RAMBLES Part II

[Bronxgirl48]

I'm bummed! Decided to make myself a nice hot big cup of cocoa (with lots of milk) before HANGOVER SQUARE, then.....promptly fell asleep.

Good thing I've seen this movie before; in fact, it used to play quite often back in the day. But I was heartbroken...

 

Did you time the scene where Laird is talking about the cat, as Nikki is playing on your floor? lol. Gee, you've got a Starbucks across the street! I've got to drive two miles to one if I'm out of Taster's Choice or Nescafe Classico and don't want to go to my supermarket.

 

I want to see CENTENNIAL SUMMER.

 

 

[Bronxgirl48]

> I hope Molo's okay down in Dixie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me, too.

 

How is everybody else? Still intact?

 

Remember how I mentioned the disappointment in forecasters voices about Irene's Cat 1 status? Well, this morning one of the guys on The Weather Channel actually said: "Sort of a let-down, isn't it, after all we expected" Did he think he was being funny? Gack.

[CineMaven]

"FALLEN ANGEL" (1945) DANA ANDREWS - ALICE FAYE - LINDA DARNELL

 

 

 

Two sides of the same coin. And Dana has to choose.

 

Huh?? What's that? Ohhhhhhh.

 

Who said he had to choose.

[rohanaka]

as for the title, maybe a pub was prominent on the square at one time

 

Ha.. you may be right... Hangover Sqare.. just around the corner from Drunken Stupor Blvd. (ha)

 

Enjoyed gettting to see it again, despite the name, ha. Wow, that is some ending.

 

Twenty five Senior Care ambulances and emergency vehicles

 

I wonder if they were evacuating some residents of a nursing facitily??? (just as a precaution??) Whatever it was, I hope all is well now. I have been checking in from time to time on the news to see how things are going.. (is the sun out yet???)

[MissGoddess]

Lady B, I hope you enjoyed Irene...I mean Bullock.

[rohanaka]

I think you are right about the hair..ha.. and about the CATs too!!

[rohanaka]

I hope you enjoyed Irene...I mean Bullock

 

I know you were addressing Miss Bronxie.. but just had to chime in here.. I had NEVER seen MMG until tonight and I enjoyed it very much. The QT watched with me and we both laughed all the way through it.

 

But alas, I must confess that Irene was my LEAST fave character of all. (I know.. it's LOMBARD day for crying out loud.. shame on me)

 

I just kept WISHING to find ANYTHING to like about her.. anything at all.. and I THOUGHT I was going to see it (early on) but it disappeared and took FOREVER to show back up again (finally at the end)

 

The rest of the movie I found her fairly un-likeable.. I just wish she'd spent a bit less time being so dingy and annoying.. (and bratty) and at least a LITTLE more time actually trying to act like a human being (like she was starting to do when she won the "scavenger hunt")

 

Because at least then she DID come across like there was some spark of intelligence about her and she showed a level of thoughtfulness (for others beside herself).. but it got lost in all the childish nonsensical tantrums, etc.. and did not show back up again until all the way at the end of the movie.

 

Oh good golly,I just kept waiting for Godfrey to tell her to snap out of it and grow up or something (ha) !

 

Sigh...

 

But other than THAT, I thought ALL the other characters were just spot on.. and found the entire movie very entertaining.

 

OH that Godfrey.. what a guy!!

[movieman1957]

I loved Irene. (I loved everyone else too.) But Irene is a product of her social status. Her father is the only normal one in the lot and oh how he suffers for it. Also, in a way Irene must be like she is not only for the type of movie it is but she must be saved by Godfrey.

 

They are all (at least the women and Carlo) self indulgent and entitled. Cornelia is a first class !%$@* and Irene is her alter ego. In Irene's way she is trying to be coy and cute and comes off a little annoying but, for me, that is part of her charm. It is the other side of the coin of her mother. She is a complete ditz but comes off as fun and loving. Irene does it all in the name of love.I think Cornelia's job is to just get in Irene's way.

 

Powell is great. Sophisticated and always playing things to amuse himself. (If only I were as much) I especially likes what he does for Mr. Bullock. It's a lovely gesture of respect and, I think, sympathy. He plays the butler even when he is telling them off. It's a great scene of affection and pointed criticism all without bitterness.

