{"id":6905,"date":"2011-08-16T22:21:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T02:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.regrettablesincerity.com\/?p=6905"},"modified":"2011-08-16T22:21:07","modified_gmt":"2011-08-17T02:21:07","slug":"camille-1936","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/?p=6905","title":{"rendered":"Camille (1936)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Here\u2019s the idea behind \u201cA Canadian, an American, a Lawyer, and an Elitist\u201d: Rhett\u2019s favorite movie is Meatballs 4<\/em>,\u00a0 Shawn has an unhealthy fixation on Resident Evil<\/em>, Richard scoffs at anything that isn\u2019t pretentious and hoity toity, and Adam is a prick who hates everything. We all watch far too many movies, and spend our time analyzing them. So we each watch the same movie, write our analysis of them, and then go to a chat room to discuss it, unaware of what the others have written. A warning: if you haven\u2019t seen the film we are discussing, it may not be best to read this article, because it is spoiler heavy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As is the case with most of the Elitist articles<\/span><\/a>, this was written in 2005, so please keep that in mind when reading it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Analysis by a Canadian: Rhett Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has been cited as her favorite film, and is indeed one of her final ones, and in many ways Camille<\/em> rises above being just mere film and instead a statement by Greta Garbo herself.\u00a0 Known for being a recluse, Garbo fabricated a mystique from the unknown.\u00a0 Her silent films were very much based on her exotic beauty.\u00a0 Only seen an never heard, she was a fresh Swedish import at a time when American films were all about Americans.\u00a0 Much of the mystique lay in the fact that her voice was never heard in the silents, making her such a cultural curiosity that by the time her first film rolled around, it was promoted almost entirely on the fact that she speaks.\u00a0 She continued to build a legend for herself with her longstanding affair with John Gilbert and her refusal to disclose information about her private life, but the biggest mystery came in her retirement.\u00a0 She had only been working in films a little longer than ten years when she made Camille<\/em>, and for it she received her highest salary.\u00a0 Three films and a few years later, she would retire at thirty six.<\/p>\n

The stress of the press, the strain of the Hollywood lifestyle and the heartbreak of tinsel town relationships are likely the three reasons that drove her out of the movies, but one will never know the true answer.\u00a0 She seemed to just be sick of the whole lifestyle, and that is where her character in Camille<\/em> seems to be the most obvious Garbo surrogate.\u00a0 In Camille<\/em>, Garbo plays Marguerite Gautier, a classy woman who falls victim to sickness and to an overall disenchantment with life.\u00a0 She falls in love, sort of, but complications with in-laws and with money deny her the pleasure of marriage.\u00a0 She spends much of the latter portions of the film alone and in bed, away from everything.\u00a0 Her former flame comes back to her and expresses his love, but it is too late.\u00a0 She dies in his arms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Right from the outset, her reclusive character and classy demeanor hint to the fact that Garbo is very much playing herself.\u00a0 She spends much of the film alone, as she would the rest of her retired life.\u00a0 She never married, and chose instead to live almost in hiding in her New York apartment.\u00a0 It is rumored the last few years of her life were spent almost without contact with anybody.\u00a0 Her not getting together with Armand Duval (Robert Taylor<\/em>) at the film\u2019s end further shows her detached perspective on relationships.\u00a0 She was a woman who exuded an aura all and to herself.\u00a0 To let anyone else into her life would dispel the mystery behind her personality.\u00a0 Isolated and without husband is how she chose to live her life, and she acts the part with eerie precision in Camille<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Most reflexive on her own career as an actress though, are her dying words in the film.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps it would be best if I lived in your heart\u2026where the world can\u2019t see me.\u201d\u00a0 It is Marguerite talking to Armand, but really, it is Garbo talking to her audience.\u00a0 She was a woman of mystique, and often just the thought of her \u2013 what she was thinking, what she liked in real life, all those things \u2013 very much eclipsed her performances as an actress.\u00a0 Thus, if she were to retire, her enigmatic wonder would live on long after her success as an actress.\u00a0 Imagine if De Niro retired after Raging Bull<\/em>, or if Nicholson hung it up after One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest<\/em>.\u00a0 They\u2019d never age, their star going out burning its brightest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>James Dean immediately comes to mind, but Garbo went out by choice.\u00a0 She was at her peak and she simply retired to a place where \u201cthe world [could not] see [her]\u201d.