Friday Flashback: Rec. #125: My Family and Other Animals

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Don't you want to be mildly obsessed with an eccentric, vaguely bohemian British family as they're on the brink of WWII? Of course you do. The movie My Family and Other Animals is as good a place to start as any. It's based on the memoir by naturalist Gerald Durrell about his family's five years living on the Greek island of Corfu, where he develops his passion for wildlife. His siblings, however, are more concerned with their own interests --- writing, shooting, and heartbreaking, respectively.

Comparable to: Like getting sucked into all those Mitford stories, but without the dreadful connections to Nazi sympathizers. And with the sense of humor and adventurous spirit of Patrick Dennis's Auntie Mame.

Representative quote: "They're just like us, aren't they --- families. I want to know how they all work. Imagine if they weren't there?"

You might not like it if: You get all fluttery at the sight of Matthew Goode (who plays the eldest sibling, Lawrence) looking all handsome, and you feel this is unseemly.

How to get it: As I said, this is a good entryway into the Durrell family. There was also a television series made from Gerald's book in the 1980s. And the book itself, plus its sequels: Birds, Beasts, and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods. And once you start looking into Gerald's siblings (Lawrence, Leslie, Margo), you pretty quickly run into The Alexandria Quartet, Henry Miller and Anais Nin, suicides, expatriation, South Africa, and zoos.

[Originally posted 5/14/11.]

Also: Auntie Mame was Rec. #70.

Rec. #294: Further Tales of the City

What: As the title implies, this third novel takes us even further into the lives of the residents of 28 Barbary Lane, San Francisco. This time, though, author Armistead Maupin wanders farther afield, with the characters making forays out of Guyana with gay Cuban refugees, into Golden Gate Park to find Truth, on the run to Alaska, and over to the National Gay Rodeo just for kicks.

There are also charismatic psychopaths, society columnists, and a briefly imprisoned newscaster called Bambi. Not to mention a big, big Jonestown "what if."

Opening lines: "There were outlanders, of course, who continued to insist that San Francisco was a city without seasons, but Mrs. Madrigal paid no heed to them."

How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Start with Tales of the City (Rec. #67) and More Tales of the City (Rec. #211). And enjoy the Laura-Linney-starring miniseries adaptation along the way (Personal Wreck #2).

Rec. #293 (abbrev.): Noises Off

What: Michael Frayn stage play turned Peter Bogdanovich movie, classic slamming-doors-farce about a classic-slamming-doors farce, Christopher Reeve, director, final rehearsals, Michael Caine, doors, opening night, affairs, Carol Burnett, fading star, missed cues, backstage, on tour, Marilu Henner, contact lenses, John Ritter, sardines, oh god the sardines

Representative quote:

"I'm starting to know what God felt like when he sat out there in the darkness, creating the world."

"And what did he feel like, Lloyd my dear?"

"Very pleased he'd taken his Valium."

How to get it: Buy it or borrow it.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #131: Franny and Zooey

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: You can keep your ninth grade required Salinger reading. I'll take the Glass family stories over The Catcher in the Rye any day, and the short story/novella combo of Franny and Zooey is the best. The two youngest Glass children, both in their twenties, are going through mild psychological crises that they are taking very seriously. Like Holden Caulfield, the siblings see a phony everywhere they look. Franny and Zooey are more articulate about it, though.

Comparable to: Wes Anderson pretty explicitly modeled the Tenenbaums on the Glass family, so it might be a nice touch to listen to the The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack as you read this book.

Representative quote: "Franny was among the first of the girls to get off the train, from a car at the far, northern end of the platform. Lane spotted her immediately, and despite whatever it was he was trying to do with his face, his arm that shot up into the air was the whole truth."

You might not like it if: Reading Salinger again feels like high school to you.

How to get it: With Salinger's cult status, and such a finite amount of his writing available, you shouldn't have trouble finding this book. If you've read his other Glass family stories (particularly "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"), you'll have a fuller picture of the background here, but it's not necessary.



[Originally posted 5/22/11.]

Rec. #292: Gavin & Stacey

What: British television series Gavin & Stacey is far, far cleverer and funnier than it has any right to be. Consider the possible strikes against it: the premise is eye-rolling (boy from Essex and girl from Wales try to make semi-long-distance relationship work); the writers cast themselves in sidekick roles and often give themselves the best lines; and many of the subplots assume that you have an attitude of amused, tolerant condescension toward Wales.

