Streep Tease

I like living on the east coast, I really do. Right now the weather's a little nuts (thunderstorms all evening) and I'm not totally moved in yet. I'm still not sure if I really like the layout of my room. But otherwise, I'm quite thrilled with the east coast.

Except right now, I want to be on the west coast because I want to go to this.

All of Meryl Streep's major monologues performed by men. I don't even care it's in LA (the idea of this city frightens me a little), it has to be awesome.

I will watch the rest of Giant soon. It's weighing heavily on my soul.

Meryl Streep's Casablanca

I was directed to this article by my debate coach who writes the awesome blog decorabilia. The article, for those too lazy to skim it, is "written" by Meryl Streep for The Onion and discusses how she's a great actress but doesn't really have a solid major piece of cinema to her name. Now, no matter what I may think personally, the article kind of has a point. None of her big movies are generally recognized as movie masterpieces. In other words, she doesn't have a Gone with the Wind or Casablanca to her name.

But I was challenged to prove otherwise.

My first thought was The Hours. Based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, about a famous dead person, absolutely fantastic cast (don't get me started, there is so much talent in this movie it's a wonder the theater didn't explode) and director and costumes by Ann Roth. There were nine Academy Awards nominations and Nicole Kidman won best actress for her role as Virginia Woolf. So - quality film, but not really a "classic piece of cinema" to quote the article. I'm not sure why, I think it's fantastic, but this is my theory. First, the storyline is really convoluted. There are three interwoven storylines in three different eras and thus it's kind of difficult to get attached to any one person. Second, there are really uncomfortable scenes in this movie. To give some examples, that scene with Meryl Streep and Jeff Daniels where she just loses it and starts sobbing hysterically in the kitchen. I think it's one of the most impressive scenes of her career, but lets face it, it's really uncomfortable to witness. There's also the scene with Nicole Kidman and Stephen Dillane at the train station where she's trying to flee to London. Also incredible acting, but so painful to watch. There's a difference (I think) between sad, which causes empathy, and painful, which just makes you feel awkward and want to look away. I think the painful scenes are painful because we can identify so much with the scene that it's difficult to watch. And that can make them a little unpopular. And third, there isn't really a resolved ending. The ultimate message is, life goes on, in the end it doesn't really matter. Audiences don't really like that. We like - the robots lost! or yes, you can beat cancer! or I am a better person now! So. The Hours. Popular with critics, not exactly a "classic piece of cinema."

Then I thought Postcards from the Edge, but no matter how much I love that movie, I seem to be the only person in the world besides Debbie Reynolds who has seen it. And I thought Plenty was hilarious but not exactly classic material.

So after giving it a lot of thought - here is my final response. Silkwood is Meryl Streep's Casablanca. I may like The Hours better, but Silkwood follows way more of the "classic" formula. First, Ann Roth did the costumes. This is a requirement for me. It's important. People just look better that way. Second, it's about a important social issue, radiation poisoning. A modern example of this would Milk. Third, there is not a lot of happy going on, see The Reader, Kate Winslet's winning film, a movie loaded with unhappy. Fourth, the main character gets ugly (i.e. Charlize Theron in Monster). Lets face it, Meryl Streep is not that attractive in this movie. Her hair should be taken it out and shot. Fifth, it's based on a true story. Bio-pics, as Milk, Walk the Line and Ray have shown, really do matter. Sixth, Cher plays a lesbian. Also, for bonus points, Cher was nominated for an Oscar. And it was her first film. How cool is that? The whole film garnered five Academy Award nominations including actress and director (Mike Nichols). And the critical reception was not too bad. Opening weekend it was twelfth at the box office with limited release, but was number one when it went to a wider release. All the important "classic" criteria, lots of Oscar attention. Sounds important.

Okay, so it may not have survived as well as it could have, but you know what, neither has Bonnie and Clyde.

Migration

Moving is such a bitch. Does college count as moving? I never know. I pack up and move most of my shit to other side of the country, then nine months later I do it all over again. It's like migration. I feel like some sort of bird. Did you know the golden plover migrates from Alaska to Hawaii every year? To some, that might appear as overkill.

I don't mind my migration too much, once it's finished. I still have to get everything settled in my dorm room and figure out classes. It all seems like a daunting task. Maybe that's why I like where the mainstream cinema has gone with movies. Everything can go completely to pieces seventy minutes in, but usually everything will work itself out in the end. All the lose ends will be put back together, main characters will make major changes in personality and character and it will all be okay. Sure, it's not realistic, but it's still kind of comforting. Maybe I can be that strong, independent person who gets their shit together, even if takes some montage scenes and cheesy music to get there.

Since I've been here, the girlfriend and I have seen Chicago, Watchmen and last night we finished up Romancing the Stone. All of them were rewatches for me. I really like Romancing the Stone, it's a nice balance between parody and unabashed schmaltz. Still have to get through the last hour of Giant, but I'll get around to it, it's on netflix watch instantly. Sometime between settling in the room and the first class. I want to find out what happens to Liz Taylor.

As an addition to my half assed comments on Julie and Julia, Julie Powell posted a link on her blog to a piece she just wrote to commemorate the death of her cat. It sort of echoes what I was trying to talk about in regards to the sweetening of her character. As she said, she would never call Julia Child adorable. I loved that the Julie in the book wasn't a perfect person who swore a lot and wasn't obnoxious. I went into the book thinking it would be a total chick flick, but you know, Meryl Streep was doing the movie, so I thought I should read it. I was so pleased to find a character that wasn't one of those annoying, prissy, weepy girls from normal chick flicks, instead it was someone I could empathize and relate with. Julie Powell was actually someone I would want to have lunch with. It's just sad that what I thought was one of the best parts of the book didn't make it into the movie.