\u00a0 She wanted her privacy, she wanted her work to speak for itself, but more importantly she wanted her legend to live on.\u00a0 In her retirement she may have missed out on a number of solid future roles, but her mystique remains as potent today as it likely ever was.\u00a0 More than an actress or a tabloid pinup, she was a persona.\u00a0 Camille<\/em> is her eulogy, quiet, but telling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Analysis by an American: Shawn <\/strong>McLoughlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeing as how this has been a banner year for DVD releases of older films (or at least my discovering of them) it was with pretty high hopes that Warner\u2019s new Garbo set would be full of old-time goodness. The type of goodness reserved only for melancholy film buffs like myself that romanticize films from an era they weren\u2019t even alive during. So it was with some surprise that George Cukor\u2019s Camille<\/em> just simply didn\u2019t impress me.<\/p>\n

The story of the rich girl that can choose between happiness and financial wealth (but not both) based on the suitor she chooses has been done to death. I would wager it wasn\u2019t even all that original when this film was released in 1936; after all, it was a remake. Greta Garbo\u2019s performance as the lead character Marguerite Gautier is enjoyable enough. But playing the ill-fated courtesan didn\u2019t seem all too daunting for her. She certainly aged gracefully, this being one of her final films she is still stunning, but there is nothing else to warrant much attention. Robert Taylor\u2019s role as Garbo\u2019s man-bitch is portrayed authentically enough. By that I men, I could see him really being a man-bitch like that. But the character is every lovelorn male in every film. If it were the 60\u2019s he would be painting portraits and wearing tight black shirts and berets, pining over one of his own models. The character is nothing new. Lionel Barrymore\u2019s bit part as Armand\u2019s father was nice enough, but the scene is overwrought with melodrama that wouldn\u2019t even be used in the sappiest of modern films.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Perhaps it is part of Camille<\/em>\u2019s appeal in both a novel and film that the story is simple and romantic. Simple and romantic can work. Especially if you want to compare this to Baz Luhrmann\u2019s Moulin Rouge<\/em>, which uses the same characters in a different setting, but entertains still by giving a stronger presence to the supporting characters and actually defining them. The only defined supporting cast here is the Baron de Varville who it is at least alluded to that there is a sadistic nature to. He\u2019s the anti-gentleman. He realizes that Marguerite does not truly love him, yet he enjoys teasing her \u2013 dangling monetary wealth in front of her as an addiction. But all things considered, the film isn\u2019t a total flop. There are a few really entertaining bits in the script. The mocking of some of the clothing and a little witty repartee are all highlights. Probably the best scene is with the Baron as he is playing the piano while Marguerite pretends to desire him as Armand rings the doorbell. The desperation and sadness is perfectly conveyed in Garbo\u2019s laughter and the maniacal nature of the Baron is displayed there as well.<\/p>\n

The direction is pretty stale as well. Reflecting back on a film I finished watching less than twenty minutes ago, I would hope to mention one or two scenes that at least gave the impression of dynamic photography. But there wasn\u2019t any, or at least none that springs to mind. Ultimately, I think that Camille<\/em> is little more than a fluff piece in Hollywood history. It\u2019s nothing to consciously avoid, but it is probably best reserved for watching at 3 AM. on TCM instead of rushing out to rent or buy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Analysis by a lawyer: Richard Stracke<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camille<\/em> disappoints because it never strives to be more than a straight forward literary adaptation.\u00a0 It is always competent, rarely ambitious and almost never wondrous.\u00a0 I\u2019ve not read the source novel, but I expect that Cukor or his screen writers removed much of its poetry in an attempt to make a crowd pleasing feature film.\u00a0 The results may have the 1930s audiences, but looking at it with 21st<\/sup> century eyes, I see a predictable, non cinematic film.\u00a0 If it weren\u2019t for Garbo and the other leads, it would be indistinguishable from hundreds of other weepies.<\/p>\n

Before getting into the flaws, I must give praise where it is due. Garbo has a luminous presence.\u00a0 By this point, she was not just an exotic beauty, but an established talkie actress. I selected this film because I\u2019d read that it was one of her strongest dramatic performances.\u00a0 She\u2019s the type of actress who can manipulate her audience with a simple twist of the hair or subtle change in expression.\u00a0 That sort of power was on display here.\u00a0 She may not have the dramatic range of a Hepburn, but when you have her level of screen presence it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The rest of the cast pales in comparison. Based on the trailer, Robert Taylor, the love of her life, was quite the dapper matinee idol. I\u2019ve heard of him, and surely seen him in other roles, but he doesn\u2019t stand apart from dozens of other men who fell into the foppish Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve<\/em> role. Like most else with the film, he\u2019s adequate and at times his deer in headlights, love struck gaze exhibits charm, but I imagine there was a line of eager boys who could have played the role just as easily.<\/p>\n

