Becoming Jane

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Let’s get it over with...I’m in love with Anne Hathaway...She is delightful to watch and I’m just mesmerized by her face. Now that that’s behind us, I continue....

Becoming Jane is your typical period piece. Not one thing out of the ordinary, well except Anne, in this piece. The late 1700’s is about the same as it was in every other late 1700’s film we’ve ever seen. I wanted it to be more for my Anne, but, alas...it wasn’t.

Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen perfectly, I guess. Really, how would we know exactly? But I love to watch her do anything. She was what I think Jane would be like. Again, how would we know.... anyway.... James Mc Avoy was cast as love interest Tom Lefroy and was adequate. I wouldn’t have fallen for him, but then Ashley Wilkes wasn’t my cup of tea either. Julie Walters and James Cromwell were delightful as Jane’s Mum and Dad. Maggie Smith was her evil, stuffy, mean, upppercursty self as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Not much of a fan... Anna Maxwell Martin as Jane’s sad sister Cassandra, I liked. Loved her hair... But I loved Lucy Cohu as Eliza De Feuillide, the sister-in-law. I thought she was just fascinating to watch!

There were many things wrong with this film.... the first half was so boring I wanted to hang myself.... if it weren’t for Anne, someone else would have had to write this review, as I would have done myself in.... It was a little confusing, too tedious, drawn out and just blah.... but I have to say, looking back, it did show what life was probably like in the late 1700’s... if that was the point, well done. It did pick up when Jane and Tom met and began the flirtations. But a love story? Not really.... Not enough story to peek my emotions. I didn’t know the story of Jane and the lack of love life, so I was rooting for a Jane Austen happy ending.... sorry, it didn’t happen....

There were a few real goofs in this piece.... in one scene, I’m sure I saw a bra strap, which Anne was definitely wearing as her bust was too 20th century and not the corset-flat of the period. And in another scene, as she bent over in her nighty, I know I saw she was wearing a thong!!!! And I do believe I saw a crane in the beach scene.... shame on you, Mr. Editor... And one more thing.... the casting for the Austen family.... Everyone in the family was blond, blue eyed and plain looking. Where the heck did Jane come from? Did they have mailmen in those days??? If so.....

All in all, I’m glad I saw Becoming Jane, but it wasn’t very good.... the boring beginning almost didn’t get me through to the end. The love story didn’t have substance, for which anything having to do with Jane Austen is almost a crime, don’t you think?

I’m giving this film a sad little 6...and a 6 only because I love my Anne.... otherwise it would be a grim 4.5..... See it if you must...sorry to all of the English students who are required to visit this film...I hated English......

Boy's Town

For what it’s worth....a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Boy’s Town

OK, I know this film was made in 1938, but, gosh it deserves a review!!! A true story of Father Flanagan’s heroic gathering of wayward boys in Omaha, Nebraska. Spencer Tracey is wonderful as the warm, caring, thankfully stubborn Father Flanagan who took all homeless, motherless, lost boys into his embrace. He is the epitome of what we want all caregivers to be, clergy or not.
I think Micky Rooney as Whitey Marsh is at his best. Whitey is rough, mean, clever and lost. Put under Father Flanagan’s care by his prison bound brother, Whitey fights it all the way. Standouts are Sidney Miller who shows the diversity of Boy’s Town as Mo Kahn, with Bobs Watson as the mascot, Pee Wee, everyone’s favorite!

What I love about this film is every time I watch I find one more favorite scene that I didn’t notice before. This time, I watched each boy pray for his own meal in his own way. What incite the Father had to life and what boys needed. Me thinks these boys were safe in his care.....I’ll not continue with the rest of that thought......

This is a great film! I encourage every one to catch it next time it’s on....
I give this film a 10! It makes me wonder if we had a modern day Boy’s Town, we might just be able to eliminate the lacking Foster system....(OH! Did I write that out loud?)

More Shoes...

