Sage advice from the Juddster.  I've recently become so reenamormed of Mr. Nelson via a clip I watched of him singing the praises of his home State 'O Maine; I am writing a part specifically for him.  And no, he will not be playing the dad from "Girl In the Basement" Part 2 or anything like that in this.  Seriously!  Why does he keep doing parts like that?  Even on Suddenly Susan he couldn't just be nice.  Had to add that "douchey" vibe.  Why Judd?  Why?  I fear it's the Method.  The Method has done more to misdirect actors than any other phenomenon.  Face it.  You're a cuddly, sweet, nice guy. And I daresay you are poised to be the new Judd Hirsch.  Talk about full circle!  
So, anyways, in our story, which is a Hallmark joint, our leading lady has to have several things in her story, not least of which is an "older" couple or father/mother figure from whom she seeks sage advice and cups of cozy hot cocoa and warm, sugar-dusted Christmas cookies.  Now, as Judd is really not quite at the "adult" Ed Asner stage of his career, he is certainly old enough to have sired a twenty-something daughter; so that is just what he'll be doing here.  But he'll also be serving triple-plus duty as town sheriff, Holiday-themed-Inn proprietor and local rabbi/prison chaplin.

Welcome aboard Judd!

INT. CAR -DAY
The CAMERA PANS around the cabin. We see the Great American Vastness whizzing by outside along the freeway. Honoria is working in the back seat.  Jurgin is in the front passenger seat, reading Judith Krantz's Scruples.  His eyebrows shoot up and he turns a page.
JURGIN
This is filthy!
HONORIA
Is it?
JURGIN
Yes!  I've never seen the "C" word thrown about with such abandon before.
HONORIA
"Classy"?
JURGIN
Classy this ain't!  Listen to this: "Billy, spotting him with Valentine at the same instant, found that she still thought with her--" (He is interrupted by the car).
D.A.B
I hope that you're enjoying our bedtime journey.  We've just crossed the Vermont state line.  And here's a little magic, going out to Honoria...it's...Chris Rea...with..."Driving Home for Christmas..."
The SONG starts.
JURGIN
It's March, David-Alan.
D.A.B.
Can I take another request?
HONORIA
No, this is fine.  But could you turn it down a little?
The MUSIC lowers.
HONORIA
It's weird how fast you get used to there being no driver.
JURGIN
Speak for yourself!  I've had one eye glued to that speedometer since we got in!
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. CAR -DAY
Jurgin's book falls from his hand as he SNORTS in his sleep.  Honoria, curled up on the back seat, is SNORING too.
The novel has fallen open, face up on the driver's side seat.
D.A.B.
Initiating interface.
A RED ELECTRONIC EYE on the dashboard lights up and a laser scanner sweeps over the upturned pages of the book.
D.A.B.
Now this is some bedtime reading...
CLOSE-UP on the engine light as the temperature gauge starts into the red.  PAN to the speedometet as it begins to creep past 65...70...75...80...
The passengers continue to sleep.
CUT TO:
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD  -DAY
We see a police cruiser marked "Winooski Falls."  It is parked halfway behind a raod sign that reads: "Welcome to Winooski Falls, Home of The World Famous Maple Balls!"
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE CAR -DAY
Sitting behind the wheel, reading the Winooski Weekly newspaper is JUDD NELSON.  Judd will be playing ASHER "ASH" KRUMHOLTZ, 60's.  Ash is a laid back type of guy, who wears many hats.  CHIEF OF POLICE, MAYOR OF WINOOSKI FALLS, INN PROPRIETOR.  He looks exactly like JUDD NELSON, because Mr. Nelson will be playing him.  He glances in his rearview mirror where he sees the red Tesos tearing down the road.  It passes him at some 80 miles an hours, steam coming from the hood and trailing behind it.  Ash hits his SIREN and lights.
ASH
Lucy, you've got some 'splainin' to do...
The cruiser pulls out into the road and the chase is on!

