Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to Mr. Ormandy do Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Mrs. Solemnis), which is very solemnnis. As you know, I’m not all that about Beethoven, but this is a nice piece in great sound and very well performed. Yesterday was quite a weird little day – nothing bad, but just a bit weird. I do prefer weird to bad. I woke up just before food arrived – a nice pastrami sandwich on rye with coleslaw and 1000-Island dressing. I ate that all up and it was excellent and VERY filling. In fact, I’m still filled. I then answered a LOT of e-mails, caught up on a few things, and then around three-thirty, I sat on my couch like so much fish and promptly dozed off whilst perusing the Tube of You. Next thing I knew, it was five-thirty. Amazing, as I’d had eight and a half hours of sleep prior to that. I answered e-mails, had a small thing of ice cream, which my tummy doesn’t like digesting, and which is now causing that queasy feeling that makes me feel queasy and uneasy, not breezy nor cheesy nor sleazy nor wheezy. Simply queasy – Simply Queasy – that’s the title of my next novel. Then I hunted for a motion picture to watch and happened to come upon something that just hit Prime cheaply, Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Since I have quite a bit of fun with that title in Vegas Can Be Murder, I decided to watch that. I’d only seen it once before, when it came out. Oops, I’m wrong. I did see it on a homegrown DVD back in 2007. I found the entry by searching “Diane Keaton.” My first mention of Ms. Keaton in these here notes was way back in June of 2002, when I watched Harry and Walter Go to New York. That was a mere seven months after the birth of this here site. The thrust of those notes was a major issue with my Dell laptop and error messages that, thank goodness, got solved without losing anything. But in those notes, I found this fan letter I’d gotten via e-mail back then. I was touched by it then and I’m doubly touched by it now so I thought I’d share it. Wonder if the author of it is still around. I’ll check.
Dear Mr. Kimmel:
Sir, you are a genius. I’m sorry to intrude but last night I had a personal epiphany and I must share it with you.
I was 13 when I saw “The First Nudie Musical” on my first job of babysitting. I had just put the neighbor’s kids to bed and switched on the tv. Cable was brand-new and my neighbors were rich. Lo and behold, I had an aesthetic experience! Not only was this the first time I saw anybody naked in a movie but I was enthralled by the camp quality and sheer sweetness of an ensemble musical. And I was getting paid to watch it! Yes, I checked in on the sleeping children as I did.
Fast forward a few years later and I’m your typical high school/college kid majoring in theatre. I knock around a few towns with resumes and all that garbage. Meanwhile in every group, I introduce them to “The First Nudie Musical” and they of course love it. “Stuntcock” is now a term for any understudy or back-up prop. “Scales” is sung at every musical audition,etc.
Things you’ve heard from countless fans who think THEY discovered this movie (which is wonderful attribute to the film.) Ok, onto NOW. I’m 35, I’m a blonde, Polish woman from Cleveland. (Yes, I’m a human punchline) I don’t perform very often but I do write, direct and produce children’s theatre and love it. I’m married to prominent regional theatre artistic director (yes, I’m a “theatre widow”) In fact, once after hiring a mediocre director I asked him how rehearsals went. He replied, “We’re gonna need a lot of doughnuts.” I knew I loved him then.
Anyways, LAST night after ordering “The First Nudie Musical” on DVD, I watched all the commentaries. As I did, I was checking in on my OWN sleeping daughter and it hit me. This movie has been the blueprint of my life!! In 1980 I was a skinny kid reading Sylvia Plath and wondering who I was. Because of YOUR movie, I fell in love with musicals hence my college major. I fell in love with campy parodies, which is what children’s theatre is about. Hell I fell in love with my husband based on the fact he quoted you. When we bought our first Varese-Sarabond cd years ago, I literally did a spit-take seeing your name.(With all the theatre cd’s we buy, we probably made your rent payment for you one month at least.)
Mr. Kimmel, you are a genius. I love your style. There is a sense of joy in all your work.Your movies and cd’s have brought people together. I don’t know you. I’m not a theatre snob or weird fan. I’m just a Cleveland gal who thanks you immensely. I’d take you over Sylvia Plath anyday.
Ok, this fan letter sucked but I mean every word. The only other fan letter I wrote was to Shaun Cassidy in the 70’s. By the way, you’re “dreamy” too!
Thanks so much for your time,
Rachel Spence
Was that not sweet and wonderful? I am so grateful for things like that. We all tend to beat ourselves up occasionally for what we perceive are life failures, but whenever I get something like this, I realize that we all touch lives in some way. Anyway, here is what I wrote about Looking for Mr. Goodbar back then and I still felt exactly this way watching it last night.
“I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Looking for Mr. Goodbar. I hadn’t really seen it since it first came out – I did like it, although I really loathed its characters. It’s a time capsule now, but it holds up pretty well dramatically, and the ending, which was such a shocker back then (the audience literally sat in the theater unable to move), is as much a shocker today. Diane Keaton shines in the complex lead role, and there’s excellent work from Richard Kiley, Tuesday Weld, Tom Berenger, and a host of others. The film introduced Richard Gere and Richard Gere introduced the acting profession with a totally new kind of actor – the complete narcissist as actor. Mr. Gere’s subsequent performances confirmed him as the first of this new breed – today the cinema is filled with this sort of actor.”
And boy is it a time capsule now. And boy is my comment about Richard Gere accurate, even more so regarding today’s actors. The transfer is fine and rather resembles the release prints of the seventies. And that was pretty much it.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll eat something light, then relax, shave and shower, and then mosey on over to the theater early to work with our piano sub and cast and to get everyone back in show mode and show energy.
Tomorrow is more of that – not sure if I’ll attend the show or not – but I will attend the matinee on Sunday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, eat something light, relax, shave and shower, work with our piano sub, and get the cast back into show mode and show energy, watch the show, and maybe go out after. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray/streaming player? I’ll start – CD, more Ormandy. Blu-ray, three crime dramas from the 1970s made in France. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have read that lovelier than lovely fan letter from a year I like to call 2002, just prior to my very first novel coming out.