Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Divas and pin-ups and saints, oh my!

Jennifer Hudson has finally matched Judy's moment of magic in "A Star is Born"

I
'm still on vacation the rest of this week, thank the good Lord.

Today I get to recover from our New Year's festivities. I begin my day of recovery by ignoring George's admonitions to "stay off the couch." Yeah, right, Georgie boy.

This morning's first couch session includes a double feature picture show, beginning with "Mother Theresa" - a biography of this lovely pious woman. I was interested to learn more about her history, but once it got going I found myself not that interested in the rest of the film. Just one more reason I'm headed straight for Hell, I suppose.



Mother Theresa has just finished pontificating on the blessedness of being poor and wretched in Calcutta, and so we continue our Double Feature with a film biography of Bettie Page. I know naught of this woman as of right now, but in approximately 90 minutes I will know a lot more. Then, Bubs and I will become even better friends.



But as soon as I get off the couch (maybe tomorrow?) the first thing I am doing is taking myself to the good ole' movie the-a-ter for an encore showing of Dreamgirls, which George and I saw during the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

George was not enthused when I first suggested this movie. I believe his exact words were "why do we have to go see that? Doesn't that Beyoncé woman have 'bitch' written all over her?" But despite his initial reluctance, he ended up really enjoying himself. As did I.



The crown jewel moment of the film, if you have not heard by now, was Jennifer Hudson's show stopping performance of "And I Am Telling You." Even though we were not in a live the-a-ter, she brought the house all the way down. People cheered and applauded her, and rightfully so since it was by far the best female vocal performance in a film since Judy Garland sang "The Man that Got Away" back in 1954. She was AMAZING. I get chills just thinking about it.

And to think, that little girl just came out of nowhere. Double props to Mindy June for being her first champion on American Idol.

I have to go now, Gentle Readers. I may be developing a bedsore, so it's time to flip over.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

enjoy being a couch potatoe.

Moderator said...

This website is turning into a porno page. Or more of a porno page.

Coaster Punchman said...

Thanks Dino, I am. And now it's 5:35.

Yeah Grant, I guess that's one more way to look at Mama Gin.

Anonymous said...

I love Bette, she's my hero. I can't wait to see the biography of The Supremes and Barry Gordy!!

I saw a good movie this weekend-The Heart is Deceitful Above All Else. Mind bender, especially if it ever turns out to be true.

Coaster Punchman said...

This show Dreamgirls is not necessarily based on Diana Ross & the Supremes, although there are apparently many striking similarities.

I was impressed by this Bettie Page character. I looked her up on the web and apparently she is in hiding now.

Anonymous said...

Someone needs to tell Bettie, it's okay to come out of hiding, Mummy Theresa's gone to that great limo in the sky that used to cart her to all her medical appointments in the US.

Creepy said...

Mmmm, love me some Bettie.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen DG yet, but I just get chills even thinking of that song. Now I can't wait to hear her rock the house.

*singing poorly, but with much soul* ...And you, and you, and you, you're gonna love me!!

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your vacation CP. I have to say you're the only one on blogger that can pull off having a picture of Mother Teresa, bondage and dream girls in the same post. Kutos

Joe said...

Sounds like an excellent time all around CP. What did you think of the Notorious Bettie Page? And, if the Mother Teresa movie was boring, try reading the Chris Hitchens book "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory & Practice". It's a scathing polemic against Mother Teresa.

I'm supposed to see Dreamgirls soon, so thanks for the endorsement.

Anonymous said...

Dear CPW readers, that is not a picture of Mother Teresa, that is a self portrait of the CP after too many hours on the couch as he forgets to drink or eat or moisturize. Mama Gin sometimes enters the room bewildered to find him like this too.

Anonymous said...

But still, the headgear is pretty exotic. he gets points for that.

Coaster Punchman said...

I felt bad for Bettie during the film - she was obviously a very smart woman who was way ahead of her time in her manner of thinking. It was probably pretty smart of her to go into hiding Dale, but I do wish she would come out. She probably needs a hug.

Me too, Creepy. See above.

Poorly but with much soul, Mombi? You sound ready for American Idol!

I didn't even realize that, Molecular Turtle. Thanks for pointing out my odd mix of characters. Looks about like my family.

Bubs, the Bettie Page movie was good. As I told Dale & Creepy above, I was touched at how smart she was, and not pathetic at all except for having to live in an era that wasn't able to accept her as a normal person just doing something fun to make money. She had some sad beginnings to her life as well, so it was amazing how resilient she turned out to be. The movie made me respect her.

And yes, you should see Dreamgirls while it's still in the theaters. It's a "big screen" kind of show.

Very funny, George. But thanks for the props, Anon.

Joe said...

Anon was me, I don't know how I was randomly anonymized. Bettie Page is not "in hiding" any more--she was very reclusive for years, and had no idea how popular her images had become. Some writer found her in the late 90's, and at first she didn't want to be photographed because she wanted people to remember her the way she was. She is making money again from her earlier work, which is nice.

There's a fan club called the BSA: Bettie Scouts of America, and she's got an official site now, www.bettiepage.com. We can now enjoy guilt-free viewing of her images, knowing she's finally getting a piece of the action.

Katie Schwartz said...

what was it about mother t that didn't do it for you? could be the upcoming excitement about bettie GODDESS page. we love ha. she's an icon for broads like me and broads everywhere really.

oh honey, what hudson does with holiday's track sent chills down my spine. AH-MAY-ZING Squared!!!

still flipping?

Coaster Punchman said...

Bubs, I did actually see that website but didn't read enough of it to know that it was actually hers. Are there any current pics of her or news about what she's doing now? I'll take a closer look.

Katie, I too think Bettie is a goddess. Way ahead of her time, and so smart, if the movie is at all realistic. It was heartbreaking to see how society judged her while she knew she wasn't doing anything wrong. And yes, Jennifer gives me the chills. I'm think I'm seeing it again tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Mother Theresa and Bettie Page. Somehow my brain just can't take in those two photos next to each other. Must be some kind of madonna/whore confusion overload.

I'm gonna go look up that scathing polemic against Mother Theresa.

Anonymous said...

Here's an article/interview with Christopher Hitchens and his love for Mother Teri.

Coaster Punchman said...

My life is one big paradox, PFS.

Thanks for the link, Tanya.