The villainous duke fares slightly better, but I was mainly engaged by his similarity to the wicked duke of the recent Moulin Rouge!<\/em> Both men share a snivel that while never actually \u2018evil\u2019 is just enough to turn audience sympathies.\u00a0 I wish that he could have been a little wickeder. I\u2019m sure that Cukor was restrained by the production code, but other than the fact that Garbo didn\u2019t actually love him, his wealth and less than dashing personality, the only reason he was \u2018bad\u2019 was that he wasn\u2019t Taylor.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t like he beat her or locked her away from society. THOSE are the type of villains that drive these films. I want to hate the bad guy, not just prefer poor little pretty boy. The setup is now incredibly clich\u00e9 within the genre, but I wish someone would make a film that cast these \u201clucky at cards, but unlucky in love\u201d fellows in a more positive light. Think of the possibilities. Sensible baron sits at home broken hearted while trophy mistress gallivants around the country side with a penniless hunk who will surely never be able to provide any non-sexual gratification.\u00a0 Such a film could climax when she finally comes to her senses and leaves her wild child for a life of super bourgeois luxury.<\/p>\n

As far as the film\u2019s themes go, they were surely better examined in the novel. The eternal choice between luxury and love was constantly with us, but not examined in any depth.\u00a0 As seems typical with Cukor, he seems more satisfied with falling within studio guidelines than creating something more atmospheric or subversive.\u00a0 There are a few pretty pastoral shots, but much of the film is indistinguishable from countless other studio productions from the period.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This raises a question that is applicable to films of all eras. Is presentation and cinematic technique more important that old fashioned story telling? Camille<\/em> is certainly a good story, but without containing anything truly unique to the medium, it can never be classified as anything more.\u00a0 I\u2019m not advocating that films should be all flash and film school hi-jinks, but when I see a FILM I want to remember some of the cuts or shot composition or lighting or\u2026 For better or worse, a good story isn\u2019t enough. If I want a tepid melodrama I can turn on Lifetime.\u00a0Camille<\/em> only heightens my appreciation for Sirk and genre directors.\u00a0 They take potentially tired material and breathe new life into it with their own brand of cinematic devices. \u00a0Cukor seemed content to go on autopilot and his film suffers for it. This brand of lazy, workmanlike filmmaking still plagues the industry. While it may not be enough to \u2018ruin\u2019 a film, it keeps it from being the sort that I\u2019d return to and more importantly, from being the sort of old movie that I prod my friends to take the time to see for themselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Analysis by an elitist: Adam Lippe<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The mystique around Greta Garbo is no different than the one surrounding James Dean. Both ended their careers at the height of their fame, one by choice, one not. Therefore, each film they made has a certain weight attached to it, the generic qualities overlooked in order to be described as a \u201cclassic,\u201d without actually earning the praise. Garbo\u2019s Camille<\/em> fits neatly into this scenario, it is not an extraordinary film, it breaks no new ground, but it is adequate entertainment, and those unfamiliar with Garbo would be unlikely to damn it, as it never stoops to being embarrassing.<\/p>\n

Camille<\/em> is unlikely to have been a pioneer in any way, though it features characteristics that would be used for years in Hollywood films that followed. Garbo\u2019s character, Marguerite Gautier is supposedly ill throughout the entire movie, but she retains her glamour throughout, and eventually dies of an unspecific disease, which seems to resemble exhaustion from a cold. We only see her coughing, and even the introduction of the illness is unclear, the movie jumps around so much in the first act, that there is no way to know that one scene is six months later than the previous one, other than the stated fact halfway through. There is immense confusion regarding the Baron, it implies that he\u2019s been with her for the entire time, but it is revealed that only Armand Duval has visited her in the hospital. This brings up the question of how it is that the Baron and Marguerite were able to bond as a couple if during the entire time she was sick, he never came to see her. Their intimacy in the scene that follows the first theater sequence suggests that they have been around each other intensely, and she has already forgotten about Armand and moved on. These sorts of time compressions appear to be the result of trying to adapt a book, leaving in the major events, but trimming the transitions and mood building sequences.