How Much I Adore Mary Tyler Moore

If you happen to be part of my niche audience, you might have expected that this blog post could "make it after all" since my adoration for Mary Tyler Moore is no secret. It's been evident here on Retro Active Critiques (see the side bar and various posts) along with elsewhere with my online presence (and videos), just as it has been in my personal life.

As a boundless Mary fan, I'm happy to see her acknowledged for her significant contributions to TV and films, once again, as she should be. I'm glad she was recently honored by The Screen Actors' Guild with a Lifetime Achievement Award, an award she chose to have presented to her by none other than her equally adorable TV husband from long ago, Dick Van Dyke. She's entertained us for decades and continues to enchant audiences with her positive energy and smile –– so the recognition is more than deserved.

Here's to MTM aka Mary Richards aka Laura Petrie.

I can never get through 'Ordinary People' without crying my eyes out, in large part because of Mary Tyler Moore's uncharacteristically cold performance. Her stoniness is so viable, it makes us feel even more sympathy for her family, as we should.

MTM is also one of the namesakes for my cat, Mary Jane Goodnight.

Mary Jane Goodnight

She's been a huge part of my life, especially during rougher times when I just needed to feel better and relax in the comfort of my 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' DVD set, some years before Hulu. I'd rest my woes against the pleasant, soft light and coziness of the 70's travails of Mary Richards and company. That show is my safe and gentle form of escapism.

And don't get me started on 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' and Change of Habit'.

I dressed up as Mary Richards for Halloween in 2008, wearing my own clothes. From my closet. Items I actually wear. Weird, perhaps –– but it made creating a last-minute costume amazingly simple to pull together!

Mary Richards. My Mary Tyler Moore Halloween costume in 2008.

I also pleaded with my husband for weeks (maybe it was months) to dress up as Rob and Laura Petrie for Halloween last year. Even though he finally refused, I almost convinced him. Which also says a lot for Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, and a TV show from five decades ago. They are without a question my favorite TV couple (one I can completely relate to, even today) and 'The Dick Van Dyke' show remains one of my personal favorite shows to watch, over and over again.

I could go on to make this a very lengthier, gushing blog post. I won't do that, because I simply wanted to share a little more love for Mary, even at a time when 'love is all around' her. Again, as it should be.

'We'll Take Manhattan': Whovian crush Karen Gillan stars as Jean Shrimpton

I could be one of the biggest Jean Shrimpton fans alive. I read her (then out-of-print) autobiography many years ago. I've made two fan videos for the excellent film she starred in, 'Privilege'. I styled myself after her for my own wedding. So my devotion to The Shrimp is (at least) equal to the Whovian's to Doctor Who – and therefore, Karen Gillan, also known as the 'Ginger Goddess'.

This puts me at an odd contingency to suggest: although Karen Gillan is as lovely as she can possibly be, she doesn't quite do it for me as Jean Shrimpton. I realize this is dangerous territory, given the fandom she has. Please forgive me, Whovians, I'm just that partial to The Shrimp. There was something so otherworldly and doll-like about Jean Shrimpton's face. Not that I can think of an actress who can do her look more justice than Ms. Gillan.

From what I understand, Jean Shrimpton did not want to be involved with the production of this film. However, she did ring up Karen Gillan, herself, after she previewed 'We'll Take Manhattan'... to tell her she thought it was well done and an accurate take on what happened. And that's the best recommendation her performance and the film could get, since Jean Shrimpton is nothing if not absolutely straight-forward and grounded.

I've been excited to see 'We'll Take Manhattan' since I heard it was going into production. I'm not sure when it'll get to us across the "pond" (har-har ;)), but I'm ready. David Bailey, of course, happens to be one of my all-time favorite photographers. Their relationship was a fascinating one and together they changed the face of fashion. 

Jean Shrimpton was the very first real supermodel the world had ever known. This tends to be debatable, but I personally stand by that in terms of how influential she was. Even the dramatic popularity of the miniskirt in the 1960's is credited to her, and you can look that up. She inspired the young Lesley Hornby –– better known as Twiggy –– to want to be a model, and we all know how that turned out. Of course, David Bailey was the visionary photographer boyfriend behind Jean Shrimpton's meteoric rise, as well as several other notable beauties after her. 'We'll Take Manhattan' is the story of how that all began.

Here is the just released trailer for 'We'll Take Manhattan':

Happy New Year!

In keeping with the theme of my previous post about the holiday season, here's my all-time favorite New Year's Eve scene from a movie... the final scene from 'When Harry Met Sally'.  

