracting to me was the fact that "time" was off. It seemed like she was jumping from place to place when in reality her divorce was more drawn out and she spent several months in each location with many more experiences than what was portrayed. I did love the scenery! The locations in Bali were especially beautiful. My personal experience was enhanced by the fact that the theater offerred a corresponding dinner featuring Italian, Indian, and Balinese food. Perhaps this movie will become more popular on DVD when groups of people can recreate my "dinner and a movie" experience. This movie lends itself really well to that.
I loved the live show and worried that the movie would not be as engaging. This, sadly, was true to an extent, but got better as the show went along. My guest had never seen FP and thought it was fun! I, too, believe that the characters are more believable at a younger age. All these issues were minor enough that I still had a great evening. I really liked the live part after the movie.