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>These problems of condensing create one of the film\u2019s larger problems, the scene of false crisis where Armand\u2019s father tries to convince Marguerite to let him go for his own good. The sequence is very forced, it appears that it was only included to break the lovers up when they were at their most happy, just to set up the tragic conclusion. While it is believable that Marguerite would not want to hurt Armand, the fact that she would throw it all away on his father\u2019s whim, a man she has never met, is hard to swallow. It certainly would have helped if the father had more than one scene of development previous to his declaration to Marguerite. This is another one of those motifs that appeared in many romantic comedies of the last 70 years, where the lovers meet and fall in love, and the screenwriters must concoct and contrive as many ways as they can to have them apart so the final scene has more dramatic weight. It is always phony and false, and certainly would be more challenging to show the couple together and slowly moving apart through time with each other, not trying to prove that absence makes the heart grow fonder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The issues of plausibility do not, however, get in the way of the snappy dialogue, which is a big surprise for such a standard melodrama. Even the way that Prudence is portrayed, initially as trying to think the financial best for Marguerite, but eventually shown as callous and uncaring when she asks for money on her deathbed, is still given amusing lines. The funniest scene in the entire film is when she stumbles around drunk, trying to get the other party guests to come to her house to continue the party, and at the same time take the prepared food with her, and she utters, \u201cSomebody bring the cheese!\u201d Even sharper are some of Marguerite\u2019s rejoinders such as, \u201cYou\u2019re killing yourself.\u00a0 If I am, you\u2019re the only one who objects.\u201d Her strange jealous relationship with Olympe results in a number of these sorts of lines, but it also adds a lot of humanity to her character, and not such a saintly martyr. Her attitude is what gives the film life, not just that she is resigned to die and have fun while she does it, but a willingness to appear flawed even in comparison to the selfish characters surrounding her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Chat:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam<\/strong> Did anyone else find it refreshing to find such an openly gay character portrayed? And it was probably how the Christian version of the new meaning of gay was devised <\/strong>when she was on her deathbed. The guy who put the money in her purse.
\nRhett<\/strong> “I used to think you were a gay fellow without other thoughts but of pleasure.” “Well, it’s true.” \u00a0I wrote them down those lines were so good
\nRichard<\/strong> I didn’t write them down, but I remember getting a good chuckle.
\nAdam<\/strong> Now she’s referring both to his temperament and the fact that he was effeminate, as well as thinking of gay men as only interested in pleasure.
\nShawn<\/strong> I just thought the term was more commonly used then.
\nAdam<\/strong> It was. As in the opening crawl.
\nShawn<\/strong> But he was very gay. <\/strong>So the shoe fits.
\nRhett<\/strong> Happy thus equates with being horny.
\nShawn<\/strong> Clever, but I paid this no mind.
\nAdam<\/strong> What did<\/em> you pay mind to?
\n\"\"<\/a>Richard<\/strong> Also of interest was that in Queen Christina<\/em>, Garbo plays the not so subtle bi-sexual <\/strong>\u00a0so, even though the code had kicked in by Camille<\/em>, she and her buddies were clearly in touch with that aspect of society.
\nRhett<\/strong> Is that actually acted on or just subtext?
\nRichard<\/strong> In QC? At the start of the film she has no intention of marrying, wears men’s clothes and is mainly interested in going sledding with her female servant. they have a falling out when she sees said girl with a man.
\nShawn<\/strong> I paid attention to how Garbo can look beautiful and ugly at the same time.
\nAdam<\/strong> She’s a Jolie.
\nShawn<\/strong> And mostly how she looks better when she is going through hell.
\nAdam<\/strong> She was dying of movie disease where everything is solved by overlighting and soft focus, so the star always looks glamorous no matter the illness.
\nRhett<\/strong> Okay, so her bisexuality is more implied there. <\/strong>Still interesting though.
\nShawn<\/strong> Yeah, she even died beautifully.
\nAdam<\/strong> Was she supposed to have bloodless TB? That was non-contagious.
\nShawn<\/strong> I think it was the clap.
\nRhett<\/strong> When you said movie disease I thought you were going to talk about how she was very much playing herself, sick of being in the movies.
\nShawn<\/strong> Which is why she never slept with her love.
\nAdam<\/strong> The movie itself is a metaphor for her career?
\nRhett<\/strong> Well, maybe just her death.
\nRichard<\/strong> I assumed she had consumption, but is that just TB?
