Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mein Herr

There'll never be another Liza Minelli



Mein!

Happy 63rd birthday to the kooky wondrous enduring talented divinely decadent and inexplicable spawn of Judy G.

15 comments:

Aden's Family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
par3182 said...

that's me, darling. unusual places, unusual love affairs. i am a most strange and extraordinary person

Anonymous said...

amen.

Mattie Lucas said...

Just watched this again the other day. Love it!

Glendon said...

I saw her at Saturday Night Live! Her and Kristen Wiig were having a night on the town with their best friend a tomato. She's so adorable.

RobUK said...

I'd love a movie comeback. She's still got 'it'.

I think she'd make a great Norma Desmond. Hell, she IS Norma Desmond!

Anonymous said...

I have an interesting challenge to your readers...

Of all the great cinema actresses, who do you consider among the most heartbreaking on screen?

Of course, I ask this here because Judy Garland is the most heartbreaking presence I've ever seen on screen. And, although I adore her daughter, Liza never seemed so consistently vulnerable and lost like her mother did (although Liza could play that extremely well when she wanted to).

I might rank Gena Rowlands fairly high on my list too - most notably remembering her devastating work in Woman Under the Influence.

What are your suggestions?

NATHANIEL R said...

it's hard to get past Judy as you say. I mean her face is heartbreak. Modern actresses don't seem as vulnerable. But I suppose Marilyn Monroe also fits this bill.

and maybe Julianne Moore in the right light/scene?

Anonymous said...

Yes, I was thinking Julianne Moore would be a good contender too!

Not Marilyn so much for me - there was always something so self-inflicted about her. These other actresses seem so confused by their pain.

What a valid observation about modern actresses. What does that say about our society that even the women aren't vulnerable?

Paul Outlaw said...

Heartbreaking? Definitely Judy.

But also Audrey Hepburn, Mia Farrow and Sally Hawkins (see Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky).

And Montgomery Clift, even though not an actress, must be mentioned.

Anonymous said...

Audrey and Mia not so much for me - Audrey just seemed so lovely and smart all the time and Mia seemed wacked out in her fragility. But Sally Hawkins is a very interesting addition to the list. I do think that's why I found HAPPY GO LUCKY so entertaining. She was so positive and yet so vulnerable. Nice.

And oh Montgomery Clift - now that is a really interesting insight. He could be so wonderfully sensitive in an entirely appealing way - not simpy or weak like Leslie Howard could be. Oh yes, that Clift guy was a heartbreaker, no doubt about it!

NATHANIEL R said...

I might even say that there's something growing in Penelope Cruz that is going there too. You don't normally think of feisty take-charge divas as vulnerable but I think there's something very "rescue her!" moving in both of her best performances (Volver & Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

but maybe that's a character based thing only.

anyway 10 years ago I would have definitely named Claire Danes as an actress that screamed "heartbreaking" to me. When she was a teenager nobody could make me as sympathetic or wet-eyed as she (little women + romeo & juliet + mysocalled life = Nathaniel as puddle)

but i don't see that in her anymore which makes me sad for its loss.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Claire Danes wonderful in My So Called Life (I still have the show where she told Leto she wouldn't sleep with him on videotape!!)? Gosh she seemed so new (to life not new as a new actress) and different and fresh and talented. You know, off the top of my head, I can't think of that many roles over the past 10 years that would have given her the opportunity to sustain that vulnerability. You're right - what a shame.

RobUK said...

I'd suggest Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas. Manages to be powerful and deeply, movingly vulnerable in the very same role. "You're not going to any motel. You're staying here." Killer-good.

Anonymous said...

heartbreaking.....check out liza in the telephone scene in "the sterile cuckoo"....