I find my "readership" spikes when I write about celebrities.  Or people who are mean and do rotten things.  And also, sexy, scantily clad people of any gender.  So, I thought: "How about an ongoing series of blogs about scantily clad, sexy celebrities doing mean things?"  Works for me!  And perhaps we can bring in C.P. Wiffington, etiquettest extrodinaire for color commentary?  Sure.  I've got to do some more drawings of her, but she will appear at some point.  

DID YOU HEAR WHAT SYDNEY SWEENEY DID DOWN UNDER???
It seems that buxom beauty, Sydney Sweeney, when she was down under filming her hit rom-com Anyone But You, had a craving for a strawberry shake from Burger King.  Well, they don't have Burger King down under, so Ms. Sweeney had to settle for the down under duplicate, Hungry Jacks.  Sources tell me Ms. Sweeney, clad only in a thong as the Hungry Jacks was near a notorious topless Sydney area beach, CUT THE LINE and demanded her berrylicious frozen treat!

Asked to go to the end of the queue, she proclaimed: "Don't you know who I am, you fair dinkum boofhead?"  When informed that it was not known who she was, she asked to speak to the manager whilst proclaiming: "Give me a super-sized strawberry shake, on the house, right bloody now!"  When informed the shake machine was in the shop for repairs and that no worries, they'd procure her a Frozen Fanta of her choice if she'd just "put a sock in it" already, she stormed out and was on to Macca's down the block, bloke.

Well, when Sweeney hit the Golden Arches, all hell broke loose!

Ms. Sweeney just before her Bondi Beach rampage.  Photo by Jackie Slater of Down Under Starry Snaps.

At the Down Under Mickey D's down the block, a fuming though still composed Ms. Sweeney stormed in and demanded to speak to the manager.  Since the manager was behind the register, she really needn't of asked; but once this was figured out, again, the American actress asked for not only TWO Super Sized Strawberry Shakes; but that they pay HER for them!  The Manager explained that the shake machine was only serving vanilla and something called "Gaytime Truffle."  On the verge, Ms. Sweeney was offered a classic chocolate dip, which she accepted and then proceeded to hurl at the employee as she exclaimed: "I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT CONE HAS BEEN!"  Before he knew what had hit him, Ms. Sweeney was out the door and was next seen marauding through a Bondi Beach sandcastle festivle, kicking sand in people's faces and hurling herself at sand sculptures, including a Death Star as she proclaimed: "I'm the new old Princess Leia.  I'M THE NEW OLD BRALESS PRINCESS LEIA!!!"

Maybe even more from the girls, who are going to be doing a lot of comparison eyeballing.  If you're going to go sheer, you just have to accept the fact that you're going to be saying, "my eyes are up here" all evening; or just accept the fact that your nips are down there; and hopefully, not too far down there.  You cannot feel objectified.  Human nature is such that all eyes are simply going to be glued to your gazongas until you leave the club or throw a wrap over your shoulders.  They do, in fact, make sheer garments for men and I would defy anyone to try and keep their eyes off of mesh covered man-nips.  It seems the moment they get covered is the moment they get noticed.

So how can a lady slip her nips for a fun flash and then put them back up with little fuss and muss?  Well, if it were the 70's it would be a lot easier; but it's not.  However, I would argue that the silky top gone braless underneath is a rather timeless look.  This look had a renaissance during the disco era.  It worked best for ladies with Goldilocks chests (not too little, not too much; just right).  Think Shelley Hack and her ilk.

So the idea is that you wear a silky/satiny/sexy haltery/camisole type top or perhaps a slip dress down to your local dance emporium.  Preferably with spaghetti straps or no straps.  Then you dance like nobody's watching; except you want everyone to watch; so, actually, you're going to dance like everybody's watching while pretending nobody's watching (don't over think it).  Do a shoulder shimmy at a strategic point in the song and feign ignorance as your strap dips and your nip slips.  Or if you're really brave, your tube top rides completely down and you're as tits to the wind as as Le Lady Liberte!   And of course, dance like this until you feel the moment is complete. Or before you are asked to leave.

And if you're at a poolside soiree or a beach club cabana shin-dig, simply wear a Rudi Gernreich monokini and all the guess work is gone.  And your titties are gone with the wind!

And that's the titty slip done right!
And remember ladies; be sure to get screened for breast cancer regularly!

