She's Still Here!

I recently saw the LA production of Follies with a friend and reminisced about Postcards from the Edge.  I shared the scene with him of Shirley MacLaine singing "I'm Still Here," but I felt badly afterwards, as I think he went temporarily blind.  I keep forgetting that he had a much more cultured upbringing than myself--raised on a steady diet of TV and Hollywood movies.  (He recovered his sight and is completely coherent now.)  Anyhow, in the scene, MacLaine's character grabs the spotlight during a party she threw for her recovering addict daughter (played by Meryl Streep), because it can't always not be about her.  The movie was based on the novel, written by Carrie Fisher, which was a thinly veiled biographical account of her relationship with mother Debbie Reynolds.

While they had their problems, deep down they loved each other and have been very close for many years.  I guess I respond so much to the film (which shows all the dramatic ugliness, as it's a movie) because the underlining chemistry between Streep and MacLaine is electric, all there, and reminds me of my relationship with my mother.  Mother/gay son, as I'm sure mother/daughter relationships (I imagine Fisher considers herself to be part gay man) can be very complicated and come in all shapes and sizes, but they are often spirited and full of love. You could tell Streep and MacLaine really enjoyed working with each other (or they're just damn good actors), as much as Fisher and Reynolds love each other.  In the attached scene, MacLaine doesn't only show off her performance chops while conveying the desperation she feels for a woman passed her prime, she even steps slightly out of character and throws out a reference making fun of herself.  "I'm feeling transcendental" was a line she tossed in making fun of her Hinduistic take on the afterlife she became known for from her work as an author.

Forget how competitive 1990 was, the AMPAS were clearly not of their right collective mind when they handed out the five nominations and passed MacLaine over for Mary McDonnell in Dances With Wolves.  Sorry, President Roslin, you were the weakest link.  Goodbye.  Anyway, I never thought I'd be able to use the clip.  Lo and behold: Deadline just announced that Streep will present MacLaine with the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award this June.  Yay for the both of them.  Look out for a great speech or two, per usual.