TV at the Movies: "Gilmore Girls"
Monday, August 3, 2015 at 12:20PM NEW SERIES! Since our eyes always flash and a smile spreads when a movie is referenced on a tv show we're watching, we've decided to make it a habit to share these cross-platform romances with you. Whenever we see one worth discussing, we'll share it. Here's Manuel on "Gilmore Girls."
There’s an entire series to be written about every single pop culture reference made in Amy Sherman-Palladino’s beloved mother/daughter TV show. It wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t an entire Tumblr account devoted to it (there is!) and while I’ve been enjoying its availability on Netflix (I’m currently on a much needed rewatch), the recent news about its acquisition by UPtv had me thinking it’d make a great entry into TFE’s newest series.
As luck would have it, I didn’t even have to look hard to find a specific moment to talk about. Here are our pop culture junkies at the start of "A Deep Fried Thanksgiving" (S3:E9):
I like these women.
I love these women.
Lorelai and her daughter Lorelai (“Rory”) are talking about perhaps one of the most iconic mother/daughter pairings ever put on screen who, like them, also share a name: Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, the subjects of Albert and David Maysles’s 1975 documentary, Grey Gardens.
Poor Edie!
Which Edie?
Little Edie! She’s just trying to sing and her mom won’t stop talking!
The scene, for those familiar with the chatty Gilmore gals (the show is known for its rat-at-tat quick-witted banter), is amusingly self-reflective. As they enjoy the Maysles’ documentary (a must-watch for any cinephile; I recommend making it a double feature with the HBO Jessica Lange/Drew Barrymore film of the same name), it dawns on mother and daughter that, those women on screen, so often accused of being crazy, are, in fact, beautiful. That, of course, is the greatest accomplishment of Albert and David Maysles, whose empathetic camera lovingly captures the allure of the recluse mother/daughter pair. But the big elephant in the room, and the obvious punchline to this cold open comes as these Stars Hollow residents realize why they find the Edies so familiar:
Something beautiful about them, though! They’re cool, they’re free.
Yea and they’re memorable. Most people are very forgettable. And they’re happy.
They had their cats.
And their raccoons.
And their pretty house.
And each other.
Add a few years and they’re us!
Yea…
I love seeing the change in their reactions as what they're saying sinks in. Most of the time, Lorelai and Rory throw pop culture references off-handedly underscoring their shared language which is inscrutable to everyone around them, but I love that every once in a while it actually informs their character. Plus, any TV show that spends an entire scene on Grey Gardens deserves all of our love.
Reader Comments (7)
This would be the perfect show for this series-there's a movie reference in almost everyone of the first six seasons, and they're frequently obscure like Grey Gardens here.
I seem to remember another cold open where the Gilmores are watching the 1980 Anne Bancroft movie "Fatso" and their only observation was basically, "Why don't more people know about this?"
It must have been hell picking just one moment from this series. But this is a cool idea.
I love that show. The first five-and-a-half seasons are fun. I love the movie night moments. Notably where Lorelai invited Luke to watch Casablanca and then he fell asleep on the couch during Hardbodies and Rory said "how can you sleep during Hardbodies?"
I've also been watching this on Netflix, although I took a break when I got behind on my regular TV-watching and haven't been able to get to it yet (mid-way through season 3). I have a feeling that's going to change soon. I remember there was a scene that was basically all about how they pick which movie to rent, and it took me straight back to being in my early teens in the local (non-Blockbuster) video store. Love that scene and LOVE this show. It doesn't quite fill the Bunheads-shaped hole in my life (sniffle... NEVER FORGET), but it comes close, since it shares a main actress (the great Kelly Bishop) and showrunner.
Gilmore Guys podcast, people. Get on it!
(Also, each podcast begins with a supercut of the pop culture references made during the episode they are discussing.)
I've only seen one episode of Gilmore Girls. It always seemed like the type of show I would eat right up, but in the realm of fast talking, pop culture obsessed CW shows (well, WB and UPN back in those days), it somehow slipped through the cracks between my two great loves, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars. Maybe the genre elements in the latter shows helped goose my interest. Anyway, I swear one of these days I will watch GG. Posts like these make me want to do it right now.