Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

When it comes to intense movies Vertigo, The Shining and maybe even the finale of Heathers would spring to most peoples minds, but WAOVW has a whole other sort of intensity, an intensity in which you are sure that these people are not real but cant shake that feeling about how real they seem and that coupled with the realism of the characters makes you feel isolated with them for two hours.

Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis and George Segal as two married couples neither as idyllic as the marriages that we associate with the sixties era (Mike and Carol were perfect.......) And that's where our story begins.

The story isn't really a story it's more a general idea: Older, unhinged couple have younger couple over for a 'get to know you' session. This session quickly extends to something a little bit unconventional: Nothing much happens. We don't seem to get the impression that the characters of Martha (Taylor) and George (Burton) are going to be completley okay at the end of the film, however maybe Nick (Segal) and Honey (Dennis) nwill take the lessons they learnt from Martha and George and create a better future for themselves. Some light at the end of the tunnel i suppose.

I loved this movie. The performances from all involved were absolutely.... electrifying. However the weakest link was George Segal, that's not to say he was bad (i really liked him) it's just that when you are watching a career best from Liz Taylor, a downright scary performance by Burton and an oddball Sandy Dennis you're bound to get lost in the midst.

Like that other cryptically titled classic A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) WAOVW serves more as an intense relationship study rather than a conventional film. And believe me it is all the better for it. It is one of those movies in which you are immediately immersed due to strong performances from the get go and intense cinematography, if you get up during this movie i'll give you 50 bucks. No joke.

WAOVW is a film in which you will be deeply involved in until the credits roll around, then you will stand up in a daze and wonder what you have just seen. In much the same way that Nick and Honey must have when they left George and Martha at the end of the movie.

"What a dump! Hey, what's that from?" Martha (Elizabeth Taylor), Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.

My ideal comedy....

I still love movies, i try to see as many good ones as possible and if that means paying the money to go to the cinema i am all for it. But somehow i always find myself wondering how it could have been better, did Megan Fox really need to say "you give me such a wettie" in Jennifer's Body? That was really a cringe worthy line, the movie wasn't that flash either. Really i have to wonder sometimes how the movie stars of the classic studio era would have implied anything raunchy. I've seen movies with double entendre's that you really had to listen to understand and love and they were way funnier than Jennifer's Body. Enough about that movie.

I love how they implied things, i suppose there is something to be said for subtlety. I kind of just want to see a movie that has the double entendre's and dry wit of the classic era combined with the darkness of modern comedies like (here i go again) Jennifer's Body. That was really dark, it had some good idea's but it's attempts at being edgy were kind of cheap and awkward. However if i took the best things about the movie (the action and storyline) and combined it with the comedy of old, then i'd be closer to my ideal film.

I suppose it is just a pipe dream and i feel silly for even saying it aloud. But it's true. The recent death of one of the last great movie stars, Elizabeth Taylor, has sort of spurred this post. I decided not to do a whole post on her specifically because in truth i haven't seen many of her movies. But i do know that she was THE movie star. Her sheer presence in a film made it watchable, even The Flintstones. I suppose that anyone who watches an Elizabeth Taylor movie will see just that: Elizabeth Taylor. She could act (she was great in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf), but i'm not sure that was why she was so successful. Personally i think it was her looks (i wish i had those eyes) and her attitude. That's my opinion. Here another of my opinions: i thought she'd live forever. Her movie's will though.

Back to what i was saying. The comedy of the classic era (at least the good ones) were witty, screwball and lighthearted. I loved them, i want the modern sex comedy to be mixed with the screwball and slapstick of the classics. It would be epic.

Then there are the stars. I'd want....
Johnny Depp
Cary Grant
Katharine Hepburn
Anne Hathaway
Jack Lemmon
Tina Fey
Natalie Wood
James Dean (i am just curious how he would have been in a comedy)
Robin Williams (circa Mork and Mindy)
Mae West
The Marx Brothers
Tony Curtis
Barbra Streisand (circa What's Up Doc?)
Liz Taylor (circa Father of the bride)
Spencer Tracy (circa Woman of the year)
Madeline Kahn
Gene Wilder
directed by Frank Capra
written by: Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Billy Wilder

That is who would be in my perfect comedy. With a cast like that it would have to be a road movie or something, but still... it would be so cool. Even if it is unattainable.

This was a pretty pointless post....

"Is that a gun in your pocket or you just glad to see me?" Marlo Manners, (Mae West) Sextette (1978)