\n\"\"<\/a>Adam<\/strong> If, as was suggested on IMDB, this was her favorite, I don’t think she would have phoned it in.
\nRhett<\/strong> I wrote down the end quote <\/strong>“perhaps it would be best if I lived in your heart…where the world can’t see me.” Not phoned in, no, but just like a swan song of sorts <\/strong>giving this to her fans before she would go into recluse.
\nShawn<\/strong> Yeah, that was a great quote. I thought along that line as well. But it wasn’t really her last film. Although it was close.
\nAdam<\/strong> But she made three more films over five years <\/strong>and the last one has the most apropos tagline <\/strong>“Go gay with Garbo!”
\nRhett<\/strong> It seems every film of hers used her in the tagline. \u00a0Garbo Talks! Garbo Laughs! So what would this one be? Garbo Dies!
\nAdam<\/strong> \u00a0Garbo Menstruates! I guess this one would be Garbo Coughs!
\nRhett<\/strong> Perhaps it was with this film that she realized she had achieved everything she wanted to achieve, and was just looking for a way out since she liked it so much. With the others she realized she couldn’t equal her work here.
\nAdam<\/strong> But what is really so special about her work here? \u00a0Yes, there are some clever lines, but she is just moviestarring it up.
\nRichard<\/strong> That’s what I couldn’t get either, Adam. I didn’t mind the film, but it wasn’t as memorable as I hoped.
\nShawn<\/strong> Yeah, this was extremely average.
\nRichard<\/strong> No real memorable shots or even exceptional scenes, just a decent literary adaptation with a solid cast.
\nRhett<\/strong> Yeah, I don’t know why she considers it her favorite there just didn’t really seem to be anything of substance in it above your typical love story.
\nAdam<\/strong> Does anyone know about the trajectory of the novel?
\nShawn<\/strong> I actually skimmed the silent film version on the DVD and I thought some of the older scenes were better framed.
\nAdam<\/strong> While the notion of women’s only interest being marriage is commonplace for the era some of the uses of time were confusing such as the jump forward after the theater scene.
\nRichard<\/strong> Some of her earlier stuff was more subversive, so I was hoping for more of that.\u00a0 Sirkian touches I guess.\u00a0 Maybe the code killed all of that.
\nRhett<\/strong> “It’s a big mistake for a woman to have a heart bigger than her purse!”
\nAdam<\/strong> And then she’s been sick for 6 months. Perhaps there was more in the book.
\nShawn<\/strong> I wish they would have used the ugly competitor more often.
\nAdam<\/strong> Especially about the father and his strange request.
\n\"\"<\/a>Rhett<\/strong> The movie seemed to jump right into things too.
\nShawn<\/strong> She was at least amusing.
\nRhett<\/strong> I didn’t feel as if I knew enough about these characters to suddenly be thrust into this relationship.
\nRichard<\/strong> Yeah, the father scene was very awkward.
\nAdam<\/strong> Especially because he’s never met her before.
\nRhett<\/strong> Considering one of the major elements of a romance is catching up with the lovers when they first meet, not when they are in mid relationship.
\nRichard<\/strong> I don’t know much about the novel, but I assume this distilled the big plot points and cut the character development\/subtleties in favor of being audience friendly or entertaining.
\nRhett<\/strong> Yeah, definitely seems that way.
\nRichard<\/strong> Banking on the fact that Garbo would carry it regardless.
\nRhett<\/strong> And she kind of does.
\nShawn<\/strong> And having a star-studded walk-in with Barrymore.
\nRichard<\/strong> Yeah, she’s probably the only reason people still see it.\u00a0 I mean, she was why I wanted to watch it.
\nRhett<\/strong> I think I saw drew bulging out of his pants in one of the shots.
\nAdam<\/strong> But Shawn, he has such a nothing scene with his son before that. He isn’t used very well.
\nShawn<\/strong> Oh, I agree. Barrymore was there just to have another name on the marquee. If he was present for at least two scenes more before the time he visits her, it would have had deeper meaning.
\nAdam<\/strong> Exactly, I had a really hard time buying that she would just follow what he said.
\nRichard<\/strong> Speaking of story and all, were audiences of that day satisfied with a good story rather than expecting something really cinematic? \u00a0I don’t remember anything that couldn’t have been done on stage <\/strong>and that disappointed me, but I guess that’s Cukor. He\u2019s not exactly known for style.