Happy New Year to all, from Retro Active Critiques!

Holiday Romance & The Meg Ryan Trilogy

Everyone has their special holiday films. They're the ones you take pleasure in watching annually, ones that capture the spirit of the season for you in a particular way. When I think of a favorite holiday film –– or films that make me feel warm and fuzzy –– my mind often rests on what I think of as 'The Meg Ryan Trilogy': 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Sleepless In Seattle', 'You've Got Mail'. Incidentally, all three films were written by Nora Ephron who truly knows how to write a romantic comedy.

When I thought about The Trilogy this holiday season, and once again craved a viewing, I wondered why this season is such a romantic time for me. I think of the holidays as a time to be close to someone you love. Going for walks, seeing the beautiful Christmas lights in the streets, shopping together, staying home and being cozy together. It can also be about the melancholic feeling of being alone for the holidays and thinking about being in love. This could all be due to the years I spent in New York, where this feeling is prevalent. And the Meg Ryan Trilogy certainly picks up on those feelings.

But then I realized something about this preference. One holiday season in New York, I was single for the first time in my adult life. I reluctantly went to a small Christmas Eve party and that's where I met my now husband. It was genuinely love-at-first-sight. We were drawn to each other like magnets and we've been together ever since. December 24th is the anniversary of the day we met and it will always be a romantic day for us.

What is your favorite holiday movie? And why do you think it holds a special significance for you? Wishing the happiest and most romantic holiday to you all from Retro Active Critiques!

Beyond the Silver: Eternal Bond of the Le Bons

I like posting about dynamic, lifelong couples on this blog (my post with the most amount of traffic happens to be one) and I find Yasmin and Simon Le Bon to be one of the most endearing. Here we have the quintessential rock star/supermodel pairing working in a way that's eternal. These two are so far from typical. Many other famously glamorous couples have tried, and few have outlasted these two. (Of course there are other exceptions like Keith Richards and Patti Hansen, who deserve their own post.) And 2011 marked Simon and Yasmin Le Bon's SILVER anniversary, believe it or not. :)  

For 25 years, this British couple has been going strong. Their 26th anniversary is coming up on December 27th. So here's to another happy holiday anniversary. 

Yasmin Le Bon was also emblematic in showing the world that a great model can continue to work (and be in high-demand) well after what could have been considered her prime. 

Simon Le Bon, too, deserves praise for his knack at commitment. When asked what keeps their marriage so strong, Simon Le Bon said:  "I wake up in the morning and for ten minutes or so I just get to look at her sleeping peacefully. That's kind of all you need to know about me... I guess I'm very lucky that I picked somebody really bloody good in the first place! She's great fun, fantastic, beautiful and we laugh all the time. It's not always easy at all. But I really want to stay married for life."  

Their love is very real and that's what resonates.

Aside from his long-term ties to his marriage and family, Simon Le Bon has also proven similarly committed to his career as front-man of Duran Duran, a relationship that was depicted so well in their recent video for the song "Girl Panic". The song and video are classic Duran Duran. (I find it especially adorable when YLB, as "The Guitarist", says in her most haughty tone: "I'm not a member of Duran Duran.") And with that, let's celebrate the holidays with a toast to the eternal bond of the Le Bons.

Alma & Alfred Hitchcock: The Dynamic Duo

During a summer trip a couple of years ago, I began to read "Hitch: The Life & Times of Alfred Hitchcock" by John Russell Taylor. I'd found the book some time ago and was glad to finally begin reading all about old Hitch.

Inside my (used) copy, first published in 1978, I found a page torn out of a British magazine, 'Country Homes', with listings and markings from the previous owner of the paperback. So this particular copy had made the rounds in Hitchcock's native England before finding its way to me in San Francisco. That was the first bit of intrigue in reading it. I felt as if it was left there for me to try to unveil a mystery of: who had this book before me? And what did that torn page with home listings mean? But that's getting into Agatha Christie territory.

The second bit of intrigue about this book was that the man who wrote it, John Russell Taylor, a critic, actually wrote the biography with direct cooperation of Alfred Hitchcock himself... as well as Hitchcock's inner circle. Since the book was written in the 1970's, it seems odd and interesting to observe how the writer refers to his friend, Hitch, in the present tense. And that also made for some fascinating insight into a rather mysterious person. 