The other day I was shoe shopping. I hate shoe shopping because I have dumb feet that are wide with short toes. I love open toe shoes, but it always looks like they are too big. Someone once told me it looked like my toes were just visiting! Anyway, I knew that I was going to be on my feet for some time during rehearsals, and if I didn’t get a comfortable pair of shoes I would be very sorry. I decided to get tennis shoes. Now, I’m not a tennis shoe person. My theory is, it goes back to what ever was popular when you were in High School. What ever was nerdy then stays with you till death! When I was in High School, tennis shoes were only worn for P.E. It took me years to buy a pair for regular wear, and still…… And, I feel like Minnie Mouse. I look in the mirror and all I see is shoes! Anyway, I decided to buy tennis shows. Now, this decision took a lot of thought because, I mostly wear dresses, and frankly tennis shoes with dresses is dorky! But, remember, I’m almost 50 and I just want to be comfortable! So I went to Famous Footwear to buy tennis shoes. I was willing to forgo my usual $12.99 Payless budget for this, as pain was a factor. So I wandered in and told the clerk I was just looking, in other words, leave me alone; this is not going to be pretty! I looked at every shoe in the store, thinking, ‘no, too Minnie Mousy, no, to colorful, no will clash with my pink dress, no, too hard to get on, no, gosh, too heavy!’ I tried on 20 pair at least! I finally decided on one. And it was buy one, get the second pair half off. Hum…..Dare I buy 2 pair? I thought I’d try on regular shoes, just in case something I find I can’t live without. I tried on a pair of yellow (my favorite color) slide heals. I loved them, but the toe thing was happening, and they were a bit high. Gosh, they come in Periwinkle, too. They were so cute, but, 10 minutes was about as long as they would be comfortable and, well that’s just not practical! I tried on pumps, moccasins, loafers, thongs, sandals, heals, flats, mules, slippers, boots, Mary Jane’s and more tennis shoes. Then I tried on some suede sandals in a neutral color. They were SO comfortable I couldn’t believe it!! Eureka!!!! Comfortable shoes! They would go with everything! Even my pink dress! Bosh! To the tennis shoes! These are it!!! I put the tennis shoes back, added a pair of basic camel pumps and I was out the door! I brought my treasure home and couldn’t wait to wear my new comfortable shoes! I put them on and went in to the mirror and guess what I saw? My mother’s feet! OH MY GOSH!!! I had bought my mothers shoes!!!! The ones I said I’d never wear! The ones she said she didn’t care how they looked, they were comfortable! I can’t believe it! But, to tell you the truth, I don’t care how they look, they are comfortable! I have worn them everyday. Not one of the other tennis-shoe-wearing actresses has even mentioned my mother’s shoes. They either are afraid to, or they just could be jealous of the sheer comfort I am experiencing! Who knows……….

Comfortable Shoes

The other day while walking from the car into a favorite restaurant, I noticed my shoe was rubbing a little on my left pinkie toe. I hate when that happens. I immediately began to think about the day I had coming up. My only thought about the day was ‘what shoes will I wear?”. Not for a fashion statement, mind you, but for shear comfort sake. Which ones will not hurt, pinch, smother, slip, steam or otherwise be a distraction and still look like I care what I look like? It was the only thought as I walked with my left little toe yelling for help.
When was it that we went from “I don’t care how they feel, I just want them to be cute,’ to, “ I don’t care how they look, I just want them to be comfortable!” I don’t know. As a fashion plate myself, I always scoffed at my mother’s shoes. “I will never wear old lady shoes. I don’t care how uncomfortable they are, I will always be in fashion!” I said those very words to my own, Sainted Mother! Her reply was always the same, “I don’t care! They are comfortable” Bah! I thought. Never will I utter those defeatist words, “I don’t care, they are comfortable!”
When was it that we turned into our mothers? Somewhere between Go Go Boots and Dr. Scholl’s we slipped into the dark abyss of only wanting Comfortable Shoes. I hate when that happens!