\nRhett<\/strong> Well, this was before television, so there was still the luster for just story-driven stuff <\/strong>at least the camera moved…it could have been a lot drabber.
\nShawn<\/strong> Yeah, it moved. But it certainly wasn’t as dynamic as other films of that era.
\nAdam<\/strong> Richard, it would have been difficult to have the musical going on in the background on stage.
\nRhett<\/strong> Well, the camera was probably more static in the 30s than in any other decade.
\n\"\"<\/a>Richard<\/strong> I guess I was expecting something closer to Dietrich’s Von Sternberg stuff. <\/strong>Does anyone know when it was re-released? The trailer was one of those ‘you loved it then… see it again!!!’ deals.
\nAdam<\/strong> Shawn, you were saying you wanted more with the rival, do you think that really would have helped? \u00a0I thought there was just enough back and forth and she has that one hilarious monologue, trying to impress the baron.
\nShawn<\/strong> No, but it would have maybe added some more drama. <\/strong>Even if it did so accidentally.\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah, there could have been a bit more drama in that respect.
\nAdam<\/strong> As well as the line where she says he was looking at her the whole time.
\nRhett<\/strong> There didn’t seem to be much conflict throughout most of the film.
\nAdam<\/strong> And Garbo says “Perhaps that’s when he smiled at me.” The conflict was very much of the contrived self-inflicted type.
\nShawn<\/strong> Oh it’s a great line. I wish there was more of that type of greatness.
\nAdam<\/strong> There is very little attention paid to the expenses issue.
\nRhett<\/strong> A technical issue I noticed in the film was that it was full of jump cuts. <\/strong>It kind of took away from the glossy production.
\nShawn<\/strong> Yeah, they make her out to be broke, or getting there, but never focus on it.
\nRhett<\/strong> Some really bad cutting on the action too.
\nRichard<\/strong> I agree with Adam. I never felt engaged by the conflict.\u00a0 it seemed forced and abrupt (sort of like the Barrymore scene— why listen to him? To add some drama).
\nAdam<\/strong> I kept thinking about those forced romantic comedies, where the lovers meet in the first scene and the screenplay has to contrive reasons to keep them apart\u00a0 \u00a0turning it into a gimmick, rather bothering to establish characters. <\/strong>At least we were spared the scene where she explains about the father.
\n\"\"<\/a>Rhett<\/strong> I had just watched Valley Girl<\/em><\/span><\/a> before watching this, and that has one of the most obvious examples of splitting apart the main characters without any logical reasoning.
\nShawn<\/strong> Dude, she’s from the VALLEY.\u00a0 <\/strong>That’s the whole point. Princess and the punk don’t mesh.
\nRhett<\/strong> One minute they are montaging to Melt With You<\/em> and then the next scene she just yells at him and tells him to get out. Even then it makes no sense, because she gets back with the asshole boyfriend who her friend encourages, even though she has almost been raped by him.
\nShawn<\/strong> It is almost the same movie.
\nAdam<\/strong> I would have killed to see Garbo sing Melt With You<\/em>. Especially with a tinge of a Russian accent.
\nShawn<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm \u00a0 Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmmmmmmm.
\nAdam<\/strong> Here was something that confused me in Camille<\/em>; the maid just comes to the country? \u00a0Were they paying her?\u00a0 \u00a0And with what?
\nRhett<\/strong> I was somewhat confused by the monetary side of things too.
\nShawn<\/strong> That’s what made no sense. None.
\nRhett<\/strong> It seems like she was poor, but yet she seemed to have a lot of money
\nShawn<\/strong> How could she afford…Everything\u2026? \u201cI feel like buying a horse today.\u201d
\nAdam<\/strong> Or are we to assume that in Paris, in the 1850s, maids are completely loyal no matter what?
\nRhett<\/strong> And then that other fellow would just give her money even though she ignored him.
\nRichard<\/strong> I assumed it was just that they wanted to keep the maid in the film and were too lazy to really justify how to keep her around. \u00a0Were audiences of that day so accepting that they wouldn’t notice those things or maybe so involved with the meat of the story that they didn’t care about the details?
\n\"\"<\/a>Adam<\/strong> It isn’t clear how any of the single women afford anything.\u00a0 <\/strong>The rival woman, Olympe, she is at every social function but with no supporting man.
\nShawn<\/strong> Same way they do today. They pay with pussy.
\nAdam<\/strong> There isn’t even the implication of sex. Olympe doesn’t seem to be able to land anyone, even for sex.
