R.I.P. Jean Simmons

Simmons in THE THORN BIRDS

Hollywood lost a great star today. Jean Simmons passed away at the age of 80. A star in such classics as The Robe, Young Bess, Guys and Dolls and Elmer Gantry, Simmons will be missed. Her work on the screen was always stellar, and she was also in The Thorn Birds, so for that alone we should be mourning her loss!!!! Rest In Peace.

Piper Laurie--1/22

Today is Piper Laurie's birthday. One of America's best actresses turns 78. And so, She gets some Lady Love today. I have loved pretty much everything I have seen her do. Although, looking at her filmography, I really haven't seen as much of her work as I thought I had. She has just made such an impression that it has made me think I have seen her in more. I guess I will have to make an effort to see more of her work.
The movie that I love Piper in the most is, of course, Carrie. She is chilling in every scene. Margaret White drives a steak of guilt and fear through Carrie's heart, and the audience as well. She makes me quiver. I definately find Margaret White, as she is played by Piper Laurie, to be the real scare factor of this movie. Carrie doesn't scare me, but her crazy ass christian mother does. That may be my personal fear of christians as a whole, but the way that Piper Laurie plays this woman, gets me every time. Particularly her first and last scenes. In the first, when she is trying to peddle her dogma to Mrs. Snell, she begins to reveal the scariest parts of her self. We all have met someone like that. Someone who stays for that extra minute when we don't want them to, and makes us quietly search for the quickest escape route.
The grand finale of Carrie is one of my favorite scenes in any movie. It is chilling and thrilling. Piper Laurie shows us how truly crazy Margaret White is. She is off the beam, and the mania in Laurie's eyes is seared into my brain. She is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

I just read on the Carrie trivia page on imdb, that Piper Laurie thought her character was so over the top  that it must be a comedy. I love that. I love that she went there, and wasn't afraid to let it all go. Whatever it was that gave her that freedom, it is a thrill to watch. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER LAURIE!!!

Lady Love: Anne Heche--1/21

Anne Heche is pretty much universally considered to be a lunatic. I am not saying I disagree with this thought process, but maybe her lunatic-ery is part of what makes her a brilliant actress. She has turned in some awesome performances over her career, Birth, Wag The Dog and Volcano come to mind. But, today it's her work in the 1996 HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk. It's a fantastic movie about three women, in three different times, all dealing with the same problem, an unwanted/unexpected pregnancy. Anne Heche plays the modern day woman. A college student, pregnant by one of her professors. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE her in this movie. Her portrayal is so heartfelt. She shows the struggle of a young woman making a very difficult choice, and you feel all of her agony over her choice. There is a cliche in movies that I love, and that is the 'single tear'. I love it because it can tell a whole story in one moment. When Anne is lying on the table, having the procedure done, she has an emotionless face, yet a 'single tear' falls down her cheek. I love this moment, so much. She is fantastic. I suppose that from madness, comes great art.

If you haven't seen If These Walls Could Talk, see it, it also has some awesome work from Sissy Spacek, Cher, Eileen Brennan, Diana Scarwid and Demi Moore. And Cher directed the segment where Heche stars!! Love it!!

Soapbox: Best Actress???

I know this is, like, sacrilegious, BUT...I DO NOT WANT MERYL STREEP TO WIN THE BEST ACTRESS OSCAR THIS YEAR!!!! Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Meryl. And I think she was great in Julie and Julia. BUT, this was NOT the best performance by an actress this year. I know the Oscar's don't usually get it right. They don't. Sometimes they hit the nail on the head: Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Sean Penn. And sometimes they let other factors dictate the winner: Gwenyth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon.
For some reason, Box office receipts and other political reasons get the Oscar voters to make the wrong decision. This years Oscar race seems almost to be a shoe in for Meryl Streep, and that makes me sad. If she wins, it will be an Oscar for her career. Her nomination this year will be a record 16th. And she has only won 2. And those two were in the early 80's. So it has been more than 20 years since she won. I know that her career has been illustrious. She really should have won for her work in The Bridges of Madison County, Silkwood and One True Thing. But she didn't. Does that make it OK for you to reward her for Julie and Julia. It was a great performance. But, it was not even close to the performances of Gabby Sidibe, Carey Mulligan or Shoreh Agdashloo this year (Agdashloo isn't even in the running for her powerhouse performance in The Stoning Of Soraya M.) So Streep should not win. She did not give the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
The other front runner for this years award is Sandra Bullock. Don't get me started on this. She was also great in The Blind Side, but it is not even close to the performers I mentioned earlier. Seriously Academy??? I just don't understand it. It does make me very angry. The category is supposed to be the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for 2009, not Career That Deserves Recognition, nor is it Best Box Office Blockbuster.
I just know I am going to be VERY disappointed come Oscar time!!!!