 

It's my daughter's favorite. It's brilliant. Now that you have seen it you can't really watch the remake.

 

P.S. Did you know Powell and Lombard had been divorced a few years before the movie. I think they still had some chemistry.

[Bronxgirl48]

> Lady B, I hope you enjoyed Irene...I mean Bullock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did! I also went on a Lombard/MacMurray jag, and they make such a cute couple, with a surprising amount of chemistry (especially HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE, heavens, Fred in an undershirt, and no Walls of Jericho...) I also enjoyed TRUE CONFESSION and will watch THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS and SWING HIGH, SWING LOW, later tonight. It's the beginning of our new school year and I'm getting ready early this afternoon for the onslaught of students. (that is, if we get a decent number, as we're now charging a fee for the ESL program)

 

 

Hope everyone on the Eastern seaboard is safe and sound. See you guys later.

 

Edited by: Bronxgirl48 on Aug 29, 2011 1:41 PM

[rohanaka]

I am sorry you don't like one of my all-time favorite movie characters

 

Well, I DID like her SOMETIMES.. ha. But yes.. I have to say that most of the times she got on my nerves. But I think you have pegged it for me.. because the other movies you listed.. (at least the two I have seen... Charade and Bringing Up Baby) I would have to say that even though I enjoy the movies, I do not like those two lead characters so much. So we are seeing a pattern here.. ha. (And It is not that I just can't stand them.. it is just that they are not my cup-o-tea)

 

I think I have been ruined by You Can't Take it With You.. ha. I LOVE that Alice is the ONLY one in her family (except maybe apart from the Grandpa) that had any common sense.. and yet she was not boring... or a stick in the mud amid all the comedy and zany nuttiness. I kept wishing for Lombard's Irene to "Alice" herself up a bit. (only I guess she IS coming from the other side of the tracks.. since she is the rich girl) but still, that sort of spin on her character would have been more to my liking..

 

But even with all that said.. I will say again.. I TRULY did enjoy MMG a LOT. (I was laughing all the way through it.. I'n fact, I'd say we all had a good old chuckle at the rohanaka house for sure) So despite my comments on Irene.. I still found the entire package as a whole very entertaining!

 

(PS: Mr. Movieman.. I HAD heard that about Powell and Lombard.. at least a few seconds before the moive started..ha. You may be right about the chemistry thing.. it looked that way to me too, but I don't really know that much about either of them, so who am I to say??) :-)

 

Edited by: rohanaka on Aug 29, 2011 6:25 PM

[MissGoddess]

Ro...you might like *Merrily We Live*, which is a loose remake of *My Man Godfrey* with Constance Bennett in the "Irene" role. What you may like is that Connie plays the character with a little more awareness and savvy, rather than full stop kookiness. She's still unconventional, but rather the smartest one in her zany family. It's a cute little comedy, and I generally am disappointed by remakes (especially of my special, special favorites) so that's saying a lot.

 

P.S. I only saw the David Niven remake of *My Man Godfrey* once, and that was even before I first saw the original....nevertheless, I didn't like it much. So I can't recommend that particular remake.

 

Edited by: MissGoddess on Aug 29, 2011 6:35 PM

[MissGoddess]

>

> (Hmmm I wonder what Godfrey would think if I asked him to serve something quick.. say "Mac and Cheese and Hot Dogs???) ha.

 

I think he'd approve and understand that necessity is the mother of invention!

[molo14]

Hi everyone!

 

Our power came back on a couple of hours ago. We lost it around 5:30pm Saturday and then in came back on around 8:00pm for some reason. It kept going off and on though so I had to unplug everything. It finally went off for good around 10:00pm Saturday night.

 

It was quite a storm for our area. The problem was mainly wind. Trees down everywhere. They said on the radio that 75% of the Richmond area was without power. That's more than Norfolk which was about 50% down. I think we got about six inches of rain but it was really dry here so the ground wasn't saturated before the storm. If it had been then even more trees would have fallen.

 

So all is good here. Everyone is fine. Most of my family is still without power though but a lot of them have generators. We never went that route. We had ice in coolers, a gas grill, radio, oil lamps and a battery operated digital television which proved completely useless.

 

I don't expect the cable to be restored anytime soon. No TCM! The last thing I recorded was *Two Flags West* but I think that messed up. So I'm missing the end of SUTS!

