Nora Ephron's Films Were Inspirational Love Letters

She was a reporter, essayist, author, blogger, director, producer and Oscar nominated screenwriter. Plus she was sharply funny.

But to me, Nora Ephron -- who died this week from complications related to leukemia -- meant four things: Humor, optimism, insight and magic. To make my case, I present you with my four favorite Ephron films, all of which I have watched countless times and will no doubt watch many times more because they are poignant, entertaining, smart and hopeful.

When Harry Met Sally

This classic New York-based film featured Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) as a chipper, glass-half-full reporter. Her foil was Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), a delightful curmudgeon (who reminds me of several people I know in real life) who made no bones about his gloomy outlook and propensity for reading the last page of a book so that if he dies before he gets to the conclusion, he'll already knows the ending. I adored how this unlikely pair got on the telephone with one another, late at night while in their separate homes and watched TV together, specifically Casablanca. (Entertainment Weekly ran a great piece on what When Harry Met Sally was "really" about.)

Favorite scene: The conversations Sally and Harry had during their car ride from Chicago to New York City were brilliant.

Sleepless in Seattle

This showcased Tom Hanks at his romantic comedy best as the forlorn, down-to-earth, painfully vulnerable widower Sam Baldwin who had an 8-year-old son Jonah who missed his mother desperately. Ryan played Annie Reed, a true romantic in the form of a newspaper reporter (another one!) who was willing to take big risks for something crazy that she knew, in her gut, felt right . . . like flying from Baltimore to Seattle just to say, "Hello" to a man she'd heard on the radio.

Favorite scene: After Jonah called a national radio talk show therapist saying that his "Christmas wish" was for his dad to find a "new wife," a reluctant Sam wound up waxing poetic about the ethereal beauty in how his wife made everything beautiful, even peeling apples. (A video of the beginning of the conversation can be found here.)

You've Got Mail

Ryan played Kathleen Kelly who ran a cherished little children's bookstore with tremendous heart and a passion for literature, something she learned from her dear, departed mother who started the store and raised Kathleen amidst the bookshelves. Hanks played Joe Fox, the smarmy businessman whose family was in the chain bookstore business, who also happened to have a private, tender underbelly.

Favorite scene: The moment that always tugs at my heart featured Kathleen decorating the Christmas tree in her store window, achingly missing her mother as she watched former customers of hers walk by the window toting Fox Books bags. The reference to Joni Mitchell's "River" kills me because I can hear the melancholy tune playing in my head when Kathleen mentions it. I couldn't download the scene here, but you can watch it on YouTube.

Julie and Julia

Ephron's final film inspired me on several levels. We watched as Meryl Streep's version of Julia Child launched a new career while in her late 30s in spite of the doubters who attempted to diminish and discourage her. We saw Amy Adams play a frustrated "cubicle dweller" embark on a quest to reclaim her raise d'etre by following Julia's culinary advice, along with all the recipes in Julia's most famous cookbook. The icing on the cake in this film was the moving depiction of the enduring love between Julia and her husband Paul (played by Stanley Tucci), as he cheered her on in the face of repeated defeats.

Favorite scene: After many discouraging rejections (I can totally relate), Julia finally received a letter from a publisher who willing to publish her book. Sweet success after her years of hard work. Although video of that particular scene wasn't available online, the Valentine's Day dinner hosted by Julia and Paul (see above) was a sweet example of the couple's affection.

What's your favorite Ephron film (or book or essay)?

A Streep Fan? Do Yourself a Favor & Check Out Her '60 Minutes' Interview

In anticipation for Meryl Streep’s depiction of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, the much acclaimed actress sat down with 60 Minutes for a down-to-earth interview that made me admire and respect her even more than I already did.

I haven’t always been a Streep fan. For a while, I felt similarly to the same way Jerry Seinfeld did when, in Seinfeld, he maligned Streep for over-acting when he likened Elaine to the actress, at least when it came to Elaine's behavior in the bedroom. But I’ve done a 180 since those dark, anti-Streep days and now see almost everything she’s in, from Mama Mia, The Devil Wears Prada, Prime and It’s Complicated, to Julie & Julia, The Hours, Adaptation and Doubt. (Other older Streep films I've seen include the classic Kramer vs Kramer, The River Wild, The Bridges of Madison County, Death Becomes Her, Defending Your Life, Postcards from the Edge and Heartburn.)