Lady Love: Joan Cusack--1/20

For some reason, comedic roles are considered less prestigious than dramatic ones. I don't get this. Comedy is just as hard, if not harder than drama. It bothers me that comedic actresses so rarely get recognized by the acting awards of Hollywood. Joan Cusack is one of the BEST comedic actresses there is. And she's not so bad at drama either, when she gets the chance to do it (Arlington Road is fantastic.) She has been twice nominated for the Oscar for Working Girl, and the movie I am going to talk about today In & Out. She didn't win either time, but each role is fantastic.
In In & Out, Joan plays the long suffering fiance of a closeted teacher. If you haven't seen this movie, you really should. Joan is the BEST part of this movie. She delivers screenwriter Paul Rudnick's brilliant one-liners with expert timing. One of my favorites "Does anybody here KNOW how many times I've had to watch Funny Lady!?!?!?"
The key to great comedy, in my opinion, is to have tremendous vulnerability. And Joan has it here in spades. She is such a lovable loser, and when she cracks it is heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. The best scene in the movie is when her fiance comes out of the closet at their wedding. Joan reacts with the necessary shock. The way that Joan raises her voice is so funny. "Was there oh, ANY OTHER TIME YOU MIGHT'VE TOLD ME THIS? I'm wearing a wedding dress, WHICH YOU PICKED OUT!" It is seared in my brain. I love it. Joan Cusack is my comedy hero!!! I can't believe she lost the Oscar to Kim Basinger, disgusting!!!!!!!!

Lady Love: Barbra Streisand--1/19

OK. I know, Streisand? Really? Could I BE any gayer?? I will be honest here. I am not a huge fan of Babs as a singer, and I am kind of over her as a filmmaker. But, as an actress, I think she is BRILLS. I know her ICON status tends to cloud many peoples opinion of her as an actress. The same thing happens to Cher and Bette Midler, sadly (Cher and Bette will be mentioned in future columns, I promise.) But lets really look back at Barbra, the actress. She delivers in pretty much everything she has done, from FUNNY GIRL to NUTS to THE PRINCE OF TIDES and, yes, even MEET THE FOCKERS.

I am thinking today of THE WAY WE WERE, my personal favorite of her movies. There are some awesome scenes. Katie listening to Hubbell's story in class. Their first dance. The big fight scene. And, of course, the beautiful ending (I'm tearing up thinking about it.)

The scene I always think of in this movie is after a fight between Katie and Hubbell. She is feeling so alone, so she makes a call. She calls her best friend, Hubbell. She is so vulnerable. She steps out on a limb. She tells him that she doesn't know who else to call, who else to talk to. What Babs does in this scene is so sweet, and lovely. She is not the tough, self-deprecating Katie we have seen throughout the movie. She is broken-hearted, yet there is not an ounce of pity in Barbra's performance. This scene is, in my opinion, one of the GREAT telephone scenes in all of movies. I love it, and I wish that Babs, the actress would come out more often.

Lady Love: Toni Collette--1/18

In honor of Toni Collette's Golden Globe win last night for UNITED STATES OF TARA (a brilliant series), she is the subject of today's Lady Love column. I love Toni. She is one of my favorite actresses (I have many favorites, so get used to hearing that sentence.) She has given numerous fantastic performances, pretty much everything she does is fantastic.
Today I want to talk about her brief but affecting performance in THE HOURS. Here it's a performance about the subtle cracking in a facade. Toni as Kitty is everything Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) wishes that she was. Kitty is popular, beautiful, classy and stylish. She has her life together. When she comes to ask Laura to feed her dog while she goes to the hospital for tests on her ovaries, she has to reveal a weakness. She tries to hold it together, but for a brief moment, she loses her grip. Toni does such fantastic things in this scene. She manages to crack just so slightly, and catches herself with such ease. It is a joy to watch. When Laura does the unexpected and plants a passionate kiss on Kitty, Toni is able to show us Kitty's whole range of emotions. Revulsion, flattery, condescension and pity.