 

All in all the storm was worst then were were expecting and worst than they were forecasting for our area but I've learned to stay prepared anyway and in this case it payed off.

 

I haven't gotten very much news. Was the storm bad at all up north? Is all okay up there?

[Bronxgirl48]

Welcome back, molo! Thank heaven everything's o.k. (well,except for no Linda Darnell, but you've probably seen FALLEN ANGEL, STARDUST, and HANGOVER SQUARE. (nothing to miss with BLACKBEARD THE PIRATE)

 

Now that I know you and yours have come through Irene, I can sleep!

[Bronxgirl48]

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think of Fred MacMurray, versatile and underrated actor that he is, as any kind of sex symbol, lol, but darned if he didn't make me sit up and take notice of how strangely hunky he appeared in that undershirt in HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE, and the believable heat he stirred up with Carole. Now Ralph of course had the money and probably wouldn't be too, uh, demanding, but is that what a woman really wants? Wait a minute,let me think about tthat... But once Fred found a decent job, he'd settle down and become a good husband. (let's hope) I think my least favorite of the pair is SWING HIGH, SWING LOW. The only thing that impressed me in the over-extended Panama sequences was Anthony Quinn, trying to pick up Carole, and man, was he smoldering! Charles Butterworth drives me nuts, I can't take him for more than a minute, and unfortunately he was around quite a bit. The rise-and-fall story was too heavy-handed for my taste, and, most crucially, I found Fred's "Skid Johnson" unlikeable and rather obnoxious. I liked THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS a bit better, although it was so understated as to be almost dull. But I enjoyed Fred here more. (and his singing voice) A nice if somewhat thin romantic murder mystery. I suppose my favorite with them is TRUE CONFESSION. Fred even looked good with a moustache! (did you hear that, Maven?) I loved them as a married couple (unlike in SHSL) and the way Carole's soaring imagination got her into such trouble, lol. I was a little sad watching Barrymore here; how many times could he fuss with that balloon and croak "She'll fry!" I liked the ending. (it was pretty risque, actually) Once more, we see Fred looking surprisingly buff (in bathing trunks. Who knew??) I think the reason MacMurray teams so well with Lombard is that he can be both cynical and romantic. He looks and acts goofy at times and doesn't really have classic leading man good looks or boyish charm (like Bob Montgomery) but he can be sweetly befuddled one moment and then sharp-witted and devious the next. He keeps pace with Carole, and like her, can shift emotional gears with ease.

 

While I''m still not too crazy about Depression-era comedies, with all their mainly overdone social commentary, I have to say that I enjoyed MY MAN GODFREY. Godfrey and Irene are simpatico from the get-go, and I think he immediately develops a crush on her and realizes what a kind-hearted soul lurks behind the ditz. If any other actress played this part, Irene would be insufferable, but Carole infuses Irene with real warmth and depth of character underneath the drama queen shenanigans. She cares about people and humanity in general, and that's what Godfrey picks up on right away when he first talks to her. He is responding to Irene then and there at the dump, but doesn't want to be vulnerable again and open himself up to more heartache. Gail Patrick as Cornelia, oh my goodness! I don't know why somebody didn't think to put Patrick in horror movies because she could play a vampiress, snake-woman, anything dark, cold, and evil. Alice Brady's laugh is, well, hilarious. I like the way we hear it in increments after Godfrey hands her the tomato juice and he's walking down the stairs. Every step he takes, she's still laughing.

 

Maven will chastise me for saying this, lol, but, I couldn't quite suspend my disbelief to embrace the notion that someone of Godfrey's background and apparent emotionally blocked nature, would number one, consider suicide, and number two, decide to live with the forgotten men at a dump site. I realize there'd be no movie if he went back to Boston. I also had a hard time trying to figure out what real "lessons" he learned from the Bullocks. He tells Cornelia that he, like her, also grew up a spoiled child, but how did that make him such an expert butler? I thought it was the forgotten men who taught him patience and humility. So I'm confused. I love the way Micha Auer poses at the window! That's even funnier than him being a gorilla.