But! The show has an amazing cast and it manages to thread some deadpan raunch through bits that could tip too far sweet. Plus, there's Nessa. Add Nessa to every show ever, please.

Representative quote: "I know the dress is white, right, but who can honestly say, hand on heart, that they're a virgin these days?"

Representative dialogue:
"This reminds me of a very similar situation I was in with my second husband, Clive. I was faced with a dilemma, whether to lie, or not to lie, and I chose to tell the truth."
"And what happened?"
"He died. Firing squad. Terrible way to go, Stace, and I wouldn't like to see it happen to you."

Representative Nessa quote: "Since when have a great rack and an open mind not been a man's type?"

How to get it: Stream it on Netflix or Amazon, preferably before the U.S version debuts this fall. They're probably going to ruin it.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Actors from Gavin & Stacey can also be seen in Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Rec. #112) and The History Boys (Rec. #115).

Rec. #291: War for the Oaks

What: Back in 1987, Emma Bull basically invented the urban fantasy subgenre with War for the Oaks. Because that's what happens when you put together Minneapolis, a phouka, rock concerts, faerie wars, and a guy named Hedge. Who's a bassist. Obviously.

Opening lines: "The University Bar was not, in the grand scheme of the city, close to the university. Nor was its clientele collegiate."

You might not like it if: You hate Minneapolis, are over phoukas, loathe rock concerts, and are scared of faeries.

How to get it: War for the Oaks is in print and also Kindle-able.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Emma Bull also wrote Territory (Rec. #10). It is not urban.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #132: Wit

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Mike Nichols directed Emma Thompson in this adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Not a bad pedigree, and the film deserves every superlative people throw at it. Wit follows English professor Vivian Bearing as she struggles with ovarian cancer while clinging tenaciously to her specialty, the metaphysical poetry of John Donne. Given the subject matter, Wit really does live up to its name. Don't get me wrong, though --- you may laugh at times, but this is not a comedy. It is gut-wrenching.

Comparable to: Angels in America is another gut-wrenching HBO adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. It also features Emma Thompson.

Representative quote: "My next line is supposed to be something like this: 'It is such a relief to get back to my room after those infernal tests.' This is hardly true. It would be a relief to be a cheerleader on her way to Daytona Beach for spring break. To get back to my room after those infernal tests is just the next thing that happens."

You might not like it if: You are not currently in the mood to have your guts wrenched.

How to get it: Rent it, buy it, borrow it. I also highly recommend reading the play by Margaret Edson.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Other successful play adaptations I've already recommended are Rope (Rec. #5), Wait Until Dark (Rec. #26), Born Yesterday (Rec. #94), and The History Boys (Rec. #115).




[Originally posted 5/23/11.]

Rec. #290: Reckless

What: Owen Springer is a good guy --- he's a surgeon who's moved back home to take care of his sick father. But . . . he's also fallen in love with his boss's wife. And not a distant, pining sort of love, either, but a focused, results-driven sort. Well, nobody's perfect.

The miniseries was created and written by Paul Abbott, and he uses a couple of his (and our) favorite actors here, Robson Green (also in Abbott's Touching Evil) and Michael Kitchen (also in Abbott's Alibi, although probably best known for Foyle's War). They're joined by a sparkling Francesca Annis, whom you might recognize from various costume dramas.

Comparable to: It's Paul Abbott all over, which is a wonderful thing. Plus, there's a scene that involves a very disgruntled Michael Kitchen on a dog sled, which is an even more wonderful thing.

Representative quote: "You come to this age and you think everything's clear. And suddenly it's not. Suddenly it's just not."

How to get it: The vague title does not make things easy, so be sure to look for the Reckless that's a miniseries from 1997.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Paul Abbott, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. There's Shameless (Rec. #14) and State of Play (Rec. #104) and the way you write for dishy British male actors (List #16) and how you make me swear at the screen (List #26), for starters.

After you've had a good look at Robson Green here, you can picture him as Dr. Tony Hill in Val McDermid's Hill/Jordan books, which begin with The Mermaids Singing (Rec. #210). Also, you can watch Francesca Annis play someone much less sympathetic in Wives and Daughters (List #13).


P.S. No, I don't know why he's holding her head in that absurd way on the DVD cover.

Rec. #289: Psmith, Journalist

What: The perennially unruffled Rupert Psmith (the "P" is silent) decides to take over a syrupy hearth-side magazine and shift its focus to exposing slumlords and supporting underdog boxers. (As you do.) Psmith is enjoying himself so thoroughly that becoming the target of some New York mobsters barely fazes him.