My favorite bit of commentary that she provided in her 60 Minutes interview was her discussion about playing “strong women” in film:

“No one has ever asked an actor, ‘You’re playing a strong-minded man.’ . . . We assume that men are strong-minded or have opinions, but a strong-minded woman is a different animal.”

She also had intriguing things to say about some of the men with whom she’s shared leading roles including Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson.

Meanwhile, I’m antsy to see her take on the powerful Thatcher. I’m even thinking about taking my 13-year-old daughter to see it with me as she's fascinated with the notion of female political power. The movie sounds promising, particularly after reading The Hollywood Reporter's review of the film:

"Playing both the staunch human battleship and the diminished old woman sifting through her past, Meryl Streep is riveting in The Iron Lady. Her physical and verbal mimicry are uncanny, but her embodiment of an indomitable, uniquely British spirit perhaps even more so. The performance provides this engrossing if somewhat deferential biopic of Margaret Thatcher with a richly conflicted center that befits one of the most divisive figures in 20th century politics."

A reviewer from the U.K.'s The Guardian also heaped praised upon Streep -- though he didn't seem as enamoured of the film, writing:

"Yet Streep, it transpires, is the one great weapon of this often silly and suspect picture. Her performance is astonishing and all but flawless; a masterpiece of mimicry which re-imagines Thatcher in all her half-forgotten glory. Streep has the basilisk stare; the tilted, faintly predatory posture. Her delivery, too, is eerily good – a show of demure solicitude, invariably overtaken by steely, wild-eyed stridency."

Meryl Streep as Thatcher in 'Iron Lady' Trailer

Given my previous blog entry about the documentary Miss Representation, which examines how women are depicted in the media and the impact of seeing very few women in leadership positions on the gender composition of our elected leadership, this new "teaser" trailer for the film The Iron Lady, starring the fantastic Meryl Streep is right on the money.

In this short peek, Streep's Margaret Thatcher is being told that her hat, her pearls and her voice are all strikes against her if she were going to seriously run for office. Love her push-back.

Golden Globes: Live Blogging

Yes, I know that Grandpa Jack Bauer starts his eighth really bad day tonight, and that there's a new Desperate Housewives and the second installment of Big Love . . . but the event of the evening is, of course, the Golden Globe awards with the deliciously unpredictable Ricky Gervais as host. Thank goodness for DVRs so I can catch up on the missed eppies later after I shamelessly root for for Jon Hamm, Mad Men and Modern Family.

After I jump back and forth between E (the Exclamation! Point! Channel) and the TV Guide channel for the arrival show in the rain, I'll live blog here. Feel free to chime in on your biggest surprises/disappointments/pleasures while watching the TV/film extravaganza. (Plus Lauren Graham -- of Gilmore Girls -- is going to be presenting and looks lovely.)

Comments on Gervais' Opening:
Update: Mocked the NBC version of The Office and Steve Carell and NBC, a wee bit. Held up the DVD set of HIS version of The Office. Then skewered sanctimonious actors/actresses and complimented their plastic surgeons.

Update: "Let's get on with it before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno," Gervais' parting shot before handing off Nicole Kidman and her immobile face.

Awards:

Update: Best supporting actress in a motion picture award went to Mo'Nique from Precious. I really need to see this movie, not playing widely or as wildly as I wish it would. THIS is what acceptance speeches should be, not those irritating, phoned in laundry lists.

Update: For best actress in TV/comedy, I wanted it to be Edie Falco from Nurse Jackie. (No offense Tina.) But it went to Toni Collette from Showtime's United States of Tara, for her tough role as a suburban mom with multiple personalities. Good show, risk-taking.

