by Stacey Fearheiley
How long does it take to fall in love? Some would say there's no such thing. Others would say long enough to know each other's faults and not care. And still others would suggest that it can happen in an instant.
One thing I noticed about the movies Eric and I talked about this week...movies from 1967. 50 year olds. All the couples seemed to jump into relationships very quickly. Whether it was the rebellious fling of Bonnie and Clyde, the mad lust filled affair of Ben and Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, or even the sweet but complicated adoration between John and Joey in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, it happened FAST! Too fast?
In this day and age of television series that arc across time continuously, we are used to stories and relationships created like old school soap operas...some relationships take YEARS to materialize. And that's ok. We have the time. We have 6 to 23 episodes to get there.
Sure, a la GOT, there are "relationships" that happen in an instant, but even there...any emotional bond is a gradual evolution. Again, we've got time.
But in the movies, before there were sequel upon sequels that were planned from the first line of the first film, you have 90 - 120 minutes to get your story told.
If you were a good film maker, you did so through showing not telling.
For John and Joey, I was convinced, as most of the relationship had happened before the movie started and off screen. The skill of the actors showing what the emotions were and proving their affection.
For Ben and Mrs. Robinson? Well, we're bending the definition of "relationship" to call what they had that. But his "true affection" for Elaine? Did I believe that?
Bonnie and Clyde had barely any real lines between them before she was hopping into his car and they were off. In my 21st century vision, it was jarring.
In the end, I suppose, when we look back at movies "of a certain age" we have to view them in the time they were created. It's not fair to expect films made in the past to take into account the skepticism and snarkiness of future audiences.
How long does it take to fall in love? You can ask Bonnie and Clyde, you can ask Edward and Vivian from Pretty Woman, you can ask Vianne and Roux from Chocolat, and you can ask Bridget Jones and Mark, and they will all give different answers. How long does it take to fall in love? Probably the best answer to the question is...as long as it takes.
Thirteen years ago, archeologists in Bulgaria uncovered a
female skeleton that turned out to be 9,000 years old. That’s a find under any
circumstances, but what made this discovery particularly extraordinary was the
skeleton’s perfectly straight, perfectly shiny teeth. The scientists named
their discovery “Julia
Roberts.”
If right now, someone asked you to close your eyes and
picture Julia Roberts, and you followed along (go ahead and try it, right now),
she might have blonde hair or auburn, she might be formally or casually
dressed, but chances are she’d be sporting her trademark smile – warm,
generous, full of joy, existing for no other reason than that its wearer feels
authentically, buoyantly happy.
Rumor has it that Julia Roberts has insured her smile for thirty
million dollars, and it’s easy to see why. If something – anything – were
to happen to those precious chompers, it would greatly inhibit Julia’s ability
to work, or at least to get the twenty million dollar paychecks she received
for some of her biggest hits.
Stacey and I recently devoted an entire show to Julia
Roberts’ career, and of course we talked about the smile – that iconic moment
in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere
snapped a jewelry box just as she was reaching toward it, causing a spontaneous
moment of laughter (you know the one), and what it feels like to be denied the
smile, in a serious film like Mary Reilly.
When Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly reviewed Mary Reilly in 1996, he didn’t much care
for it – using EW’s “letter grade” system, the film earned a C-minus. In his
review – in the very first paragraph of his review, in fact – he writes, “Anyone eager for a glimpse of
the famous Roberts smile — those luscious wax lips come to life — had better
look elsewhere. In Mary Reilly, the lips are taut and nervous, drawn
into a stoic line of woe. Her eyes gleam with trepidation.”
The
moviegoing public didn’t much care for Mary
Reilly either, or at least most of them didn’t buy a ticket. It cost $47
million to make the film, and it made only $12.3 million worldwide.
As I
mentioned on the show, I remember seeing a line chart in a copy of
Entertainment Weekly after the film’s release (I searched online when preparing
this blog entry, but couldn’t find it) detailing the correlation between the
number of times that Julia Roberts flashed her multi-million dollar smile in
some of her more notable films and the amount of money each film made – and
there was a direct correlation. More smiles, more money. At least in the
eighties and nineties, no one was interested in a Julia Roberts that was somber
or scared.
Nearly
twenty years later, Julia made August:
Osage County with Meryl Streep, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson, Ewan
McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more. In
it, Julia doesn’t smile much either. The film didn’t break any box office
records, but it did make a profit, and it fared better critically (a 64% score
on “Rotten Tomatoes” compared to 26% for Mary
Reilly). The world, it seems, is finally ready for a Julia Roberts that is
something other than a bundle of joy – her performance as Barbara in August: Osage County is a study in a
woman’s anger; in fact, it’s difficult to even call it anger; rather, she’s
ROYALLY PISSED OFF in almost every scene.
