Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Join in the fun by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and writing a bit about them!
Look, we've all been there. Those days when everything is falling apart, or has grown stale beyond belief, or when a chapter of your life has just... ended. So you move on, you move out, and you hopefully move up in the world. It's not always easy, but sometimes you just have to do it. Just like characters do in these movies.
Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) Mildred's husband is a louse - she provides more financial support for the family by baking pies and cakes, and he has a woman on the side. So she kicks him out, but has to find a way to support her two daughters on her own. In order to do that, she takes a job as a waitress, with the goal of one day opening up her own restaurant. Which she finally does... while failing to realize that she's unwittingly raised her daughter Veda into a snobbish bitch who doesn't appreciate any of her mother's hard work. One of the key works of the Old Hollywood Studio System, and the role that famously won Joan Crawford her Oscar.
Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) Bridget Jones is a 32 year-old "singleton" living and working in London, and has decided that she's heard one too many behind-her-back remarks about her appearance and personality. So she decides to make an active change in her life, and starts keeping a diary. She vows to quit smoking, lose weight... and stop fantasizing about her boss, the handsome womanizer Daniel Cleaver. Some of those things actually work out. This endearing adaptation of the popular novel earned Renée Zellweger a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her leading performance as the singularly British Bridget, and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are well-matched as her love interests.
Wild (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2014) Cheryl Strayed has lost her mother and ended her marriage. She's lived recklessly and self-destructively for too long. Finally, she makes a somewhat rash decision: She's going to hike over a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. Alone. One of the most powerful films about spiritual reawakening and the power of memory I've ever seen, anchored by a never-better (and Oscar-nominated) Reese Witherspoon. All the better for the fact that it's based on a true story.
Oh I love Mildred Fierce:) Sorry I was channeling Carol Burnett. Ann Blyth played the daughter so well and so nasty. Bridget Jones is a very funny and sweet romantic comedy that should have stayed alone without the sequels. I really enjoyed Wild because I thought I wouldn’t. It was very entertaining plus youreally felt for the character and her strength
hehehe LOVE Carol Burnett's movie parodies! Ann Blyth really was great as that little snake Veda. Totally agree about the Bridget Jones sequels. Wholly unnecessary.
Well obviously my favorite of the three is Mildred Piece, a fantastic fit for this week! You are being very kind to Veda to call her merely a snobbish bitch, my thoughts have always run more towards cancerous pit viper but whatever you call her Ann Blyth plays her to perfection. I've always felt that her studio mishandled her afterwards remaking her into a dewy-eyed heroine and away from noir where she would have been a great femme fatale. The fact that she was seriously injured directly after this, she broke her back in a sledding accident so she couldn't work for a year, and that she could sing moved her away from what feels like her niche in noir.
I can't abide Zellweger so she curdled my full enjoyment of Bridget Jones though Hugh and Colin made up for alot of her annoyance. It was a cute film even with the personality void starring.
I thought Wild was interesting more than a pleasurable watch. Reese was very good and the reason I ultimately thought favorably of it but one view was enough.
I wasn't completely clear on if we were supposed to do a fresh start as in moving or a new start as in starting over so I did a mix of the two.
My Fair Lady (1964)-Coarse cockney flower vendor Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) goes to Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) and his friend Col. Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) after a chance meeting to teach her “how to talk genteel like” so she can get a job in a shop. On a bet with Pickering Higgins decides to remake Eliza and pass her off as royalty and she’s off to a fresh start! Harrison is inimitable and Audrey charming but you can’t help but yearn for Julie Andrews, who created the role on stage, and her bell like soprano. Sumptuous musical won Best Picture and is a treat for the eyes and ears.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)-Recently widowed Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Tommy leave their New Mexico town so that Alice can try her luck as a singer in California. In Arizona they find themselves short on funds and she takes a job in a small diner until they build up their resources again. But when she meets handsome rancher David (Kris Kristofferson) it looks like she might be making a new start of a different kind. Directed by Martin Scorsese this won Ellen Burstyn a Best Actress Oscar.
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)-Freshly divorced and in a purple funk from which she seems unable to extricate herself writer Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) is gifted by her newly pregnant friend Patti (Sandra Oh) with a tour of Italy that Patti can’t take. Passing through Tuscany Frances impulsively buys a somewhat distressed villa and sets about rebuilding her life with the help of the colorful locales and a new romance. Charming and well-acted with breathtaking vistas you’ll want to jump the next flight to Tuscany when it’s over.
OMG YES Ann Blyth would have been such a GREAT femme fatale! But I guess that story makes sense. It's a pity.
I'm kind of with you on Wild - I really enjoyed it, but I haven't felt a desire to go back and watch it again.
I'm so ashamed of this but I've never seen Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. I haven't seen Under the Tuscan Sun either, but I don't feel quite so bad about it despite loving Diane Lane.
I like My Fair Lady a whole lot.... but only because it's My Fair Lady. The more I've watched it as I've gotten older, the more it feels stuffy and kind of airless, even though it's beautiful. I still love the performances (Audrey in "guttersnipe" mode is FUN, and one of my favorite things in the world is when Rexy gets upset at Ascot and completely nonchalantly balances a teacup on his head), even if I despise the ending.
Since you've haven't gotten to Alice yet you might want to consider a double bill with it and Doris Day's second movie "My Dream is Yours" which Scorsese sited as his inspiration for his film to compare and contrast. You can see where the germ of the idea came from (Doris is a widow with a young son trying to make a career in show business) but they are very, very different.
