Months of Meryl: Marvin's Room (1996)

John and Matthew are watching every single live-action film starring Meryl Streep. 

 

#24 —Lee, a frazzled single mom and aspiring hairdresser who reunites with her ailing sister.

JOHN: Marvin’s Room begins with a slow outward zoom of assorted pill bottles and other medical paraphernalia scored to whimsically upbeat music that immediately establishes the film’s split personality between dysfunctional family comedy and sentimental illness drama. We soon learn that the titular Marvin is the bedridden and near-death father of Bessie (Diane Keaton) and brother of Ruth (Gwen Verdon), three members of a looney Floridian family. No sooner than Marvin’s illness and medical routine is introduced, Bessie is herself diagnosed with leukemia by Dr. Robert De Niro (who also produced the film). He recommends that Bessie's family members be tested for a possible bone marrow transplant. This diagnosis is the film’s engine, reuniting her with her sister Lee (Meryl Streep) and nephews Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Charlie (Hal Scardino), bridging a twenty year gap between this estranged family...

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Review: "Book Club"

by Chris Feil

2018 summer superhero movie season has peaked, now with the arrival of its definitive chapter: Book Club, where Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen read Fifty Shades of Grey and reclaim the romance in their lives. Think they can’t handle not one but a slew of Thanoses? Well, consider that they are also teaming up with four Oscars, six Emmys, twelve Golden Globes, and several cases of pinot grigio.

Steenburgen is the entrepreneurial straight shooter Carol, the one most in tuned to her own needs but perhaps not to others’. As Sharon, Candice Bergen battles her timid seriousness against the need for a new beginning. Fonda’s Vivian is the group individualist, drinking rosé when the rest prefer white, hating everyone else’s favorite book selections. And Diane Keaton as... Diane (it’s really something to see Diane Keaton do Diane Keaton drag) is the guarded one, initially seeming to be the least distinct character but ultimately reveals a woman burying much of what she thinks and feels.

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Yes No Maybe So: "Book Club"

by Nathaniel R

First things first: how utterly fabulous does Jane Fonda look in the trailer for Book Club? She's 80 (!!!) Don Johnson isn't even 70 year but he should be so lucky. She looks great as a ginger. 

Now that the mandatory Jane worship is out of the way (I just saw Klute again -which is a renewal of breathless fandom for her gifts every time), let's break down the trailer for this romantic comedy of sorts about four golden girls who aren't willing to stop living and are dating again. Whilst they read books? We're really not sure how the books fit into it to be honest. Neither is the trailer...

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Soundtracking: "The First Wives Club"

Chris Feil's series on music in the movies dips into some actressexuality this week!

Do you and your friend group have a song, one that defines and unites you instantaneously? Or is that just something that happens in the movies? I’ve certainly never had that, but my two best gays from college do namesake ourselves by a set of cinematic galpals that do: The First Wives Club. (I’m the Bette.)

This film has the good sense to capitalize on the musical charms of its legendary actresses Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton. This threesome foursome *technically* (RIP Cynthia) has their origins defined by their place in musical history, with Diane Keaton’s opening narration evoking Woodstock and The Beatles. But its the beginning twinkle of Hal David / Burt Bacharach fantasy over the opening credits that more musically defines the feminine fantasy thrust upon their generation - idyllic beauty, subservience to men, etc. By the time Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox have them breaking down literal walls in the third act, these sisters are doin’ “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” for themselves.

But obviously the film’s most enduring and notorious musical impact comes from Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”.

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Tweetweek: Babadook, Keaton, and Chris ____

It's time for another roundup of tweets that amused provoked or told it like it was this week...

I went to sleep thinking about Diane Keaton's AFI tribute nails and woke up thinking about Diane Keaton's AFI tribute nails pic.twitter.com/hYbopCDqtv

— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) June 9, 2017

 Though we've been talking about Diane Keaton a bit to celebrate her AFI Lifetime Achievement Award they don't broadcast such things live (boo!). So you can bet we'll return to that particular celebration after the ceremony airs. It's scheduled for this Thursday June 15th at 10 PM ET/PT on TNT and will have an encore presentation on TCM on July 31st. Excited?

More tweets featuring The Babadook, Hollywood's "Chris" fetish, and more are after the jump...

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