Update: Best supporting actor in TV. I chanted, "Ben Linus . . . Ben Linus . . . Ben Linus" silently in my head. But the Golden Globes people didn't hear me, apparently. Went to John Lithgow for Dexter. I've never seen Dexter but really like Michael C. Hall. Have to admit I'm disappointed. Michael Emerson kicks it, totally owns one of TV's best villains.

Update: How tacky for the Golden Globes orchestra to start playing music while the guy from Up was still speaking. He hadn't gone on that long and was genuine, real. It's a pet peeve of mine when awards shows cut off non-celeb winners because the show's top brass are afraid that seeing too much of faces made of flesh and not plastic will kill the ratings.

Update: Hey Ricky, I already saw The Invention of Lying. Thought it was amusing, not belly-laugh inducing like Gervais can be when he knows he's not going to serve as a Golden Globe host again.

Update: Best actor TV/drama . . . goes to Jon Ha . . . whoa, wait, what?! Jon Hamm had an awesome year on Mad Men. Fantastic. Fantastic. This is unbelieveable. But damn, knowing that Michael C. Hall, for Dexter, is recovering from cancer treatment, that makes this so poignant, even though he didn't invoke it specifically.

Update: Best actress TV/drama, good for Julianna Margulies for The Good Wife. Good for her. Could they have seated Margulies any farther away from the stage? Didn't apparently think she'd win by seating her back there. Wonder what Silda Spitzer, Elizabeth Edwards and the other betrayed wives think of her show and her win . . .

Pondering 'Big Love' Premiere, 'It's Complicated' and Midseason TV

What do I do when I'm not blogging here at Notes from the Asylum? Write and write and write, read, watch TV/films, consume caffeine and, on occasion, sleep. Here are some the recent pop culture musings I've recently composed:

Big Love Premiere: I was disappointed in the Big Love season four premiere because I felt as though it was consumed by dark, weird humor and not a sufficient number of meaningful moments. Likening it to Weekend at Bernie's gone awry, I wrote a guest column for the TV-centric web site CliqueClack TV complaining about how the Romansicle in the white hat which traversed the southwest in the back of various vans unfortunately dominated the night.

It's Complicated: After watching the delightful Meryl Streep in her light, enjoyable comedy It's Complicated (Alec Baldwin was fearless), I found myself asking in my Pop Culture column on Mommy Tracked whether it was just Baldwin's character or whether women who are in the midst of the heavy-lifting phase of childrearing are viewed as unsexy.

Midseason TV: Big Love isn't the only show that's kicking off a new season this winter. In another Mommy Tracked column I highlighted several TV programs which are premiering in the next several weeks. In addition to Big Love, I mentioned 24, Lost, Nurse Jackie, the United States of Tara, and the new NBC show starring Gilmore Girls Lauren Graham and Six Feet Under's Peter Krause, Parenthood.

What mid-season shows are you looking forward to watching? Any on-going shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, House, etc.) for which you’re eagerly anticipating new episodes?

Image credit: HBO.

Golden Globe Nominations: The Good, the Bad & the Odd

Meryl vs Meryl. Meryl Streep is legend for her superb, award winning dramatic acting chops. Now it appears as though she’s conquered the world of comedy as well. This morning’s announcement by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that she’s competing for a Golden Globe best actress in a comedy film award against herself, just makes it official: Meryl is the greatest actress of all time. This year she was nominated for her portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and for her dramatization of a divorced mom who has an affair with her ex (Alec Baldwin) in the yet-to-be-released It’s Complicated.

Love for the Families. HBO's Big Love got three nominations for its solid third season in the categories of best TV drama, best TV actor in a drama for Bill Paxton and best supporting TV actress for Chloe Sevigny. ABC's Modern Family – which just aired one of the funnniest Christmas episodes I’ve seen – got a nod with a best comedy show nomination. I hope it kicks some comedy behind at the Golden Globes.

Enough with the Boring, Spoiled Boys Already. Why is Entourage even in the best comedy series running this year? Why not Parks & Recreation instead? Entourage was wildly uneven and I found myself getting seriously bored on many occasions and feeling as though the adolescent boy/never grew up/has no responsibilities shtick was getting tiresome.

