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.
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