Ciao bellas!
MWAH
C.P.


CFR   8/4/24

Remember this scene from St. Elmo's Fire (1985)?  You remember the one--the one where Demi Moore's character "Jules" attempts to remove herself from this mortal coil via chilblains?

She's totally, like, bummed out, because, amongst other things, her "stepmonster" refuses to die, she's lost her job and her apartment has been stripped bare of all of its furnishings; apparently in a single afternoon.  I mean this might drive anyone to try and render themselves a human Popsicle; but what's this?  Those are her friends, Alec and Leslie (Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy) at the window.  They're on the fire escape.  They're also on the second floor.  And what's this?  The window has impenetrable steel bars, which, as you can see, block any means of entrance or egress.  Good thing Jules didn't try and immolate herself.
And that's just one of the many problems which made themselves manifest during my rewatch of St. Elmo's Fire, some 39--wait, what?  WHAT THE FUCK?  St. Fucking Elmo's Fucking Fire was 40 years ago?!!?  No!  No, this can't be!!!  (Puts face in pillow and SCREAMS).

Yes, I finished my week long rewatch of the movie as I was blogging about 80's "Brat Pack" movies.  And now, I want to write a review of the movie as I launch a new feature here at Christopherfreidy.com; my "Retro Reviews"; wherein--oh, I really feel the title speaks for itself.  So, I'll post little chuncks of the movie and then review at as we go along.  Here's the opening credit sequence, which I think really sets the mood for what's to follow.  Let's take a look!

Now, I could write this review as though it were 1985 and I'd just seen the movie for the first time; and that would be a lot of fun.  But I also want this to be an analysis.  An "analysis," Chris?  You might ask.  "What is there to analyze about this movie?  It's about as deep as a coffee table book.  Or maybe a coffee table. No, make that a cup of coffee.  Or how about a coffee bean?"  And I might say, "Well, you're right; but sometimes if you peer deeper into something shallow, you might see what it's really about."  We shall see.  Or not.

"...I can smell something new-a-brewin'; wafting from that coffee pot...gonna be in constant motion...from St. Elmo's java!"

Okay, first of all, the movie's theme song.  It's not even about college grads.  It's about a man from Canada who was paralyzed and in a wheelchair and--well, let's let John Parr, the song's singer/writer explain:

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.  The music in the opening credits is by the film's composer, David Foster.  Another Canadian. ???  First, the movie title in an elegant font, an even more svelte version of AVANT GARDE?  In red on a black background.  Red on black is a super bold choice.  I mean, graphically, it looks great; but one can't help but think of things hellacious.  This for example:

Another film famously set in Georgetown.  Is there a subliminal connection?  Well, the more I think about, the more I have to say, yes.  Now as to whether this was intentional on the part of the filmmakers, that's up for them to say.  For example the first photo I posted from the movie; Demi Moore is sitting on the floor of the bedroom, in the cold, with the curtains blowing.  The main setting of The Exorcist is a bedroom, which is freezing cold, with a curtained window; it's curtains shown several times in the film, billowing in the wind.  In fact, this motif was so ingrained with The Exorcist, that the window with the billowing curtains was used as the main marketing image, before the iconic image of the priest arriving at the house.

This was so the intended iconography of the movie that in its initial release at the Mann National in Westwood, a huge three dimensional window, complete with billowing curtains and window shades with ring pulls was incorporated into the massive signage for the movie on the side of the theater.  I discovered this in a short on Youtube about audience reactions to the movie.  Here's a frame grab, which gives you an idea of it:

And now, of course, I'm seeing all kinds of connections.  If you'll recall, in the original "Brat Pack" article from New York magazine, Emilio Estevez was described as running around Westwood trying to get into a movie theater for free.  He was of course in St. Elmo's Fire.  Now yes, this is coincidence; but still, I think, nonetheless, fascinating. 
So get a bowl of popcorn.  Or a pack of smokes.  Or some Devilish Disco Dust. Or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (more on that later) and settle into your boyfriend's pajamas, all you'll needs this pair of wheels, 'cuz were gonna climb the highest mountain and cross the wildest sea in our quest for St. Elmo's Fire!
CREDIT SEQUENCE
The opening credits of St. Elmo's Fire ("SEF" from here on) are deep, true red on black.  After the name comes up, the black suffuses to an overall red before we dissolve to a shot of a collegiate building with a short staircase where a group of people, clearly in cap and gown descend and start heading towards the camera.  There are only four steps but they aren't wide enough for the group of seven people to descend without spilling onto the grass.  We ascertain the sexes which isn't easy right off the bat, as they are all wearing the same long black robes.  But it appears to be, from right to left: boy, girl, boy, boy, girl, girl, boy.  Our eyes go to the tallest boy in the middle, perhaps because of his bright green shirt and red tie (the classic Christmas color combination).  Sharp eyes might notice this is Rob Lowe; and that when they come down the embankment, arms interlinked; Lowe lifts his feet so that the others have to carry him; alsmost as though he's being transported on a human litter.  The two men in the middle, Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson are smoking.  The robes are unzipped.  Everyone has the air of something being finished, rather than starting; thus the post event smoking.  So, then...where are all the other graduates?  Where are these newly minted grads of this college that would also be wandering around campus after the ceremony?  Where are the families of these seven individuals.  They seem to be alone.  Utterly alone.  As though the school were closed and deserted.  It's rather unsettling.

Now let's look at the very brief, original opening titles of The Exorcist and compare them.

With The Exorcist (Ex from here on), the titles come up; deep red on black.  We see the director's name and the writer's name before the film's name.  We hear screechy strings and then some sort of middle Eastern chanting.  Then, the name fades and the screen is suffused with the red-orange of the blazing sun over the Iraqi desert.  It's nearly the identical effect in the SEF credits. The "O" in "St. Elmo" echoing the actual sun in the Ex credits. The SEF credits also feature strings; certainly more pleasant to the ear.  And extremely bell like notes from a piano.  Later in Ex, we will hear the famous Tubular Bells theme by Mike Oldfield which has become as married to that film as "Man In Motion" has to SEF.

So where is this group of seven headed?  Into the future?  Off to the pub?  Back to their dorm rooms?  Or have they wandered into a metaphysically empty space that only the seven of them inhabit.  Have they just descended down those stairs into some kind of purgatory?  And can we now not escape the very implications--very religious implications--of saints and fire?  What's St. Elmo's story?  I think we need to find out!

He's Saint Erasmus.  Apparently "St. Elmo" is something of a nick-name.  What's he holding?  I'm intrigued!
The device he's holding in his right hand--and they sure left this tidbit out of the movie--is a windlass, which is a device used for raising the riggings on ships and such; a crank.  And also, apparently, in a pinch; to remove someone's intestines, which is what we see hanging on the bottom of the apparatus.  His own intestines.  And apparently he survived this event.  The "fire" is almost an afterthought.  Let's check in as Elmo is disemboweled...

And that's the before picture.  There are lots more during!  Let's get St. Elmo to the emergency room, STAT!  Which brings us to the opening scene of the movie; set in a hospital emergency room, natch.  In the opening credits sequence, as the septet approach the camera they get nearly to the lens as Judd Nelson raises his cigarette to his lips.  As this happens, there is a bright white flareout of light as we hear the sound of squealing brakes and a beating heart on the soundtrack (a car accident?).  Four figures, emerge from this light and we watch them striding purposefully down a hospital corridor.  We recognize them as four of the people from the opening.  Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson), Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy), Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy) and Kirby Keger (Emilio Estevez).  As they approach the nurses station, they are joined by Jules (Demi Moore) and her unnamed, non-speaking extra date.  She and her escort are both in full formal wear, the man in a tuxedo.  Both are stunningly attractive.  They join the others and we ascertain that two of their friends were in a drunk driving accident.  As quickly as we notice that McCarthy is smoking with zero compunction in what is clearly a non-smoking area--we notice something else: A towering, lumbering late middle-aged man, overweight, seen from behind.  His rear end is saggy and misshapen and he wanders into the frame behind the group.  Only McCarthy seems to notice him.  And our only response here can be WHY?  What is happening?  Why is this man in the shot?  Why is he naked?  And more importantly; what is the purpose of his being there; in the context of this story and this piece of visual media?  This figure seems like he wandered in from a Bosch painting.