Toni makes the most of a brief scene in a fantastic movie. I have seen THE HOURS many times. It has been a while since I last watched it, and thinking back on the most affecting, telling moments in the movie, this scene always comes to mind. It is one of the most memorable. Toni Collette has given MANY moments of brilliance on the screen, so this will definitely not be the last time you see her in this column. LOVE HER!!!!!

Globes Globes Globes

MY REACTIONS TO THE 67th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBES (in bullet points)

• THE FASHION: This is not a fashion blog so I will just say this. Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Garner, Toni Collette and Sofia Vergara were the best dressed women there. And Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock looked like they bought their dresses at Forever 21. PS Julia was also a HOT DRUNK MESS THE WHOLE NIGHT which made for great TV!
• THE HOST: I LOVED Ricky Gervais as the host. He was hilarious. He wasn't overly present, he was there just enough to make an impression and do his brand of humor, which is hilarious.
• THE MEN: So, I pretty much could care less about the male winners. I just love actresses more. I wasn't surprised by any of them, except Robert Downey Jr., who was looking HOTT by the by. His speech was also the best.
• THE WOMEN: OK...I could not be happier about the wins of Mo'Nique (of course, she was the most deserving) Toni Collette (her show is brilliant) and Drew Barrymore ("this is the best thing to wear for today") I was not at all surprised by Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock's wins. Although, I don't think Bullock was the best of her competitors. (I'll get on another soapbox about that later)
• THE SPEECHES: Best speeches of the night go to Mo'Nique, Drew Barrymore and Robert Downey Jr. Worst speeches of the night go to Christoph Waltz and The Producers of GREY GARDENS.
• THE BIG WINNERS: OK Globes, you got it right with Grey Gardens, and Mad Men, but beyond that, I am disappointed. The Hangover? Really? Over Julie and Julia and (500) Days of Summer? I was a little mad at that one. Then Glee over Modern Family and 30 Rock?? Seriously??? DISAPPOINTED. Then lastly AVATAR over The Hurt Locker???????? I AM NOW PISSED!!!!!!
• OVERALL: Overall it was a pretty good show. I sometimes wish only the actors got to make speeches, because they were the only interesting ones, but that's just me. Some of those winners have me scared for the Oscars though!!

Well, there you have it. Expect a soapbox speech from me later about the Best Actress category this awards season. I am a little angry about it!

Lady Love: Nicole Kidman--1/17

Nicole Kidman is one of my all time favorite actors. So its only natural that I would start this feature with her. There are so many performances of hers that are brilliant, but today I am thinking about DOGVILLE. A movie that many movie goers that I know have never even heard of.
This movie is BRUTAL. It is long, it is jarringly unrealistic, and it is tough to get through. What makes it worthwhile are the performances, especially Nicole's. She is haunting. She goes through the pantheon of human emotions in DOGVILLE, but if you blink, you might miss one. Her performance is so understated and quiet. She goes through a fat lot of terrible things in this movie (being a fugitive, being a slave, being raped repeatedly, being chained up) and she shows the complete breakdown of a person. And yet, there is always some glimmer of hope in her eyes. She is always hoping that something will come along and change her pitiful state. And in the end, she becomes vengeful. There is a moment when she is talking to her father, at the end of the movie. She is sitting in the back of his car, and she makes a decision that is not a hard one for her, but that means the destruction of a whole town. A decision that I was SHOCKED by when I first saw this movie, but Nicole makes it understandable.
Nicole's performance in this movie is realism at its best. That's one of the great things about DOGVILLE and why I watch it over and over again. It's presentational style, and colloquial speech patterns, are counteracted with the most realistic form of acting: simply being. It isn't loud, it isn't over the top, it is free from self-indulgence. Nicole Kidman in DOGVILLE is one of the greatest performances by an actress of all time! (Yea, I said that) See DOGVILLE, and see the magic for yourself!

Top 10 Movies of 2009

I have done my list of the performances, and now here is my list of the movies. This is just my list. There are many movies I did not see, but these are the ones that I think are the BEST!!


Top 10 Movies of 2009
10-An Education
9-(500) Days of Summer
8-The Young Victoria
7-Sunshine Cleaning
6-The Stoning Of Soraya M.
5-The Messenger
4-Precious
3-District 9
2-A Single Man
1-The Hurt Locker