The third bit of intrigue that came to pass was – and is – by far my favorite. That one is about Alma Hitchcock. I knew very little about her when I started reading, apart from knowing she had a good deal of involvement in the making of her husband's films. So everything about her was already of a heightened level of interest for me. 

I discovered that Alfred Hitchcock fell in love with Alma Reville, whom he'd met at a British film studio called Balcon-Saville-Freedman, where she was a film editor. She was editing films at the age of sixteen and needless to say, that was it for me. I was in complete adoration of Alma from at that point on. As was Alfred Hitchcock, for his entire life.

I even noticed now a striking resemblance between Alma and Joan Fontaine's character, Lina, in Suspicion (one of my all-time favorite Hitchcock heroines & plot.) 

Joan Fontaine as Lina in 'Suspicion'

People have so often noted Hitchcock's fascination with those memorable cool blonds who occupied his films, but his lifelong love was reserved for his own 'Monkey Face', Alma. On that note, how remarkable is it, even, that Alma Hitchcock was such a noteworthy filmmaker in her own right, decades before women were carving the slightest presence for themselves in the work force?

Alma Hitchcock was a very special lady, indeed. She is a great example of 'the-woman-behind-the-man'. In her case, much of what we equate to Hitchcock's genius was in part because of her talents and contributions.

Alma Hitchcock, the woman behind the man

Having been rather smitten with their story, my own husband recently shared the news that a movie is now in production called 'Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho' (not a very elegant title) in which Alma will be depicted alongside Alfred. And rightfully so.

Soon the general public will finally get to know more about the Hitchcocks' fascinating work relationship and marriage.

80's Obscure - 'Let's Go' by Wang Chung

This song-and-video combo makes me smile. Together, they're just so distinctively 80's. This also pops into my head frequently, since it's easy to think "let's go" in various capacities throughout the day. Or even "Wang Chung" for that matter. Just yesterday our cat, Jane, yelled what sounded like "Wang!" which led me to think about Wang Chung and invariably : "Let's Go". (Check out the hair and suits!)

Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)

 

I recently had a chance to watch Otto Preminger's film from 1965, 'Bunny Lake Is Missing'. I'd been curious to watch it for several reasons. For one thing, I wondered why it had developed a sort of cult following at some point, despite not having been received as well upon its release. And I was intrigued by the title. Who is Bunny Lake? Why has she gone missing? Of course, that mystery is the entire premise of the story from start to finish.

Having seen it now, I can recommend 'Bunny Lake Is Missing' with only minor hesitation. First, the movement and style is compelling and captivating. You'll willingly go along for this ride despite any reason to want to resist. And resist you might, depending on your tastes, since this film is in black and white. And I only offer that as an issue because Preminger's choice to film 'Bunny Lake' in black and white in 1965 –– with color so readily available -- was a decision that may have actually hindered the popularity of his film.

While watching 'Bunny Lake Is Missing', I could not help but notice a great alignment between Carol Lynley's performance as Ann Lake -- the desperate mother of the missing little girl Bunny Lake -- and the great Hitchcock blondes. And again, I wondered how she might have been better received and remembered had she been featured in technicolor. Ann Lake, the young, single American mother in London, wearing her trench jacket over her prim sweater and skirt, hair tied back in a pretty ponytail, seemed to me like she could have easily become a great style reference or even Halloween costume, in the vein of a Rosemary Woodhouse (or, as I mentioned, any of Hitchcock's heroines.) But alas, it appears she wasn't as remarkable to recall in black and white.

Aside from Carol Lynley's potentially iconic turn as Ann Lake and Otto Preminger's deft direction, the film also includes performances by Laurence Olivier and Noel Coward, portraying a weary detective and a surly neighbor, respectively. My favorite scene in the film also has to be when Olivier as the detective and Lynley as the troubled mother sit at a pub to discuss the distressing situation over drinks while The Zombies (one of my favorite 60's bands) are playing on the TV above the bar. The Zombies are showcased well throughout these scenes here. It's so charming to think that when the film was released, they were a very new, up-and-coming hip band... and this feels significant, in an enchanting way, when viewed today. Watch a clip from this scene (albeit dubbed, in Italian) below.

The story itself is as compelling and eery as you'd expect when a missing child and a mother's sanity are in question. As I'd posted before, stories about a parent fearing a child to be in any trouble are automatically the most frantic, frightening and chilling sort. My least favorite scene in 'Bunny Lake Is Missing' comes towards the end, since it is drawn out to be too long and manic. Yet the film, as a whole, is one that had great potential to be a classic thriller, and it only missed that eventuality by a few doll hairs.