In Dire Need of Some Texas-Sized Love. Where was Friday Night Lights, trusty Coach Eric Taylor and Principal Tami Taylor in the mix here? This show gets no love, honestly, it’s like the Gilmore Girls of the awards set.

Baffling TV Comedy Actress Selections. Why on earth did Courteney Cox get nominated for the abomination that is Cougar Town? Certainly Amy Poehler from Parks & Recreation is loads funnier, in that wry, Bob Newhart kind of way in its much-improved second season. The Association could’ve also, instead, put Sofia Vergara from Modern Family into that slot, or even Patricia Heaton from The Middle.

And while I’m on the subject of comedy actresses, why is Edie Falco’s excellent Nurse Jackie depiction competing in the comedy category? I really like Showtime's Nurse Jackie but as a comedy? Dramedy maybe. Straight out comedy, no. Ditto for the United States of Tara, also from Showtime and whose lead actress, Toni Collette, is nominated in the comedy category.

HBO Crushes Other Networks. One stat that is likely horrifying the brass at the broadcast networks: HBO got 17 nominations, one less than the combined number of nominations of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. AMC – home of Mad Men which got three nominations for best drama, best actor (the exquisite Jon Hamm), best actress (January Jones) -- got as many nominations as did ABC.

Anything please/displease you about the slate of Golden Globe nominees (find the whole list here)?

Image credit: Adam Taylor/ABC.

'It's Complicated' . . . a Grown-Up Love Story

While everyone (including yours truly) has been musing at length about the box office smash of a tragic love story between a vampire, a werewolf and a teenaged human gal, movie theaters have been playing a trailer for a distinctly mature love affair between a divorced couple who have adult children but suddenly find themselves attracted to one another again after all these years.

The trailer for the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin/Steve Martin comedy It's Complicated (open Christmas Day) looks so good, I can only hope (and cross my fingers) that the film is half as decent as the ad. Trailers can be utterly deceiving. (*cough* Revolutionary Road *cough*)

Three Movie Trailers That Tempt Me

I was in the theater today to see Sam Mendes' Away We Go (I'll post link to my column in this blog once it's published) and saw trailers for two movies that made me say, "I MUST see that." Unless of course the critics uniformly pan the films, in which case I'll be terribly let down but may go ahead and see them anyway.

The first was for the Meryl Streep and Amy Adams movie Julie & Julia which seems similar in concept to The Hours in that it follows the story of two women's lives simultaneously, though the women are living in different time periods and the older woman's book proves as a guide to the younger woman. In the case of this film, we follow Julia Child's humble start in cooking and a cubicle-dweller's quest-- chronicled in a blog -- to follow Child's recipes for a year. My hopes are high that I'll leave the theater feeling inspired. Premieres August 7.



Then I saw the trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife starring Rachel McAdams. I adored this book (and MUST re-read it again before seeing the film) and am really curious how it'll compare to the movie. Total date movie. I've already warned The Spouse that he'll owe me a movie night and I'll be sure to bring plenty of tissues. Premieres August 14.



Then there was this trailer that I spotted on the internet for an upcoming Ricky Gervais comedy -- partly filmed here in Massachusetts -- that used to be called, This Side of the Truth, but has apparently been re-named The Invention of Lying, which takes place in a world where everyone has to tell the truth, but Gervais' character is the only one who has discovered that he can lie and get what he wants. Gervais appears to be tamping down expectations for this movie -- also stars Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey and Rob Lowe -- writing in his blog:

"Dear critics (everyone), when judging the film, please remember that it is a high concept, PG-13 romantic comedy. It's not [Schindler's] List or The Godfather. If you compare it to serious works of genius it will not fair that well."



I think the Gervais film could be a nice bookend to the Time Traveler's film, however it doesn't come out until late September, but, on the plus side for The Spouse, it doesn't appear as though I'll have to bring a box of tissues with me to see it.