 

Edited by: Bronxgirl48 on Aug 30, 2011 6:15 AM

[Bronxgirl48]

Did anyone catch all of BRAINSTORM? I missed the first part but was immediately laughing my head off. Anne Francis, screaming at Dana Andrews: "YOU SADIST!" Dana apparently is her cruel and possessive husband who says things like, "You occasionally please me, and I keep whatever pleases me, for however long I choose". Then there's Jeffrey Hunter, who plots to get away with murder by feigning insanity. Viveca Lindfors is a psychiatrist. That ending, LOL!!

[CineMaven]

HA! Now I thought I saw John Astin on the train eating and drinking with Dietrich ad Donat.

 

Oh brother.........

[JackFavell]

Hi All! My computer is finally up and running properly, and we are fine here, after the big blow. Molo, I can't tell you how glad I am that you and your family are OK! Ditto everyone on the east coast.

 

I am totally with MissGoddess about Irene Bullock. I tend to be an Irene myself, absent minded and prone to non sequitur. and what I respond to most in her is her warmth, genuineness, kindness and her inability to see class distinctions, or in fact differences of any kind. I don't find her annoying in the least, though I think with any other actress, I might.

 

Irene may appear ditzy, but she just has an untrained mind due to her upbringing. The more I watch the movie, the more I see her innate good sense and even a profound philosophical nature:

 

"She rambles on quite a bit, but then she never has anything to say."

 

 

"I've decided I don't want to play any more games with human beings as objects. It's kind of sordid when you think of it, when you think it over."

 

"Life is but an empty bubble..."

 

"....there's no sense in struggling against a thing when it's got you. It's got you and that's all there is to it - it's got you!"

 

 

She also shows a disarming lack of affectation (most of the time), a keen interest in bettering herself, though that could just be because Godfrey is offering the knowledge.

 

"You use such lovely big words. I like big words. What does it mean?"

 

Godfrey: "Do you think you could follow an intelligent conversation for a minute?"

Irene: "I'll try."

 

Her father throws money at problems and is never there, and her mother is a flibbertigibbet with little moral sense. Perhaps I am over thinking this, but I think maybe Irene got her personality from sitting back and watching the others? I get the distinct impression that she is left behind a lot.

 

In the speech at the beginning, she tells Godfrey that she is always beaten by Cornelia, who cares more for worldly things than Irene does, and always has to win at everything. As a younger sister, I _really_ empathize with that.

 

Irene, because she has had no mental or moral training, has really never fallen into bad habits that over-education or too much money can usually bring. She is not one to judge others, nor is she the type to bother with the more foolish notions of how people in society should behave, and I think this is a VERY good thing. She makes up her own mind and once she does, nothing can stop her from feeling the way she does.

 

She is miles ahead of her mother, her sister, and in fact any other woman (or most of the men) in the movie, with the possible exception of Molly the maid, who is a GREAT character, my second favorite after Irene herself.

 

So Irene has somehow retained the best qualities of the uneducated (childlike, unaffected), while picking up some very grown up intellectual qualities along the way. There are worse things than being like Irene, who has a good heart.

 

*********

 

I LOVE Carole's movie with Walter Connolly, the name escapes me - it was the only movie I got to see on her day. I find myself bawling like a baby at Walter Connolly's magfnificent performance every time I see it.

 

 

*******

 

As for Marlene, I find that as time goes by, I really LOVE her, she is so watchable... and her enormous efforts during the war for common soldiers deserved more than a medal. She also had an unerring instinct for knowing what is RIGHT - no prejudice or racial hatred in her nature.

 

*Shanghai Express* was fantastic! None of the kitsch so apparent in *The Scarlet Empress*, it was an exceptionally well directed movie - I'm beginning to think of Von Sternberg as a favorite, but of course without Marlene, the movie would be _nothing._ Her sacrifice might have been more sympathetic if Clive Brook had not been so stodgy.

 

*********

 

Bronxie- I think you mentioned some time ago that you don't like the movie *Stage Fright*, because you could not get around Jane Wyman - I think she's OK, and I find I really love the movie... but I imagined the whole thing with Glynis Johns in the main role and it was so much better!

[MissGoddess]

I'm so glad you're back online! I'm so surprised how hard people all around me got hit with the storm. I hope your house/yard wasn't damaged too badly.