As the scene progresses, Jules says: "They're dead, aren't they?"  Which "they" aren't; but seems a very odd thing to say at this juncture.  This is when Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) wanders out with a Band-Aid on her forehead and assures everyone she and "Billy" are okay.  We'll meet him in a second.  Wendy tells them that Billy was driving her car (with her in it) and he was drunk, got in an accident and totaled the car.  His arrest for drunk driving is imminent.  Both Alec and Kirby attempt to talk Billy's way out of an arrest via veiled offers of bribery to the policeman.  Alec mentions he works for a senator and Kirby is an aspiring lawyer; still in school as he waits tables.  Wendy, noticing the tuxedoed fellow standing off to the side, still silent, asks Jules if he's her date.  Jules laughs as she snidely points out the naked man who's wandered back into the scene and says: "No, him!"  Her girlfriends give wan smiles as if to say: "Oh, that Jules!" And Winningham laughs. But really, the moment backfires, surely.  We can't be being asked to find this humorous, can we? From either the characters or the filmmakers?  The three women's disdain for this poor soul renders them unlikeable from the first moments we meet them.  And the men fare no better.  Smoking near oxygen?  Attempted bribery?  Snickering at other's misfortune?  You bet.  And then the camera follows them out the front door to the ambulance.  The lighting turns red, but we can't quite see the source.  The emergency sign?  The ambulance lights?  By the time the camera tracks to the ambulance, we see Rob Lowe sitting there, blithely playing a saxophone.

So, this is the final of the seven, revealed to us in a, well, Big Reveal.  He is the cause of this turmoil.  He is the one everyone is talking about, drawn to and moving towards.  He's committed a crime (not least of which is his fake sax playing).  Yes, he's a musician.  And who else was a musician, charming, criminal, manipulative, bathed in red light?  Hmmmmmm...
​Could it be...

SIDENOTE:
In trying to find specific images from St. Elmo's Fire to illustrate this blog, I came across another bloggers "deep dive" into SEF.  Usually, when you have an idea, someone else has already had it.  Usually.  A Mr. Matthew Duersten free-lance writer, on his blog STOMP BEAST goes into a multi-part breakdown of the movie, complete with footnotes and asides (a man after my own heart!).  He is quite informative and scathing and I am withholding reading it because I don't want it to color my take; although from what I've read of his, we have nearly identical "takes."  He seems to be coming at the movie from a musical viewpoint.

Billy is carted off in a cruiser and what do his faithful friends do?  Why, go off for a drink at St. Elmo's!  But one of them stays behind.  Kirby, still in his waiter's uniform (he works at St. Elmo's bar) has been transfixed by a vision.  A literal angel in the form of 27 year-old Andie MacDowell.  And she is a vision!  In her white lab coat and back lit by Mr. Schumacher, who wouldn't be smitten?  Kirby reintroduces himself as they both attended the same school: she a senior when he was a freshman.  And we have yet to hear the name of this school uttered and thinking about it now, I'm not sure it ever is.  I mean, we assume these people all went to Georgetown University but I don't think it's explicitly stated; which, when you think about it, is kind of strange.  But not as strange as seven (now eight) people, graduating from a school and then staying within several blocks of it after graduation.  Like ALL of them.  That simply doesn't happen in life.  Kirby (or is it "Kirbo"?  He's listed as "Kirbo" in the credits, but everyone calls him "Kirby," if I'm not mistaken) reminds her of their one date, back in the day, when they went to see Annie Hall.  She seems clueless.  So clueless, in fact, she doesn't appeaar to know where or even who she is; let alone who Kirby Keger is and what movie she saw with him.  Andie MacDowell has a lovely, ethereal, Southern sort of Fitzgeraldian Ice Palace vibe happening; but here, she seems like she should have gone to some kind of remedial school.  She's meant to be celestial; but she's directed toward oblivion.