Comparable to: This novel has the typical P.G. Wodehouse flavor, but don't assume Rupert Psmith is another Bertie Wooster. Psmiths probably eat Woosters for dinner, after talking them to death first.

Opening lines: "The conditions of life in New York are so different from those of London that a story of this kind calls for a little explanation. Not all of them eke out a precarious livelihood by murdering one another, but there is a definite section of the population which murders --- not casually, on the spur of the moment, but on definitely commercial lines at so many dollars per murder."

Representative quote: "Meanwhile, however, kindly knock that chauffeur down and sit on his head. He's a bad person."

You might not like it if: You keep waiting for Jeeves to make an appearance.

How to get it: Looooook at that pretty edition from Overlook Press (above).

Connection to previous Wreckage: Loooook at some of the other pretty Wodehouse editions from Overlook Press in Gift Idea. #7. Also see the "W" index for more Wodehouse wrecks.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #120: Family Plot

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Family Plot (1976) was Alfred Hitchcock's last film. Strictly speaking, it's not, you know, good. (Or at least, not the kind of good you expect from Hitchcock.) But, when approached with the right mindset, it is thoroughly enjoyable. 

The director pits two pairs of baddies against each other. The "good" bad guys are petty grifters, running small cons as a fake medium and a fake lawyer. The "bad" bad guys run their game on a much bigger scale: jewel theft, kidnapping, and murder. The search for a missing heir causes the somewhat hapless con artists to stumble into the path of the more dangerous pair.

Comparable to: Hitchcock said he wanted this film to feel like a mystery thriller as directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

Representative quote: 

"Smells fishy to me." 

"Well, even fish smells good when you're starving to death."

You might not like it if: You want to keep your Hitchcock pure.

How to get it: You can watch it instantly on Netflix and Amazon.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Family Plot is a nice mix of screwball and suspense, much like Charade (Rec. #97). Other, less screwy, Hitchcock films include Rope (Rec. #5) and Shadow of a Doubt (Rec. #78).

[Originally posted 5/5/11.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #117: A Few Corrections

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: The novel A Few Corrections has a pretty neat premise. The book opens with the obituary of Wesley Sultan, a Michigan salesman. Each subsequent chapter begins with the obituary edited to correct statements that the mysterious narrator has revealed to be untrue, or at least incomplete. By the end of the novel, the short summary of Wesley Sultan's life is very marked up indeed.

Comparable to: Publishers Weekly compares Brad Leithauser's writing to that of John O'Hara, and The New Yorker says the book is like something by Theodore Dreiser. Take your pick.

Representative quote: "On this April Fools' Day the streets are animate and graceful and Wesley is seventeen. He's a dapper young man whose lean face and compact squared shoulders make him look taller than he is. You might judge him to be six feet tall --- the height which, throughout his adult life, he claimed to be. He is actually five ten and a half."

You might not like it if: You aren't drawn in by Leithauser's supporting characters, including Conrad, Wesley's brother; Adelle, his sister; and (my favorite) Sally, his ex-wife.

How to get it: It's in print and also Kindle-able.

[Originally posted 5/2/11.]

Rec. #288: Holiday

What: Cary Grant is a young man with a bit of money, about to marry a young woman with a lot of money. Katharine Hepburn is not that woman. And Cary Grant isn't so sure about the money in the first place, anyway.

Comparable to: Grant and Hepburn starred in three other films together: Sylvia Scarlett, Bringing Up Baby, and The Philadelphia Story, and Holiday has something in common with each of them.

It's got the Serious Talking About Self-Examination and Life Plans from The Philadelphia Story; the mixed tone of Sylvia Scarlett (is it a romantic comedy? is it a social commentary? it's both); and the daffy screwball edge of Bringing Up Baby (so. much. tumbling).

Representative dialogue: 

"Did you have an accident, Ned?"

"Apparently. I don't seem to have been there when it happened."

You might not like it if: You meant to get The Holiday instead. But no house-trading, no Kate Winslet, no Jude Law here. Totally different movie.

How to get it: To avoid the above confusion, it's worth noting that this film is from 1938 (not 2006) and the title does not contain an initial article.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Holiday was directed by George Cukor, who also gave us Born Yesterday (Rec. #94). And, as if this cast weren't great enough already, Holiday also features the delightful Edward Everett Horton (List #20).