Can I start out by saying that Barbra Streisand was, and still is, one of the most beautiful, and talented women of all time!! I am watching Funny Girl, one of my favorite movies, and she is simply a GENIUS!!! Her character, Fanny Bryce, embodies so many qualities that I was to have in my own self! Besides the FABULOUS singing voice, that goes without being said, but this character is a woman who speaks her mind, doesn’t care what others say about her, loves greatly; a risk-taker who has both the drive and passion to get to where she wants to be! AMAZING!!! It is easy for me to see why this movie stands the test of time, and millions of people all over the world love Barbra!!!
Some of my favorite lines from this movie are:
Fanny (to herself in the mirror): Hello, gorgeous.
Fanny: You think beautiful girls are going to stay in style forever? I should say not! Any minute now they’re going to be out! Finished! Then it’ll be my turn!
Fanny: I’m a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls!
Mr. Ziegfeld: Miss Brice, do I have to remind you this is my theatre? Fanny: So, what, nobody argues with the landlord?
Fanny: Cuz I’m the greatest star, I am by far. But no one knows it.
And of course this movie has my FAVORITE song: Don’t Rain on My Parade, this song almost instantly cheers me up, no matter what is going on!!!!
Maybe I will pop in Funny Lady next, I have never seen that before!
My sister, Alex and our niece V just left for the evening! I ALWAYS have so much fun hanging out with Alex!!! She is sooooo much fun! Tonight we watched Amelie, me for the hundreth time and her for the first! I sometimes worry about letting one of my friends watch one of my favorite movies, in case they hate it and think I am crazy. Well, Alex is different, first off she KNOWS I’M CRAZY, so we are cool there!!! 😉 and of course, she LOVED IT TOO!!! It is so much better to watch these movies and have someone to share the laughter with!!! It multiplies your joy!!!
After wowing audiences all over Europe, Amelie, the story about a young woman on a quest to make things better for the people around here, arrives here on domestic shores. The film’s straight moral compass and overreaching sense of whimsy and fantasy are what draws audiences to it.
It is a nice escape from both other movies and events in the real world. This film is from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who always manages to make each film of his look distinctly unique. Here, Paris looks warm, inviting and welcome, matching to tones of Audrey Tautou, who plays the title character. Amelie is a shy young woman, who frequently delves into the world of fantasy. In fact, Amelie plays in a way like a fairy tale complete with narrator.
Amelie discovers a forgotten box in her bathroom. It contains the childhood mementos of a small boy who lived in her apartment years ago. She vows to find the owner and return the box, and if he reacts positively, she will keep doing things to help people. The man tears over with joy, and a new hero is born. She looks at the people around her and decides that she will be the person to make their lives better. Amelie concocts a plan to set up two lonely people, help an elderly painter who lives in her apartment, and help her father emerge from the cocoon he built around himself after the death of Amelie’s mother.
Along the way, she also has time to help a blind man across the street while describing to him the unseen world around him, and to fall in love with Nino, another dreamer. Nino collects torn photographs found underneath picture booths and reassembles them.
Amelie fancies herself as Zorro (in some amusing black and white sequences), which is a fitting description. One of her main projects is to wreak revenge on Collignon, the local grocer. He mercilessly mocks his assistant Lucien. She steals the key to his apartment and does little things to make his life miserable. All of Amelie’s actions, including this one, are to make others feel better. Granted, the actual things she does to Collignon are mainly for laughs. Jeunet and co-writer Guillaume Laurent play these events off more as pranks. Collignon is never truly hurt, only his pride suffers.
One of the reasons Amelie works so well is because of Tautou. She gives an engaging performance, and Jeunet frequently focuses close-up on her face. Tautou is a young actress with an elfin face and perfect alabaster skin, round, expressive eyes and a cute pixie cut. She has a slightly crooked smile that embodies everything that her character is about. Amelie also enters the mind of the title character, bringing forth her fantasies for the audience to see. The animal pictures on her wall talk about her with sympathy, and she turns into water when Nino leaves the room. All of Jeunet and Laurent’s characters are slightly off-kilter. These aren’t typical ‘movie’ characters in that they are not conventionally beautiful or perfect, they are normal people with normal problems. It makes them stand out in Jeunet’s fairy tale world, and it makes it easier to identify with them, and makes Amelie’s efforts all the more meaningful.
