Tootsie, by Larry Gelbart
1982, screenplay
• An underemployed actor gets a major role on a major soap opera——by pretending to be a woman!——but is soon torn between work and love when he falls for the show's leading lady.
Didn't have the final draft of the script, but no matter; I've seen this flawless film many times. It's smart, funny, emotionally and socially charged, and the craftsmanship (theme, tone, character, relationships, dialogue, structure) is inspirational.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
CHAPTER TWO
Chapter Two, by Neil Simon
1978
• A widower struggles to let go of his grief when he meets, falls in love with, and marries his perfect match.
Despite a few out-of-sync cultural references, and what I'm coming to discover is subdued, and even dated, humor, this four-person comedy/drama smartly examines life before, during, and after marriage. Thematically inspiring, turns out it is possible, after great loss, to start one's life anew. Obviously a classic.
1978
• A widower struggles to let go of his grief when he meets, falls in love with, and marries his perfect match.
Despite a few out-of-sync cultural references, and what I'm coming to discover is subdued, and even dated, humor, this four-person comedy/drama smartly examines life before, during, and after marriage. Thematically inspiring, turns out it is possible, after great loss, to start one's life anew. Obviously a classic.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
THE STRANGEST KIND OF ROMANCE
The Strangest Kind of Romance, by Tennessee Williams
1945
• A wandering man finds love in a boarding house——with a stray cat.
I was attracted by the title, and this short play lives in the anthology 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. Packed with existential musings of life and love, this one-act breeds four tortured characters, each with an agenda of their own, as they navigate their lonely lives. The good news is that this strangest kind of romance is a mutual one...
1945
• A wandering man finds love in a boarding house——with a stray cat.
I was attracted by the title, and this short play lives in the anthology 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. Packed with existential musings of life and love, this one-act breeds four tortured characters, each with an agenda of their own, as they navigate their lonely lives. The good news is that this strangest kind of romance is a mutual one...
Friday, May 4, 2012
FAT PIG
Fat Pig, by Neil LaBute
2004
• A young man struggles with societal and personal taboos when he falls in love with a beautiful and loving fat woman.
Loved it! A fast and easy read, this play is surprisingly compassionate, with no false sense of political correctness. I remember being afraid to see the production——due to sensationalist (and inaccurate) advertising, and my own false sense of political correctness——but now I wish I had.
2004
• A young man struggles with societal and personal taboos when he falls in love with a beautiful and loving fat woman.
Loved it! A fast and easy read, this play is surprisingly compassionate, with no false sense of political correctness. I remember being afraid to see the production——due to sensationalist (and inaccurate) advertising, and my own false sense of political correctness——but now I wish I had.
Monday, April 30, 2012
THE GOD OF CARNAGE
The God of Carnage, by Yasmina Reza, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton
2008
Became the film Carnage.
• During the course of one evening, two sets of parents try to get a handle on a physical fight that occurred between their two sons.
Biting and caustic, spot-on dark humor. Each of the four characters has a back story that mirrors the overall situation in some way, and ultimately betrays them to be the root cause of, and worse than, the children themselves. However, an entitlement factor of well-to-do/upwardly mobile hetero parenting is slightly off-putting to this reader, though that may be the point.
2008
Became the film Carnage.
• During the course of one evening, two sets of parents try to get a handle on a physical fight that occurred between their two sons.
Biting and caustic, spot-on dark humor. Each of the four characters has a back story that mirrors the overall situation in some way, and ultimately betrays them to be the root cause of, and worse than, the children themselves. However, an entitlement factor of well-to-do/upwardly mobile hetero parenting is slightly off-putting to this reader, though that may be the point.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
ELEEMOSYNARY
Eleemosynary, by Lee Blessing
1987
• A young teen——and winner of the National Spelling Bee——tries to make sense of her past, her absent mother, and the bad blood that runs between them as she awaits her eccentric grandmother's death.
Another preparing for death play, and coming to terms with the past so one can face the present and future, this gem of a play unravels the estrangement that runs deep between three generations of mothers and daughters. A relatively happy ending.
1987
• A young teen——and winner of the National Spelling Bee——tries to make sense of her past, her absent mother, and the bad blood that runs between them as she awaits her eccentric grandmother's death.
Another preparing for death play, and coming to terms with the past so one can face the present and future, this gem of a play unravels the estrangement that runs deep between three generations of mothers and daughters. A relatively happy ending.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
JUICY AND DELICIOUS
Juicy and Delicious, by Lucy Alibar
2012 (I think)
Soon to be released as Beasts of the Southern Wild, a film based on the play, written by Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin.
• In a strange and magical world of his own making, a young boy comes of age as he prepares for his father's death, and vice versa...
Imaginative and moving, seemingly absurd events and props——flying lemons and falling grits——suddenly make perfect sense by the end of this journey play, as the boy Hushpuppy investigates his past and gets ready for a future without a father. Very smart, hip, and new, this reader relates more to the theme however——loving and trusting in one's self——than to the story itself.
2012 (I think)
Soon to be released as Beasts of the Southern Wild, a film based on the play, written by Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin.
• In a strange and magical world of his own making, a young boy comes of age as he prepares for his father's death, and vice versa...
Imaginative and moving, seemingly absurd events and props——flying lemons and falling grits——suddenly make perfect sense by the end of this journey play, as the boy Hushpuppy investigates his past and gets ready for a future without a father. Very smart, hip, and new, this reader relates more to the theme however——loving and trusting in one's self——than to the story itself.
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