The hospital sequence closes with Andie (her character's name is "Dale Bieberman" and sounds like "Beaverman" every time Emilio says it) passing through the doors with a child in her arms (Madonna figure) into the same bright white light that opened the scene.  So, this space is presenting two dualities.  The first, the hellscape with naked ogres and smoking cigarettes and red light and bad sax and the other, an angel, literally saying everything is going to be all right as she moves into the light.  So is Kirby actually the character that stands in for the audience?  Later that night, Kirby returns to an apartment where Kevin is writing (or not writing), apparently an article on "The Meaning of Life," which seems a tad on the nose and perhaps worthy of a book, let alone an article.  The following unfolds:

Not that I think St. Elmo's Fire will be getting a BFI Classics treatment anytime soon.  Or a Criterion Collection release; although with Criterion, St. Elmo's Fire might just be ironically risible enough for them to apply the delookse treatment to it.  I wonder if we can find any of the St. Elmo's cast in the Criterion closet?
Well, the closest I could come was either Molly Ringwald or Kim Cattrall, so how about both?

Now if we can just get Andrew McCarthy in there!

It should be noted that already in the film, we are seeing more and more windows.  Yes, windows are everywhere in the world; but they are not always a "motif."  In the first shot of the septet, the college building behind them is quite fenestrated and we shall see that the front window of the St. Elmo's bar features greatly into the goings ons.  Now, if you want to see the window as a motif, look no further than Dr. Zhivago.  Once you start noticing the windows and how often they appear, you can't unsee them.  You start to think, gee, how did they manage to get a window in this scene?  I mean, it starts to get hard in that movie to find a scene that isn't in front of, behind, next to, shot through, looking up at, looking out of, beside, below or above a window.

But that's for another blog.  And I want to get back to St. Elmo, himself.  But I also have to watch the movie again, even closer this time, if I'm going to discuss this with any authority.  So, let's watch the "You're gay Andrew and you're in love with Judd" scene again and I'll be back with part 2, soon.  Aren't you excited?

And who's behind them but another "Billy." And he's an "idol."  A false idol?  Hmmmm...

Please see: Retro-Review: St. Elmo's Fire / Part 2 for the next installment.

CFR   4/13/24

So, in a blatant act of self-promotion, which this entire website is, right--? I am happy to announce that I've published my fabulous, 300 plus page screenplay, HEARTFIGHT in book form!  

Okay, so that back cover prose is a little on the purple side; but why not?  A little ballyhoo never hurt anyone.  I loved this story so much I was toying with writing it as a novel; but I don't have the time for that right now. This ain't no Mudd Club or CBGB's--I don't have time for that now!  And here are some other people who don't have time for it now!

Is that last one Country/Disco?  Is that a thing?  Well, if it is, give me a slice please!
I also thought about a graphic novel version or an illustrated screenplay; but again, I don't have the time to dedicate to that.  Let's keep forging forward.  AND REMEMBER; THE MOVIE RIGHTS TO HEARTFIGHT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE! 
So, if you'd like your very own copy of HEARTFIGHT, it will be available soon on Amazon for the incredible price of $11.99!!!
And I still want these two in the movie, you know, to tamp down the rampant homoeroticism.

Ciao for now!
Love,
Moi

​CFR   4/7/24

I recently finished Jean Genet's first book, Our Lady of the Flowers; which I first brought up in a blog entitled: Jean Genet and Me; or some such.  I promised an analysis; and as I try never to renege on said, I shall attempt to tackle Msr. Genet's debut in my new feature: CHRISBOOKSALON (one word); wherein we discuass the written word in whatever form it presents to us.  I thought "Chris' Book Club" was a bit too prosaic; and as Ms. Winfrey already has the most famous literary salon of all with a similar moniker, I thought I'd try to be a bit more original.  Hell, we can slap my chop on it at some point; much as Ms. Winfrey has commandeered the capital "O."  I wonder if she's ever considered trying to copyright it; the letter "O" that is.  Like Ralph Lauren tried to copyright the word "Polo."  Rich people, am I right people!??! 
Before I get into Msr. Genet; I thought I'd bring up another interesting writer who has traipsed the periphery of my interests and that the ComputerWeb has compared me to visually (without my prompting).  One Yukio Mishima (1/14/25-11/25/70).  I posted a picture of me in leather on a blog and Bing picked it up and alogorhythmed it and put it up with all these pics of Asian martial arts men.  Mishima was in there too.  Let's take a look!  Here's me:

And here's the picture of Mr. Mishima it compared me too:

Compliment taken.  The man was HOT. Or atsui in Japanese.  Not to mention SEKUSHI!  But what do we know about him?  You may know a lot about him.  Me, not so much.  I remember there was a movie about him back in the 80's; and though I was quite interested in it, I didn't see it.  Perhaps because I had NO IDEA who he was. And it was definitely the kind of thing I would've gone to see.  Maybe I was busy.  Here's the poster:

I mean, I don't think most Americans had any idea who he was; and that poster certainly wasn't going to draw anyone into the theater.  I mean, the man was handsome.  And seems as though he was pretty good natured.  Lots of pictures of him smiling.

So, to this day, despite my interest; I have next to zero idea about anything about this man.  I do know that the director of the movie is married to Mary Beth Hurt.  She's one of my all time favorite actresses; so of course, she pretty much stopped working.  'Memba her?  She played Helen, Robin Williams' wife in The World According to Garp.

But before we continue, I wanted to announce a name change.  The book club is now going to be called CHRISBOOKSALOON.  Why?  Well, because I really like the quadruple "o" action and I don't like to take myself too seriously; I'm kinda honky-tonk; and, I'm a goof.  And yet, at the same time, it has a kind of Scandinavian feel to it, don't you think?  Like super-serious, Ibsen/Strindberg energy.  Or a nice Ikea credenza!
So, I've been doing some initial research on Mr. Mishima.  Not so good...way too political, if you ask me.  And Japanese politics, yet; which I know even less about.  I'll get into all that.  But here's the good news:  he loved cats!  And who can't love a man who loves cats?

Now, why didn't they put that on the poster?
But now, back to Msr. Genet:  Here he is, perhaps the most dapper convict next to John Gotti.

I read Our Lady of the Flowers and my main question about it was; how did this clearly super-intelligent, highly educated, sophisticated intellect end up in jail?  Not just end up there; but seem to thrive there and enjoy it?  And not just enjoy it but be really kind of into it; so into it that he was excite erotiquemont.  I did not do a lot of research.  I tried to glean from the book the answers; that is, once I determined it was more or less a prison journal.  An extremely creative and fanciful journal; but a journal.  I ordered a copy from Ebay, with this cover:

A softcover.  It was actually published in France, originally, in 1947.  The first English language edition from 1949 featured a sketch of Genet by Jean Cocteau.  Now how does someone go from jail to having high-end editions of their debut novel with drawings by celebrated French artistes on the cover?  That is my next question.  But first, let's get into what the book is about.

I read it about two months ago and already a lot of it has flown out of my head.  But it's not like there's a lot of "plot" to latch on to.  It's definitely Jean Genet relating the story in the first person; but he also seems to be taking on the persona of several of the characters within the narrative; that is, if we can really call it a proper "narrative."  The story mostly revolves around a person called "Divine."  Divine--and I would say here, not to be confused with the famous drag queen of John Waters' movies--but I can't, since I suspect this is exactly where Divine got her name and persona--is a male prostitute who presents as a woman and is same sex attracted.  So, in the old parlance, a transvestite hooker.  He/she is not "transexual"; that is, a person born male who has taken hormones and still has a penis.  Also, formerly known as a "pre-op tranny."  But it doesn't seem as though Divine is "pre-op" or has taken female hormones; so, is a male person who wears the clothes and make-up of the traditional female and services male customers or "johns."  In his/her private life, they are romantically and sexually attracted to men.  I'm thinking pretending to be a woman was one way in which gay men of the past were able to actually be with men.  Just being a man with a man, apparently, was a lot more difficult.  And it was also a lot easier if you happened to be in an all male environment, like prison.
So, Divine lives in a garret, maybe on the outskirts of Paris?  The garret overlooks a cemetery.  Divine may also be an alter-ego of Jean Genet's; although it's never really explicitly stated.  Another element of this is that Genet is sort of projecting characters as "ideas" on to attractive young men whose photographs he's torn from magazines and newspaper articles and hung on the walls of his jail cell.  One of these "characters/idea" is a young man named Culafroy who may or may not be Genet as a young man and/or Divine as a young man; before he became a "woman." Are you still following this?  It's basically Genet entertaining himself with this sort of dreamlike fantasy; but something of a plot does emerge; particularly later when a charater named "Our Lady of the Flowers" shows up.  "Our Lady" seems to be a young man who may have been an actual person who murdered an old man and that Genet is obsessed with.  
Usually, I do not particularly enjoy this kind of literature.  Stream of consciousness?  Magical realism?  Long form poetry as prose?  But in this case, there was enough "plot" to keep me moving forward.