Failing Miserably with My Oscar Picks

Watched the 47-hour Oscar telecast last night. Why is it when it seems as though the show's producers are sincerely making attempts to trim the program's time, it seems even longer?

The good: Kate Winslet winning her first Oscar, Winslet's father loudly whistling so she could locate him in the crowd, Tina Fey & Steve Martin cracking up the place, Ben Stiller doing a spot-on Joaquin Phoenix and those cute-as-a-button Slumdog Millionaire kids who were collecting stars' autographs.

The so-so: Enough with the camera shots of Bragelina (particularly when Jennifer Aniston was on stage, steps away from them . . . just tacky), the too-long dance number (even though the HSM duo was very earnest) and, while I loved the individual speeches to the actor/actress nominees -- it was like giving each actor, most of whom would go home without a statue, a thoughtful, touching, individualized gift -- it tacked on too much time. The Academy Awards ended after midnight. My DVR stopped recording just when they were making the mini-speeches about the Best Actress nominees, so I was lucky to be able to switch over to live TV so as not to miss too much.

As for my own personal Oscar picks? Per usual, I stunk at predicting the winners, while my husband -- a casual pop culture observer who I force-march through countless films, particularly of the indie ilk -- thoroughly trounced me. I'd selected the top nine categories and out of those, I successfully identified four winners. The husband? He got seven of the winners.

Among those I accurately predicted: Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire; Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (though you'd have to have been a moron to bet against a Ledger win); Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Best Animated Feature, WALL-E.

I know what you're thinking . . . how could such a self-professed Winslet fan have bet against her to win for The Reader? Well, I thought that perhaps the Academy voters didn't want to go with the "sure thing." Plus Winslet's on the cover of this week's Time Magazine (printed BEFORE the Oscars were aired) under the headline, "Best Actress." I thought it seemed TOO predictable. I decided to be wild and pick Meryl Streep for Best Actress for Doubt. My bad.

I also thought that while Sean Penn collected raves for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, that voters would go for the feel-good comeback story that is Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Wrong-o. As for picking the WALL-E Original Screenplay and The Reader Adapted Screenplay, incorrect on both counts.

Oh well. So I'm not very good at prognosticating when it comes to contests like this, which is why I always fare so poorly with my brackets during the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I tend to overthink all my choices, then allow my own personal biases to seep in. Bet you want me in your basketball pool, don't ya?

Image credit: Time Magazine.

My Awards-Bait Movie Wish List: Films I Want to See Right Now

Around this time of year, I start getting movie lust. As all the awards' bait is released, I begin making lists of films I want to see, knowing that, I likely won't get the chance to see most of them.

Why? Because I don't get to go out as frequently as I'd like to with The Spouse as finding babysitting for three kids is oftentimes tough, particularly in the holiday season, plus it's expensive.

I wind up making lists in my head after the Golden Globe and Oscar award nominations are released and get all psyched about seeing the movies, but by the time they're finally released on DVD months later when it's springtime and I'm in the middle of my kids' crazy spring sports schedules, they feel dated and my excitement has waned.

However while working on a column about Golden Globe nominations last week, I decided that this year will be different. Before the Oscar awards ceremony, I'm hoping to see:



-- Revolutionary Road with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as a disillusioned couple in the 'burbs in the 1950s (seeming very Mad Men-ish if you go by the trailer).
-- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in a fantastical tail involving a man aging backwards.
-- The Reader with Winslet starring as a former Nazi guard who had an affair with a much younger man.
-- Nothing but the Truth with Kate Beckinsale who plays a journalist who's jailed for protecting her sources.
-- Doubt with Meryl Streep coping with a scandal in a Catholic school where her character's a nun and headmistress.
-- Frost/Nixon with Frank Langella, about the famous Nixon TV interviews.

After reading about the films, I've also grown interested in reading the books from which they were adapted such as Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink many years ago after it became an Oprah book club selection. However those books are going to have to take their places behind some of the Mad Men-inspired books I've wanted to peruse, like Frank O'Hara's Meditations in an Emergency and The Best of Everything.

Any of the new movies coming out at the end of the year that you really want to see?