\nRhett<\/strong> It just seemed to be so boring being a woman since they didn’t do anything. Like not even leisure things they just kind of sat there wondering if they were being looked at.
\nRichard<\/strong> “They just kind of sat there wondering if they were being looked at.” That’s sort of like me in class. Not a bad way to live.
\nAdam<\/strong> When I was in college I read a lot of those sorts of novels for a class. Edith Wharton stuff like The House of Mirth<\/em> and The Age of Innocence<\/em> and The Coquette<\/em>, all about the search by the aging single woman to find a man or she will be poor and die. But there wasn’t even any real desire for that in Camille.<\/em> No feeling that it was a must, or required.
\nRichard<\/strong> That was my issue, Adam, it seemed that it didn’t really matter what would happen, almost like we were expected to cry just because she was going to die.
\nRhett<\/strong> Kind of like Garbo herself, since she never got married, nor seemed to have any interest in it. It doesn\u2019t matter what happens in her life…she just wants to disappear.
\nShawn<\/strong> The bane of stardom.
\n<\/strong>Adam<\/strong> I’d imagine like with Fred Astaire, we’ll see Garbo dancing with a vacuum cleaner in a commercial at some point.
\nShawn<\/strong> I’m surprised she hasn’t already.
\nRichard<\/strong> Did she do anything publicly during the final 50 years of her life?
\nShawn <\/strong>She penned her biography in 1990. Maybe that would account for the final 50 years.
\nAdam<\/strong> Was Cukor known more for simply being a workmanlike director? I was surprised that a filmmaker who has so many notable films on his resume did something so visually flat and indistinctive.
\nRichard<\/strong> He’s known for lots of ‘women’s films.’\u00a0 They’re generally all indistinctive, at least what I’ve seen.
\nRhett<\/strong> A Very Gay Director.
\nShawn<\/strong> He did just as many non-popular forgettable films though.
\nRhett<\/strong> I’d say his resume is pretty impressive <\/strong>for the type of films he made.
\nShawn<\/strong> In size or content?
\nRhett<\/strong> Born Yesterday, Adam’s Rib, The Philadelphia Story<\/em>, etc.
\nAdam<\/strong> Well he graduated to musicals later, like My Fair Lady<\/em> and A Star is Born<\/em>, directed most of Gone With the Wind<\/em>.
\nRhett<\/strong> Haven’t heard of that one.
\nShawn<\/strong> Sounds boring.
\n<\/strong>Adam<\/strong> It’s a sleeper.
\nShawn<\/strong> I’ll say. It\u2019s damn near 4 hours.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Adam<\/strong> Most importantly, he directed Marilyn Monroe’s only nude scene in the unfinished Something’s Got to Give.<\/em>
\nRichard<\/strong> \u00a0Is that movie known for anything else? I haven’t seen much of MM’s work because a lot of it seems forgettable other than her presence.
\n<\/strong>Adam<\/strong> Not much different than Garbo?
\nShawn<\/strong> It’s known for her dying during the filming. <\/strong>Though not while filming. They didn\u2019t bother with a Bruce Le or Bruce Li situation, as the film obviously wasn\u2019t the caliber of Game of Death<\/em>.
\nRhett<\/strong> Charlize Theron should finish it.
\nAdam<\/strong> All blond women look alike.
\nShawn<\/strong> Just like black people.
\nRichard<\/strong> And Asians.
\nRhett<\/strong> And identical twins.
\n<\/strong>Shawn<\/strong> That’s not true. My identical twin looks nothing like Rhett’s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s the idea behind \u201cA Canadian, an American, a Lawyer, and an Elitist\u201d: Rhett\u2019s favorite movie is Meatballs 4,\u00a0 Shawn has an unhealthy fixation on Resident Evil, Richard scoffs at anything that isn\u2019t pretentious and hoity toity, and Adam is a prick who hates everything. We all watch far too many movies, and spend our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[8118,5188,8115,8121,1082,8128,8125,8134,40,8114,8112,8111,8113,8109,1129,2800,6707,8129,8110,8120,277,8108,5342,3813,3223,905,667,4120,267,3900,8137,3226,2364,5515,8135,8107,8136,349,5939,3771,8124,6721,8133,8122,138,8119,2382,686,6693,8086,232,8127,1225,6694,8117,7782,8123,8131,8132,8130,8126,8116,4042],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regrettablesincerity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}