Perhaps
it’s because she’s no longer an ingénue. If I were optimistic, I’d suggest that
perhaps our society is becoming less sexist and is finally allowing women to
express emotions that might threaten or shock people. And while I’d like that
to be true, I somehow doubt it. Whatever the reason, it’s entirely possible
that what lies ahead for Julia Roberts the actor might be twice as exciting as
what we’ve previously witnessed in the career of Julia Roberts the movie star.
And
all the same, if we remember her 9,000 years from now, we’ll probably still be
picturing that iconic smile. And maybe that’s okay, too.
Stacey and I had a blast creating our Perfect Summer
Playlist during this week’s podcast. Admittedly, we spend most of our time on
the show talking about movies and TV, so we were itching to talk about pop music
and this seemed like a perfect time to do it.
It occurred to me about five or six years ago that “summer
music,” like holiday music (aka Christmas Carols) was a thing. But just as the
B-52’s remind us that summer has a taste (specifically, “orange popsicles and
lemonade”), I’ve become convinced that summer has a sound – or more accurately,
lots of sounds … but sounds that particularly belong to this sunny season.
SONGS ABOUT SUMMER (duh)
The obvious place to start is songs that specifically
reference summer, or where the word “summer” is right in the title. Other
tunes, like Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up the Sun” don’t quite sound right when the
tulips are just beginning to pop in April or when the leaves are falling in
mid-October, but couldn’t sound more perfect on a hot, July day.
SONGS ABOUT WARM PLACES
“The Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric is a favorite
summer tune of mine, probably because the first verse casually name drops both
the Bahamas and Tahiti. Any song called “California Girls,” whether sung by the
Beach Boys or Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg) is bound to sound a little
summery. I’m not sure where the Mermaid Café in Joni Mitchell’s “Carey” is
supposed to be, but it’s close enough to Africa to get a hot wind, and close
enough to the sea to put beach tar on Joni’s feet; it’s a classic summer tune. And
even though the band is practically synonymous with Ireland, U2’s “Where TheStreets Have No Name” is so evocative of a hot desert landscape that it seems
right at home on a summer playlist. “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the
Papas is pointedly about a winter’s day, and yet it just sounds like summer.
REGGAE
The syncopated counterpoint to a bass and drum downbeat is
really all it takes to send a listener on a direct route to Jamaica, home of
Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jimmy Cliff. The lyrics can be about injustice,
intoxicants, or three little birds pitched by my doorstep – it’s bound to sound
just like sunshine and a sandy beach. On the show, I picked a song by Ziggy
Marley and the Melody Makers, comprised of four of Bob & Rita Marley’s
children – and I like them so much, here’s another one.
LATIN MUSIC
Like reggae, songs either sung in Spanish or featuring a delicate Latin guitar can transport a listener
to another land, and to a white kid from the Pacific Northwest, it often feels like the musical equivalent of a frozen
margarita. My favorite new song of the summer is “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi
(featuring Daddy Yankee, not featuring Justin Bieber). In it, Fonsi sings, “Despacito/Vamo
a hacerlo en una playa en Puerto Rico/Hasta que las olas griten "¡Ay,
Bendito!" … which is basically an invitation to get down and dirty with
Fonsi on a beach in Puerto Rico until you scream to a higher power. Yeah, I’m
just going to let you ponder that for a while ... (translation: hold on a minute; Eric has the vapors).
Music has a strange ability to attach itself to memories in
a powerful way. So the perfect soundtrack for your summer, no matter what
Stacey and I tell you, are the songs that take you back to the summers you
remember, particularly the ones that remind you of long summer vacations, for
those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed those. As a child of the 80’s, that can sound like a little Toto, a little Joan Jett, a lot of Madonna, and maybe a splash of Def Leppard.
To listen to POPeration!’s “Perfect Summer Playlist,” go to
Spotify or iTunes, fire up the grill, mix up some Piña Colada’s and think of
us. And in the meantime, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. See you next week!
Tiniest bloglet ever, but we said we'd share the playlist we put together via our blog. It's on Spotify here, and it's on iTunes here. If you're on Google Play, go here. And to listen to the show itself, ABOUT these songs and why we chose them ... here you go:
Don't forget to subscribe wherever you download your podcasts, and we'd love you if you took a minute to rate and review us while you're there. A longer blog drops on Thursday, as per usual. Watch this space!
by Stacey Fearheiley So, never to leave a dead horse unkicked*, Eric and I had a little discussion "offline" about the Wonder Woman film after I had a chance to see it and I thought I'd share a few of our takeaways.
So much controversy, so little reason?
Eric: I say "Get over it." All the complaining about this film
not being “feminist enough” is just evidence, to me, that we only have one
female-led superhero movie that was a hit IN THE HISTORY OF FILM. Let’s just enjoy
the fact that this was a hit, and hope that this means more superheroine women
will follow, and maybe those movies to come will be everything you want them to
be. I could say a lot more, but our friend Stefani actually wrote a great essay
about the whole thing, so I’ll just point people there.