Bonuses to the Doris film-Jack Carson AND Eve Arden are her co-stars, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall runs the radio station where they work and the station's house band is the Ada Leonard all-girl orchestra who all perform in evening gowns! All in glorious Technicolor. Plus Doris and Jack do a dream sequence with Bugs Bunny!!
I really need to see that version of Mildred Pierce, I only saw the HBO Mini Series. I liked Wild quite a bit but I only saw Bridget Jones once and don't remember much of it.
Oh lord the miniseries of Mildred Pierce was SO GOOD. Even Rachel Wood was even more despicable as Veda than Ann Blyth, and let me tell you, that's saying something!
Oh I love Mildred Fierce:) Sorry I was channeling Carol Burnett. Ann Blyth played the daughter so well and so nasty. Bridget Jones is a very funny and sweet romantic comedy that should have stayed alone without the sequels. I really enjoyed Wild because I thought I wouldn’t. It was very entertaining plus youreally felt for the character and her strength
ReplyDeletehehehe LOVE Carol Burnett's movie parodies! Ann Blyth really was great as that little snake Veda. Totally agree about the Bridget Jones sequels. Wholly unnecessary.
DeleteWell obviously my favorite of the three is Mildred Piece, a fantastic fit for this week! You are being very kind to Veda to call her merely a snobbish bitch, my thoughts have always run more towards cancerous pit viper but whatever you call her Ann Blyth plays her to perfection. I've always felt that her studio mishandled her afterwards remaking her into a dewy-eyed heroine and away from noir where she would have been a great femme fatale. The fact that she was seriously injured directly after this, she broke her back in a sledding accident so she couldn't work for a year, and that she could sing moved her away from what feels like her niche in noir.
ReplyDeleteI can't abide Zellweger so she curdled my full enjoyment of Bridget Jones though Hugh and Colin made up for alot of her annoyance. It was a cute film even with the personality void starring.
I thought Wild was interesting more than a pleasurable watch. Reese was very good and the reason I ultimately thought favorably of it but one view was enough.
I wasn't completely clear on if we were supposed to do a fresh start as in moving or a new start as in starting over so I did a mix of the two.
My Fair Lady (1964)-Coarse cockney flower vendor Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) goes to Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) and his friend Col. Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) after a chance meeting to teach her “how to talk genteel like” so she can get a job in a shop. On a bet with Pickering Higgins decides to remake Eliza and pass her off as royalty and she’s off to a fresh start! Harrison is inimitable and Audrey charming but you can’t help but yearn for Julie Andrews, who created the role on stage, and her bell like soprano. Sumptuous musical won Best Picture and is a treat for the eyes and ears.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)-Recently widowed Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Tommy leave their New Mexico town so that Alice can try her luck as a singer in California. In Arizona they find themselves short on funds and she takes a job in a small diner until they build up their resources again. But when she meets handsome rancher David (Kris Kristofferson) it looks like she might be making a new start of a different kind. Directed by Martin Scorsese this won Ellen Burstyn a Best Actress Oscar.
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)-Freshly divorced and in a purple funk from which she seems unable to extricate herself writer Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) is gifted by her newly pregnant friend Patti (Sandra Oh) with a tour of Italy that Patti can’t take. Passing through Tuscany Frances impulsively buys a somewhat distressed villa and sets about rebuilding her life with the help of the colorful locales and a new romance. Charming and well-acted with breathtaking vistas you’ll want to jump the next flight to Tuscany when it’s over.
OMG YES Ann Blyth would have been such a GREAT femme fatale! But I guess that story makes sense. It's a pity.
DeleteI'm kind of with you on Wild - I really enjoyed it, but I haven't felt a desire to go back and watch it again.
I'm so ashamed of this but I've never seen Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. I haven't seen Under the Tuscan Sun either, but I don't feel quite so bad about it despite loving Diane Lane.
I like My Fair Lady a whole lot.... but only because it's My Fair Lady. The more I've watched it as I've gotten older, the more it feels stuffy and kind of airless, even though it's beautiful. I still love the performances (Audrey in "guttersnipe" mode is FUN, and one of my favorite things in the world is when Rexy gets upset at Ascot and completely nonchalantly balances a teacup on his head), even if I despise the ending.
Since you've haven't gotten to Alice yet you might want to consider a double bill with it and Doris Day's second movie "My Dream is Yours" which Scorsese sited as his inspiration for his film to compare and contrast. You can see where the germ of the idea came from (Doris is a widow with a young son trying to make a career in show business) but they are very, very different.
DeleteBonuses to the Doris film-Jack Carson AND Eve Arden are her co-stars, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall runs the radio station where they work and the station's house band is the Ada Leonard all-girl orchestra who all perform in evening gowns! All in glorious Technicolor. Plus Doris and Jack do a dream sequence with Bugs Bunny!!
I really need to see that version of Mildred Pierce, I only saw the HBO Mini Series. I liked Wild quite a bit but I only saw Bridget Jones once and don't remember much of it.
ReplyDeleteOh lord the miniseries of Mildred Pierce was SO GOOD. Even Rachel Wood was even more despicable as Veda than Ann Blyth, and let me tell you, that's saying something!
DeleteWe share Bridget Jones's Diary!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun movie!
DeleteOh Wild is such a great and touching movie! And Bridget Jones' Diary is one of my all time favorites. I wish there were Mark Darcys out there :)
ReplyDeleteI almost picked BGD as well. New diary, new start.
ReplyDelete