I would highly recommend, if you get the chance, to take an hour or two to watch this lovingly charming film – you will not be disappointed!
I am enjoying a nice quiet evening with my husband. There is soft music playing in the background. Our sis and niece stopped by and had a healthy dinner with us and we played some rounds of Bananagrams – still one of our FAVORITE games!!! I love you sistah!!! 😉
Jason and I have had a little bit of a health scare here today. I will not go into any details, but I think my husband is finally on board with getting fit and healthy! I have been following the calorie guide from Livestrong.com, and have lost almost 9 pounds in a week and a half. I am really thankful that I stumbled upon this site. My husband, sis, and one of girlfriends have all joined up because of my progress so far. I am telling you – try it for one week, and if you don’t lose any weight, then quit – but it is free. So, what do you have to lose??? Except some unwanted lbs that you know have been bothering you!! 😉 Ok, commercial is over! Let me know if you have any success!!
Anyway, tomorrow is Friday – YEAH!!! Jason and I are heading out on a date tomorrow night – we are actually planning on watching the new Harry Potter movie. The 7th of 8. I have high hopes that it will be entertaining, not as good as the books mind you, but good just the same! I think it is going to be odd to watch one of these movies without Dumbledore – he has been so integral to the story. I also think that this movie will be scarier than I am used to. I am a big chicken when it comes to these things – my imagination has a tendency to get too out of control! I know, but now you know why I watch so many light and fluffy romances, and comedies.
Jason is asking that we go for a walk, and I am going to take him up on it!! So until next time!
I don’t have much to say tonight. I have been having problems with my blog, I think WordPress went down earlier for a little while and so I am recreating this posting one more time!!! I really don’t have anything witty, or zany to say. I am not doing anything great, I don’t have big plans, and I haven’t learned anything new in the last few hours.
I did make myself a FABULOUS dinner tonight using some leftovers from last night!! I made stuffed baked bell peppers! YUM!!! I am not sure if that sounds good to you, but trust me – it was AWESOME!!! I am trying to eat a more plant based diet, and I honestly thought it was going to be harder than it is, but I haven’t had cravings, nor have I felt like I was missing out on something. So that is AWESOME!!!
I am getting ready to spend my nice quiet evening at home, having Quantum Leap marathon. Did anyone else ever watch that show? It was one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES when I was a teenager. Sam was DREAMY!!!
It is Friday night movie night, and I just enjoyed a most enchanting movie, Coco Before Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou. This is a French movie subtitled in English, so there will be no multi-tasking during this movie, which I am prone to do.
The movie opens in 1893 where little Gabrielle, aka Coco, is dropped off by her father at an Orphanage; and we proceed to watch Coco’s life before she actually becomes the fashion extraordinaire that we all know and love, Coco Chanel.
Coco Chanel was a woman who although from a distance seemed to have everything; she was a woman who lived a hard life, went against the grain during an age when women did what was expected of them, and she fought and labored to acquire all that she had. The most tragic part of her life is that what she most desired was unavailable to her – her one true love.
Watching this movie, one can’t resist falling in love with all things French. French fashion, French architecture, French interior design, and the French landscape, etc. What I wouldn’t do to be able to walk into the movie screen and just take it all in for a day. Hmmm…Sounds scrumptious! This movie truly is a feast for the senses.
There was a quote that seemed to resonate with me that was spoken during this movie, so much so that I had to replay the section in the film just to make sure I wrote it down correctly. This line is spoken to Coco by the love of her life, Boy:
“An exceptional future awaits you. You’re like no one else. You have to trust yourself”
Isn’t that a message that we could all benefit by taking away with us?