Stacey: I agree to a certain extent. I think that it is a really good movie. I think it is the best DC Comics movie so far. I loved Gal Gadot. Thought the casting was great. BUT. I think putting this movie forward as the End-All/Be -All for women directed/led films isn't fair to it. It is an action flick, plain and simple, where the lead happens to be female. I want more of them, but to throw this up as the best and greatest isn't fair. No movie can be all things to all people. I think the expectations were unfair, whether you believe WW met them or not. What about Chris Pine as the "heroine"? Stacey: I could watch Chris Pine dial a phone. He can do anything he wants and I will watch. Here's where I am....he's the love interest of the lead. Since the lead is a straight female, the love interest should be a male. He is...and he's lovely. Not only that, he is a good actor and his comic timing is perfect. Everything you want in the hero's romantic lead.
Eric: YES!! Chris Pine is so good in this movie. He probably gets to see
more action than most of the Lois Lanes and Pepper Potts – the girls who hang
out alongside male superheroes. But to my mind, that’s the fault of those other
movies. He looks great, he’s really funny, and is a terrific foil for the very
earnest Diana. Some favorite moments? Eric: I loved how subversive this movie is. There’s a whole
“shopping sequence” that – on its face – was taken right out of any rom-com
where the heroine needs a perfect dress to make all her dreams come true. In
this one, she tries on outfit after outfit and is dismayed by them all. Not
because they’re not pretty enough, but because she can’t fight in them. Because
it’s a funny moment, the social commentary is subtle, but if you’re looking for
it, boy it’s there – all about the way that women are literally restrained by
societal convention in a container to make them docile, subservient, and unable
to bend over, much less go into battle.
I also loved the moment – a tiny, tiny moment – when Diana
sees her first baby, and is immediately drawn to this infant, only to be
deterred by Steve Trevor. It’s a telling moment, and awfully girly, but it
doesn’t diminish her bad-ass self one bit. She can be girly, and she can kick
ass, and both of those things can co-exist.
Stacey: I totally loved the "baby" scene. I felt it rounded her out a bit. She'd never seen one, only read about them...and there was a live one right in front of her. It was female, but also just human.
One of my truly favorite parts was pure action. When she steps out of the foxhole into No Man's Land, with her shield up and bullets bouncing all around and still she pushes on. We've seen boys do this in TONS of movies since the beginning of time. To see her do it with the guys behind her, kind of shrugging and then following....really fun. Had a smile on my face the whole time.
Thoughts on the supporting characters?
Stacey: One thing I absolutely loved was the fact that when she finally gets her gang of misfit fighters together, there isn't this long drawn out conflict of "should we really be following a woman? Is she really suited for leading us?" etc. etc. Once they see her do her stuff...literally, ONCE, they're on board with it. Done. She the boss. Let's go. It was so refreshing.
Of course the show stealer/stopper and character there wasn't nearly enough of was...
Eric: Etta Candy!! She’s barely in the film, but I just adored Lucy
Davis in this role. Because of the World War I setting of this film, she likely
won’t be back for the sequel, which will probably step forward in time by at
least a few decades – but she’ll be missed. Aside from the horrible “Dr.
Poison,” there weren’t many other female characters of note once we left
Paradise Island – and even though Etta is not an Amazon, she’s witty and a bit
brazen, completely committed to her cause of helping the Allies defeat the bad
guys, and – if you blinked, you probably missed it – a suffragette.
Stacey: Here's my dream: That in subsequent films with WW as lead, they go back in time and connect the modern story with history some how and we see Etta as Diana's secretary and are able to have fun with that relationship as Etta teaches Diana how the world works, etc. That's my dream.
Downsides/ Disappointments of the movie?
Eric: Could we not have found a way to include Lynda Carter in a
tiny guest spot? As Diana first gets to London, perhaps a gaggle of
suffragettes in white being led by Lynda? It would have made the audience
cheer, and I bet she would have done it. Oh well, you can still catch her on
the CW’s Supergirl as yes, the
President of the United States.
Stacey: Leave it to you, fanboy, to find a way to get Supergirl into a conversation about Wonder Woman!
For me, I could do without the higher heel on her boots when fighting for right, truth and the democratic way against Nazis. I also, sorry actor who played the main villain (trying not to spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie yet), would have liked a stronger foe. Disappointed in who Ares turned out to be and the actor who portrayed that god.
Final thoughts on Wonder Woman, the movie...
Eric: I think it is definitely a feminist movie. No argument. I love the fact that throughout the entire film, men keep
telling her to either stay put or stay quiet, and she never obeys.
Stacey: I concur. Feminist in the truest way. She was equal (sometimes MORE than equal) to any man she met. Should this be the big FEMINIST BEACON of HOLLYWOOD? No. I don't think so. But, I reiterate that I loved that after initial skepticism, once she proved that she could play the game like the boys, the boys accepted it and moved on. (Sometimes this was not historically accurate...but I don't care.)
Yes, loved too that she never "did as she was told." She considered other ideas, evaluated the situation, made her own decision and did what she wanted. She kept on going.
Eric: Nevertheless, she persisted.
*No actual horses were harmed in the writing of this blog.