Daddy's Candy Jar

My mother was pretty strict when it came to our eating habits. We always had meat, potatoes, vegetable and salad. Never dessert unless there was company. Tho, we always had 2 or 3 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer. Black Walnut was Daddy’s favorite, but mine was Fudge Ripple! 59 cents on sale. It was always Jerseymaid in the blue stripped container and we got 3 small scoops. That was another thing about my mother, everything was always served the same. 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 strips of bacon and 2 eggs, 1 pork chop, 6 oz. of orange juice for breakfast. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. The other days, we had cereal. Puffed Wheat, Shredded Wheat or Post Tosties. I just figured there was a book somewhere that had the rules for the amount of food you served your family. When I got married my husband wanted more bacon and I was floored! His mom apparently didn’t read the book! Anyway, I digress………I don’t remember going to the frige or cupboard for snacks. We had ’meals’. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. If ever we did have a snack, it was fruit. Well, what kid wants an apple at 2 in the afternoon! (however, we did have a Satsuma Tangerine tree I visited regularly.) Around 8:00 in the evening, Daddy would say, ‘Ma, how about some ice cream?’. We’d all act like it was an idea we had never thought of! And out would come our 3 scoops. The ice cream was the only treat we could count on. But……in the pantry…way up high on the shelf...second from the top, were 2 glass jars. In them was Daddy’s candy. In the one on the right were gumdrops. The big ones. Red, yellow, orange, green, purple and the yucky black ones. But on the right, Brach’s Chocolate Stars!!!! AAAhhhhhh! Whenever Daddy came in from his shop in the back yard, you hoped he would go the pantry! You see, you couldn’t ask for the candy, you had to wait to see if he offered you one. Yes, one. One or the other, never both. He always did offer, but you always wondered if this time he might forget. He also kept Tootsie Rolls somewhere. Because his Grandfather always had candy in his pockets for his grand kids at church, my Dad decided to carry on the tradition. They would rush up to their Papa after church and just stand, waiting for him to offer them a treat. He would always pretend to not know why they were being just a little too attentive. ‘Oh!’ He would say. ‘I think I might have some candy in my pocket this morning!’ And out would come 2 Tootsie Rolls each! The grandchildren, and a few others who had caught on to the ritual, would run off as if they had gotten gold from a mine!Now that I look back on it, geesh! It was kind of like torture! Maybe even Child Abuse! I gotta go journal………………….

Vacations, part 6

OK, by now you know that vacations are oddly weird for me. From backpacking, hotel cleaning, wall washing, driving in San Francisco to visiting stepchildren. Oddly weird.
Now, our 25th Wedding Anniversary is coming up next May and we want to do something special and we thought maybe a trip to Hawaii would be nice. We’ve always heard raves from those returning from their tropical paradise and decided to cave in and to the tourist thing in Hawaii. How bad could it be? But then, we thought, we have the money now, and we may not have it next year, so why not go now. So we called a wonderful travel agent and a great friend and booked the trip for April. We booked it in November, so we had lots of time to anticipate and wonder what it would be like. A real, live vacation; just the two of us! As the months rolled by and the weeks came around, we grew more and more excited! We shopped for just the right clothes. Not too ‘touristy’, not too boring, just right! We packed our swim suits (yes, even me), sunscreen, hats and flops and off we went! The flight was long, but the anticipation kept us from dozing off. We landed in Honolulu and were met by our Pleasant Holidays monitor and whisked off to our hotel and our Ocean View room. The first room they tried to give us had a Double bed and the view only came if you leaned over the railing and stretched your neck and squinted. Not what we were promised and not what we were going to accept! The next room had a King bed and an ocean view! Thank you very much! We spent the afternoon at the pool bar drinking drinks with little umbrellas and it promises to be a grand day! We booked our trip to Pearl Harbor for the 3rd day and shopped and ate that second day! I sat by the pool and Steve swam and swam. I forget how much he loves the water as he tells of wonderful memories of summers in the pool! Personally, I don’t like the water so much. I almost drown in the ocean as a kid, so, water...not so much.
We went to Pearl Harbor and the Missouri and it was amazing!! Our tour guide on the Missouri was a perfect combination of Mary Martin and Carol Onofrio! (Carol is my wonderful friend who designs and draws the pictures of the costumes I make for NOP) She had us all in tears recalling the signing of the surrender on the deck of the Battleship we had just toured. After the tour, we were driven to a cemetery overlooking Diamond Head. This cemetery is the resting place for many Hawaiian military as well as their sons. Quite touching. Again, our tour bus driver was fascinating. It was a great day in Honolulu!
That night we decided to walk on the beach as we had promised the kids we would at least put our toes in the ocean. So just across the street from our hotel is the Mauna Hotel. It is the oldest hotel in Honolulu built in 1903 and is beautiful. So we decided to walk through the hotel lobby and out the back to get to the beach. As we walked through, we saw that people were eating on the wraparound porch. Could this be open to mere mortals like us? We asked, and by gosh, it was. It was a Victorian delight! The porch wraps around the side of this grand old hotel with such grace and elegance, I couldn’t believe it was real! It overlooked the ocean and was just a dream! We are lobster and drank wine and shared dessert! It was the perfect prelude to our moonlight walk on the beach!
After 3 days in Waikiki, we were off to Maui. I couldn’t imagine it being any more wonderful than the first 3 days of our very first real vacation!
We landed in Maui and rented a convertible and drove to our Hotel. It was magical! Just like we had heard, but really didn’t quite believe. Of course we were greeted and given a lei. The grounds were gorgeous! The pools and waterfalls, the lush greens and reds and pinks of the flowers, the flamingos! Flamingos! So far, fabulous! We checked in and our room was on the 5 floor of 10, with the now infamous Double bed. She graciously changed it and we wound up on the 8 floor and a King bed. Our room had a view that took our breath away! Not just the 5 pools and gardens but the ocean was just stunning! We dropped our bags and went to eat by the pool. Fabulous! The next four days were spent sunbathing, walking, shopping, laughing, picture taking, and lots of romantic dinners watching the waves splash onto the beach. Truly, truly paradise!
Hawaii had actually lived up to and surpassed anything we could have dreamed of! It was a sad drive back to the airport and give back our convertible. We are such homebodies and really love to get back home no matter where we’ve been, but we could have stayed on in Hawaii forever, or at least another few days! It is a trip we will always remember and hope to go back someday. It was magical, just magical.....sigh......Gosh, don’t you just love vacations?!!!