 

Your words about Irene were brilliant! I loved reading it. I too got the feeling that Irene was kind of left behind compared to her sister, who probably was always admired for her beauty and style and smarts. It's just nice that everyone comes to be touched by Godfrey in different ways, Godfrey finds and renews himself. I want to say a word for Allan Mowbray because this is my favorite role of his, along with his drunken actor in *My Darling Clementine*.

[JackFavell]

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}Glad to see u back Jack. Earthquake...hurricanes...what next?! When locusts come we all oughta head West.

 

 

I hear ya! It's too creepy! We actually had these small black ants come into the house all day Tuesday.... I don't know if their home got flooded, or what... luckily, I haven't seen any of them since.

[JackFavell]

I really loved what you wrote about Irene - you inspired me!

 

I especially liked what you said about those characters being oblivious of looking silly - they are free to do just as they please, to some extent, and help free the men in their lives from some of society's sillier imposed constraints.

[CineMaven]

"I had NEVER seen 'MMG' until tonight and I enjoyed it very much.I just kept WISHING to find ANYTHING to like about her.. anything at all.. and I THOUGHT I was going to see it (early on) but it disappeared and took FOREVER to show back up again (finally at the end).

 

The rest of the movie I found her fairly un-likeable.. I just wish she'd spent a bit less time being so dingy and annoying.. (and bratty) and at least a LITTLE more time actually trying to act like a human being ..." - ROHANAKA.

 

Whoa! Ro...you're a braver gal than I am, Gunga Din! I don't know if I could ever say publicly what you did about "MY MAN GODFREY." It's considered one of the top ten comedies of the Golden Age. But I agree with everything you wrote. I have never been able to cotton up to Lombard as Irene Bullock or the movie itself. I'm not much of a fan of screwball comedy; people in gorilla suits and top hats and tails, swinging from the chandeliers singing "Mammy" while barking like dogs. (That's what screwball feels to me). I thought Lombard had a case of the cutes and as much as I am a Lombard fan, she was just too much over-the top for me.

 

...Until I read this thread.

 

I see I shall have to give "MY MAN GODFREY" another chance. I see that I might have been looking at Carole/Irene with the wrong glasses. But I think my eyes have been opened.

 

"Irene is a lot like me if I'm happy and in love. A total ditz...All these women are very free and uninhibited (but not in a slutty way like today) and they sort of "release" the men that they love, or at least loosen them up. THey're also blind to any class distinctions, or other barriers like age or economics even. This makes them really pure. I just love that. It's all about emotion and the person within, not weighing whether it's worth it or not, not being cautious, careful or proud. I love that these women are blissfully oblivious of looking silly. When you worry about being silly, you miss a lot of joy in life..." - MISS GODDESS.

 

O' Pioneer! That was such a lovely written and grand description of such an amorphous emotion such as Love. Your post has set off a light bulb in this old gray head of mine. Irene as love. Irene IS Love...pure unadulterated love. Miss G., you may have just given me the key I needed to unblock all my previous biases of this venerable classic. So that is the secret beyond the door of "MY MAN GODFREY." Thank you!

 

"I am totally with MissGoddess about Irene Bullock. I tend to be an Irene myself, absent minded and prone to non sequitur. and what I respond to most in her is her warmth, genuineness, kindness and her inability to see class distinctions, or in fact differences of any kind...Irene may appear ditzy, but she just has an untrained mind due to her upbringing. The more I watch the movie, the more I see her innate good sense and even a profound philosophical nature:

 

'....there's no sense in struggling against a thing when it's got you. It's got you and that's all there is to it - it's got you!'

 

..Perhaps I am over thinking this, but I think maybe Irene got her personality from sitting back and watching the others? I get the distinct impression that she is left behind a lot." - JACK FAVELL.

 

You have fairly made my heart ache with this last paragraph JackaaaAaaay. You made me feel compassion for Irene instead of unflatteringly label her. I daresay it's a glimpse into your sensitivity and what you might have seen in your travels. I feel kinda guilty now about my thoughts of Irene.

 

"In the speech at the beginning, she tells Godfrey that she is always beaten by Cornelia, who cares more for worldly things than Irene does, and always has to win at everything. As a younger sister, I really empathize with that."