To be continued...

When last we saw our heroes, Honoria "Ri-Ri" Cummings was on her way with her secretary, Jurgin, to Vermont in a self-drving sportscar, belonging to their boss, Marlon.  They have to take care of some Big Business and close down a Christmas themed restaurant in Winooski Falls, which happens to be Ri's hometown.  The car speaks in the voice of "easy listening" d.j. David Alan Boucher from Magic FM 106.

The car drives through the garage gate.
MARLON
Julia, pull over.
JULIA
(Voice of Julia Child) Pulling over.  And would you like to hear my recipe for pulled Roti de Porc Poele?
MARLON
Stop talking Julia.
JULIA
Oui!
The car pulls over and Marlon gets out.  He leans into the car.
MARLON
All righty.  You're on your own.  Call me when you get there.
HONORIA
Aye, aye Cap'n!
MARLON
(Under his breath as he turns back to the building) God help Julia...
CUT TO:
INT. CAR -DAY
Honoria looks up from her spread sheet.
HONORIA
Well, what are you waiting for?
JURGIN
I don't speak French.
HONORIA
Well, pick someone else.  
JURGIN
How about David Allan Boucher?
HONORIA
The deejay?
JURGIN
Yeah!  You know him?
HONORIA
I listened to Bedtime Magic all the time when I was at Tufts!  He helped ease my anxiety.  
JURGIN
Mine too!  Computer, talk like Boston area deejay David Allan Boucher!
CAR (In the voice of DAVID ALLAN BOUCHER (D.A.B.)
Good evening to you.  I'm...David...Allan...Boucher...and you're listening to Bedtime Magic.  I want to take you on a journey...you just have to say where...
JURGIN
Winooski Falls, Vermont
D.A.B.
Is there an address?
HONORIA
We'll let you know when we get closer.
D.A.B.
Well buckle up and settle in and we'll get there, magically...with a little help from Christopher Cross as we...Ride...Like...the Wind...on Bedtime Magic...
RIDE LIKE THE WIND begins to play.

INT. CAR -DAY
The CAMERA PANS around the cabin. We see the Great American Vastness whizzing by outside along the freeway. Honoria is working in the back seat.  Jurgin is in the front passenger seat, reading Judith Krantz's Scruples.  His eyebrows shoot up and he turns a page.
JURGIN
This is filthy!
HONORIA
Is it?
JURGIN
Yes!  I've never seen the "C" word thrown about with such abandon before.
HONORIA
"Classy"?
JURGIN
Classy this ain't!  Listen to this: "Billy, spotting him with Valentine at the same instant, found that she still thought with her--" (He is interrupted by the car).
D.A.B
I hope that you're enjoying our bedtime journey.  We've just crossed the Vermont state line.  And here's a little magic, going out to Honoria...it's...Chris Rea...with..."Driving Home for Christmas..."
The SONG starts.
JURGIN
It's March, David-Alan.
D.A.B.
Can I take another request?
HONORIA
No, this is fine.  But could you turn it down a little?
The MUSIC lowers.
HONORIA
It's weird how fast you get used to there being no driver.
JURGIN
Speak for yourself!  I've had one eye glued to that speedometer since we got in!
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. CAR -DAY
Jurgin's book falls from his hand as he SNORTS in his sleep.  Honoria, curled up on the back seat, is SNORING too.