La Vie En Rose

For what it’s worth...a movie review

La Vie En Rose

I knew nothing about Edith Piaf except that she sang La Vie En Rose. That has changed. Marion Cotillard’s portrayal of Edith Piaf is extraordinary to say the least. And I say that having never seen a picture of Edith. But she mesmerized me with every frame.
The look of the film is depressing. The times were depressing. Her life was depressing. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this film for the first few minutes. It was nothing like I imagined, though I can’t really tell you what I imagined. I went just to be entertained, but left wanting to know everything I could about Edith Piaf. I felt as though I were peering into a life for just brief moments. I was puzzled at times, confused many times, and intrigued most of the time. I left the theatre not knowing if I loved the movie or hated it, to be honest. The film leaves out so much of her life, you really don’t understand why she was as famous as she was. She was portrayed as shy, skittish, drunken, odd, ill, seeming crippled by who-knows-what but not as the star she apparently was. I wasn’t sure if I liked her, pitied her, was indifferent to her or just plain didn’t like her. But one thing I knew when I left the theatre, I was going to know all I could about her...
After reading all that was available on the web about Edith Piaf, I now know the film didn’t do her justice. There were so many layers not uncovered by the filmmakers. So much more to her life, untold. I had to read about her to understand the film. I’m not sure that’s a good thing or not. The film did its job, I guess. It made me want to find out all I could about this once unknown to me, Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow.
I encourage you to see this film; it’s intriguing, I think...

I give this film a 7, I think....go and see it and let me know what you thought....

The Bourne Ultimatum

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

The Bourne Ultimatum

Woooo!! What a ride!!! The Bourne series is one of my favorites of that genre. I say I’m not an action flix kind of girl, but truth is, I guess I am! As always, the Bourne films are fast, smart and definitely keep you on the edge of you seat! I must remember to go potty before these movies starts so I don’t miss a thing! Anyway...

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne seems much older in this 3rd in the series. More focused, more determined and driven by sadness. He always makes me wonder where he’s been sleeping and if he ever eats! There is certain innocence about Matt Damon in this role that I don’t think any other actor could bring with such honesty.
David Strathairn’s Noah Vasen is brilliant. You just want to cut him off at the knees and say ‘you think you’re so tough!’, and walk away with his palm pilot!
Julia Stiles is back as Nicky Parsons who hints of a past with Jason Bourne, hoping he’ll remember just a moment of their past. We hope right along with her...
Dr. Albert Hirsch is played by Albert Finney. He is at his evil best. To be honest, I thought Albert Finney died....sorry Al...
Joan Allen is Pamela Landy once again and I still don’t like her. I guess you’re not suppose to, she just give me the creeps...Her lips are thin and she wears her lipstick past her lip line. Come on, Joanie, they do close ups, do you think we won’t notice? Whatever.....
Director Paul Greengrass and Editor Christopher Rouse are either brilliant or insane!!! The camera work would in any other film drive me nuts, but the choppy, bumpy, jerky movements are the look this piece. It keeps you trying to focus on what’s going on because honestly, you have no idea!!! That’s the beauty of Bourne; you never really know what’s what but you don’t ever want to admit it!!! There I just admitted it, I never really knew what the heck was going on, and I didn’t care!
The car chase is the best ever filmed. Driving home down Lemon Ave. I found myself looking around every corner making sure Jason wasn’t dodging bullets from Monrovia’s finest! I was glad to reach home safely to my very own driveway!