 

< ( SIGH! ) > Aaaaaaah, Little Sisters. I'm the oldest of three kids. Little Sisters want to tag along with you and your friends. Little Sisters drop a dime and tattle at the drop of a hat. Little Sisters tell embarassing stories to boys who come to visit. Being the oldest is like being first-time parents' guinea pigs. They tried out baby formulas on us...they tried out parenting skills on us. Us first-borns had to set good examples 'cuz younger eyes were (supposedly) watching. We first-borns break the ice while younger sisters sail on through the family. Kid sisters. Bah-humbug. They should be seen and not heard. And not seen often, either.

 

But that's not to say I cannot learn from a Little Sister. And your post has also opened my eyes to Irene and what she represents; the childlike pure humanity that has yet to be "socialized" into something else. Thanx, Sis!

[JackFavell]

Oh heavens, Miss Ro, I certainly don't mind that you don't enjoy all the whirlwind drama that (hurricane) Irene causes in MMG.... that's what makes the world go round.

 

I am disappointed because I wish everyone could see what I see in the movie and her character. I enjoy it the way I do, but I don't want you to feel "ex-communicated" or anything for a simple difference of opinion.

 

Now if you continually hated everything I liked, or were constantly on the opposite side, I might begin to feel slighted or that something was off in our relationship, but I probably would not take it too seriously, because you are kind and gentle in your presentation of opinions, and always couch them in terms of just that - your opinions. You never make pronouncements, like "You mean you actually LIKE that movie???" or "Irene Bullock is the worst character EVER!" or even, "You are the type who goes for ____enter genre here ____movies."

 

You never talk down to anyone here, even when some of us probably should be talked down to.

 

I just want you to like the things I like, and vice a versa, because I like you.

[MissGoddess]

Dear Mountain Topper....you know I know the feeling well of being there, but you also must know how a different way of looking at things can stimulate the BEST conversations, and I'm not sure MMG would generate much discussion if you had not seen Irene as you do. So I for one am glad you followed the beat of a different drummer. I don't take it personally at all. Now, if you said you didn't like John Ford, I'd never speak to you agan.

 

Kidding!

 

And P.S., I now and forever will see Hannah as a little "Irene Bullock", ha haaaaaa! Wonderful!

[JackFavell]

> You're in bigger trouble than you think. I'm not that big on Irene, too. But what I do like about her is what Miss G and Jackie mentioned. I do like her love for Godfrey. She just happens to be extremely childish in her ways of trying to "obtain" Godfrey's love. *Godfrey is basically a --doll-- to Irene. She wants her --dolly.--*

 

Pomeranian!

 

 

> What's funny with me is that I LOVE when Carole plays childish, selfish girls. I like it when she is angry. I like it when she's "kicking." I love when she has a scowl. Irene is childish but she's not angry. She's mostly in the clouds.

 

I really like that - Irene _is_ in the clouds, in the best way possible. She is off in her own little world. And it's a very nice dreamy world too. By the end, she manages to bring Godfrey into it, and a lot of other souls. It's a good thing, because he needs to dream again. She helps him to "loosen up" as Miss G says, and she also gives him a safe, non judgmental haven from which to figure himself out. It's all kind of an allegory of the Depression, if rich and poor came together, hand in hand, they could get a lot done.

 

I think with Irene's help, he can learn to rise above what is eating him and spend more time fixing things, for which he has a great talent. I think if he fell into bitterness again, she would snap him out of it, in the most kindly, deluded way. In this way, she would get him busy working on world problems, rather than wallowing in tragedy. She really believes he can do anything, and seems to be able to break barriers by not recognizing their existence in the first place. It's all easier with Irene there for inspiration. I can easily see her saying, "Well, why can't you?" Fix the world, clean up the dump, give the men a place to stay...or whatever needs doing. Much of the world's problems are exacerbated by those words, "I can't do anything about it." She simply steps around all that. And she is tenacious. She will never give up on an idea once she finally gets one.

 

He brings her some grounded reality that her floaty, kindly soul needs, some worldly knowledge that she has been grasping for, and an outlet for her compassion (the forgotten men). He literally "put her in the shower" - brought her down to earth. Rather than squandering all her love on a pomeranian, Irene will be able to go into the world and help Godfrey help real people.

 

And so they have the same aspirations, I believe. They complete one another. They are both in a much better place (both figuratively and literally) at the end of the movie.

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Sep 2, 2011 10:37 AM