Julie and Julia

These are half assed comments on Julie and Julia, now that I've seen it twice. It seems like most of the movies I've seen in theaters this summer, I've seen multiple times. I saw Star Trek twice, I saw Harry Potter three times. Next one I really want to see is Taking Woodstock because it combines lots of things I like (the 60s, hippies, Ang Lee, Imelda Staunton, Mamie Gummer) and puts them in one complete package. But I digress.

I really liked Julie and Julia. It was very different than the book, which I've read, and the blog, which I've read bits of. You can read the blog too. Go click on the link that says "What could happen." That sounds kind of ominous. Most people I've talked to about the movie have said they liked the Julia parts more than the Julie parts. I did too. Several reasons. One - costume designer Ann Roth (who I'm privately obessed with and wish would dress me on a regular basis) clearly has a grand time dressing people up for Paris in the late 40s. The costumes are amazing. All the colors (okay, the set designer helped too) make it beautiful to look at. Two - Julia Child (the person) was, I think, a sort of larger than life person. In height, voice, character and spirit. And Meryl Streep is clearly having fun with that. There's also the fantastic chemistry between Meryl Streep and Stanely Tucci, who seem to genuinely like each other. Three - the character of Julia is just more likeable than the character of Julie. I don't think this is Amy Adams' fault or Julie Powell's fault. When reading the book and the blog, I genuinely liked the Julie I found there. She was spunky, slightly crude, and hilarious. The movie version has been sweented down so much she becomes whiney.

That isn't to say I didn't like the Julie segments. I empathized with the frustration of not being able to finish things and feeling unsure in life and having your hero turn out to be slightly different than you thought. And, lets face it, Amy Adams is always slightly adorable. Even in Doubt, which is very good and she is excellent as a dramatic, serious character, I still had moments of "Aw, Amy Adams."

It's really good, I was surprised how much I liked it. You leave the theater in a wonderful haze of good and believe that maybe things will turn out okay in the end. We will all find true love and waltz off into a sunset of good cooking and book deals.

Next up - finishing Giant (it's epic.) and moving back to the east coast.

Thanks for the Memories

Since the most recent celebrity death is the first I've actually really cared about, I thought I should say something. (Honestly, I thought Farrah was sad and I watched in utter fascination at the spectacle that followed Michael Jackson's death.) I didn't think about John Hughes the person, but the work of John Hughes has had a big influence on me. I haven't seen a lot of his movies, I was born too late to catch a lot of them when they were big, but I love the ones I have seen.

I vividly remember the first time I saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I was on a boat and I was about eleven or twelve. It was hilarious. A lot of the humor I was way too young for, but I still found so much that made me laugh. It gave me this idea of what I wanted from high school, this sort of nebulous feeling or concept, which I never found, but it made thinking about it in middle school a lot less scary. And I've always kind of secretly wanted to be Ferris Bueller, just to be that cool. I was never cool in high school. Sort of like I've always wanted to be Humphrey Bogart. Not a serious aspiration, just a passing fancy.

My parents brought home The Breakfast Club. It's really because of them I've seen all the "important" movies I've seen. They had a mental list of films they thought I "should" see. It's good. When I was younger I had horrible taste in film. Well, not horrible, just more adventurous. I would see anything if I liked the back of the box enough. I saw some weird stuff. Anyway, The Breakfast Club was one of the ones they thought I "should" see. I'm glad they did. I loved it. It's a big talking movie, and we don't have enough of those. For an art form that came from the theater (I presume) we have remarkably little talking in our movies. And this was a movie that talked about all the hard things. I'd never seen that in a movie before. It made everything so much more real. I was fascinated.

That one, especially, made me want to write movies. I wanted to write things like that. Maybe I will some day. It was one of the first times I'd ever wanted anything to do with that profession, up till then I'd always wanted to be an ornithologist. So I'm sad about John Hughes because his movies have meant so much to me.

Comfort Food

Movies are like my comfort food. Some people, when they're really upset, go eat a special food or go on a walk or do something important to them that calms them down. When I'm upset, I watch a movie. Sometimes I can't decide on a movie. Then I'm really upset.

I crave movies like people crave food. Lately, I've been craving Billy Elliot, not sure why, I have. So when I was visiting my cousins last weekend in Seattle, we rented it. It's a really good movie. I was reminded again just how talented Julie Walters is. It was directed by Stephen Daldry, who's directed three feature length films, all of which have received Oscar nominations. Pretty good track record. The whole piece is a lovely juxtaposition of UK Miner's Strike, very macro drama, and the Billy's coming of age (of sorts), very micro drama. Robin Black told us to always have two story lines going - that way one can support and play off the other.

To continue in the Stephen Daldry vein, I'm in a The Hours mood. (I've mentioned two of Daldry's three films, kudos to anyone who can name the third) I feel a bit like that scene in the kitchen with Meryl Streep and Jeff Daniels where she totally loses it and starts sobbing against the oven. I feel a bit like that. I wonder what my shrink would think of that.

But I know myself well enough to know movies, as much as I love them, will not solve my problems. They'll make me feel better, but they won't sort things out for me. That'd be pretty cool though. I bet Humphrey Bogart could handle my life much better than I do. Unfortunately Bogie isn't available, so I can't hide in a movie, I have to go figure it all out for myself.