This is not the best of the Bourne series, but it is the best edge-of-your-seat in the series. Bourne Identity is still my favorite. And Julia Stiles hair? I loved it!!!!!

I give this film an 8 ½...Bourne Identity a 9 and Bourne Supremacy an 8 ½. I gave the new Die Hard a 9 ½. They say this is the last of the Bourne series....but is it? I don’t think so...............

The Man In The Moon

While coming home late last night from the Ahmonson Theatre (Jersey Boys, thanks for asking), I had not taken my glasses off as I usually do. I only wear them to the movies or the theatre or to drive at night. Occasionally to watch TV. I always say I don’t really need them, but it is much nicer with them on. Well, yes! But, anyway, I had left them on out of sheer laziness. We were driving along the winding 110 toward Pasadena when I noticed something wonderful! The man in the moon!!! He was perfect in an almost full moon on this beautiful summer night. I always look for the man from my childhood book that I can never remember the name of, and tonight he was just as illustrated so many years ago! Perfect! I’ve seen him many times before, but tonight he was so clear!!! I said to Steve, ‘look at the man in the moon!’ A mistake as he was driving on the winding 110, so he so brilliantly ignored my exuberant request! Thank you, dear! I just kept thinking about how clear the man was! Was it because the sky was clear? Was it the time of year? Was it just because I was with Steve and enjoying the afterglow of a romantic evening? Was it the pull of the tide? Was it just a gift from God? No....I had my glasses on! I always forget that I do see better with my glasses. When I have them on, just to make sure there is a difference, I take them on and off and see the difference. I don’t know why, I just do. Like I said, I can see alright without them, but it just makes it a little brighter; like my man in the moon! So, I took them off and looked up into the night sky, and low and behold, the man in the moon looked just like he had in years past without my glasses! Just a little hazy. Who knew?!!! Does this mean I’ll wear my glasses more? Probably not...just on nights when the man in the moon is winking at me...

Vacations, part 4

There was one vacation I remember fondly. The year I graduated from High School, 1969, my Dad actually asked me what I wanted to do for vacation that year. I was stunned! I could choose where we went and what we did! I chose San Francisco and I wanted to stay in a hotel, not a motel and certainly not in the camper! I asked if my nephew Dale could come along as a companion and he did. Let’s see, if I was 17 then he must have been 11. He was more like a little brother as they lived next door and was just a great friend. So off to San Francisco we went. I really don’t remember much about San Francisco for some reason, but I do remember stopping in Sunnyvale to see my favorite teacher, Mrs. Varnum who had recently moved to the area. She was my homemaking teacher and was proud to see that I was wearing a dress that I had made! It was a lavender gingham sundress. All I remember about that dress was that I couldn’t get my bra not to show! It was good to see her and I knew I would probably never see her again and that made me sad.
Our next stop was the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose. It was absolutely fascinating! I’ll never forget that tour and the odd things Mrs. Winchester did to keep the ‘spirits’ happy. If you ever get the chance to see it, it is well worth the detour from where ever you are headed. We took the tour again just last year, and I could have given the schpeel right along with our tour guide, as I remembered it as if we were just there the week before! Those two things are the only memories I have of that vacation to San Francisco. OH! One more thing.... We did, in fact, stay in hotels, but we had to make the bed and clean the bathroom! Mamma told him that the maid would have to change the sheets and clean the toilet herself, but he would have none of it! I remember him saying to Mamma, ‘Why, Dolly, we’ve only slept on them once, there’s no reason to put clean sheets on our beds!’. She would just bite her bottom lip in disgust and shake her head and give that bed hospital corners! It was my job to fold the wet towels and Dale folded the washcloths. OH!OH! OH! You’ll love this! My ex-mother in law was even worse with this one! After I was married, we would rent a beach house at Seal Beach for a week in the summer. She was a neat freak! The day we were to pack up and leave, we had to clean the apartment. Now, I know everyone does this as you pay a cleaning fee that is refundable if the place is left as you found it. That makes perfect sense! But...she made us wash the walls in the kitchen and bathrooms! WASH THE WALLS!!!! Man, Daddy never even thought of that!
I think that trip to San Francisco was the last vacation I went on with Daddy and Mamma. After that is when they started going around their anniversary time and I was relieved of the duty! I wouldn’t go on another vacation until my honeymoon to, oddly, San Francisco. It was so unmemorable I’m not even going to bore you with the details! Ta for now!