The Silver Screen Oasis

This is why I love The Oasis as a whole...and various & sundry posters in particular here at the Oasis. We weave and wend a swath of opinions and breadcrumbs along the way to discussing topics relative to classic films. From being transported by films or not wanting to jump on that bandwagon; to Bergman and his Scandanavian memories and being emotionally able to absorb them or not; to sociopathically sexy portrayals of baaad girls Lena Olin & Linda Fiorentino; to my wishing to see Marcia Gay Harden and Michelle Monaghan playing Mother & Daughter in the movie of my personal imagination.

The Cutes. I keep thinking that that's what guys like ( Sandra Dee, Goldie Hawn...etc. Sally Field - "Smoky & The Bandit" ) But I'm sexist, according to Bob. ( ) But definitely seeing an actress be more a Woman than a cutesy sexy Barbie kewpie doll has got to be a better model for young girls to look up to.

Is there anything comparable with men? Beefcake, hunks, matinee idols, boy toys?

If Photobucket ( or Boto.... ) weren't so messed up, I'd show pictures as examples.

I don't mind cute. I just don't want a steady diet of it.

Wendy, I'm thinking that you are right about Binoche's character developing during the film. I guess I was so mesmerized by the monumental Lena Olin that I didn't notice what else was going on.

Since I liked Tautou (which I just found out I have been misspelling for years!) so much in Dirty Pretty Things, He Loves Me... is now on my queue. Thanks for the tip.

Theresa, your examples of cute on the screen are interesting. I never found Sandra Dee particularly attractive or interesting, I'v already mentioned my feelings about the inimitable Goldie, but Sally Field for me represents the Triumph over cute. I really want her to win another Oscar this year, so I can hear her say, "You still like me!"

Forever Cute, But With the Talent to Overcome It

Teri Garr
Carol Kane

Was Kinda Cute, But Still Pretty, and Then Sexy, But Still Cute

Diane Keaton

[u]Robert Regan[/u] wrote:Theresa, your examples of cute on the screen are interesting. I never found Sandra Dee particularly attractive or interesting, I'v already mentioned my feelings about the inimitable Goldie, but Sally Field for me represents the Triumph over cute. I really want her to win another Oscar this year, so I can hear her say, "You still like me!"

Interesting? WHo's talking about Interesting? Bob, don't confuse interesting for cute. And Sandra was attractive though I know it's all in the eye of the beholder. She might not be Sonja Henie-cute or Jon Provost-cute, but Dee was cute. As for Sally, she'll never say that again. She's mature now, and will give a gracious speech. Of course, Jennifer Lewis will probably win and that'll end that. ( BTW, did you see "Silver Linings Playbook"? It was very good. And the Mom in that movie was excellent. She's an underdog to win a Best Supporting Oscar. )

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Oh hoooooo ChiO break down man...break it on down :

[u]ChiO[/u] wrote:Forever Cute, But With the Talent to Overcome It

Teri Garr
Carol Kane

Was Kinda Cute, But Still Pretty, and Then Sexy, But Still Cute

Diane Keaton

Teri - "Roll roll roll in the hay."
Carol - Didn't she date Alvy Singer in "Annie Hall"?
Keaton - Always thought she was pretty. She transcended the cutes when she married that Corleone boy. I like her mature looks now.

I always thought Jane Bryan & Buddy Rogers were pretty cute.

Theresa, I was calling your examples interesting, not necessarily the women. I realize that I may be the only American male of my generation not to have loved Dee as a teen, but as young and callow as I was, still how could I have found her attractive when there were so many movies around with Gloria Grahame, Elaine Stewart, and Debra Paget, not to mention Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. Teens on the screen are usually pretty hard to take for me, rarely convincing. This is why I was so surprised to find that two of my most favorite films of 2012 were centered on adolescent girls, Margaret and the Norwegian Turn Me On, Dammit. And incidentally, Theresa and ChiO, it looks as if we all have somewhat different definitions of "cute". Clarifying this would be a much bigger job than I could handle at this time.

I'll take Ruthie.

I have Imitation of Life and The Organizer recorded but haven't watched yet. Imitation of Life has literally been on my list to see since I was about 14.

Kingrat, I agree with you about Binoche in Blue, as well as The English Patient. Though I did not like that film, it was the first in which I really liked her. She certainly left her cutes behind.

Generally, I think we are much more likely to find credible teens on the screen today than back then, though not as a rule in movies aimed at a teen audience, in which usually none of the characters of any age is believable. In addition to the ones I mentioned above, I have lately been impressed by the high school neo-noir Brick and Me Without You, an English film about a pair of "best friends" from twelveish to thirtyish, admirably played by Michelle Williams as the "smart" one and Anna Faris as the "wild" one.

Let me go on record right now that I absolutely adore Teri Garr! Most of my favorite women on the screen are sexy and funny, and she certainly fills the bill. Like Judy Holliday, she can play "ditzy" without patronizing the character. As far as a "bigger" career is concerned. I think that in spite of her unquestionable talent, she does not have whatever it takes to "carry" a film. The few films I have seen that offer her greater scope than usual have not, for various reasons, been successful. Still, let's not feel sorry for someone who has worked steadily from '63 to '07, racking up about 150 credits! Incidentally, I have yet to forgive Spielberg for making her the heavy in Close Encounters because she didn't believe Dreyfuss' story that no one in their right mind would buy. The same year, she was in the same situation in Oh God, but to Carl Reiner, her incredulity was understandable, and he treated the character sympathetically!

RR wrote:
I realize that I may be the only American male of my generation not to have loved Dee as a teen

Actually, I don't know any American males of my generation (Baby Boomer) who loved Sandra Dee. Oh... all of the girls of my generation loved her (and Doris Day), but no male that I knew did. (Dear Herr Doktor Freud: A female attraction to the impersonators of the virginal ideal? Is that Agape or Thanatos?)

Annette.... Ah, Annette.

And Orbach, Cassavetes, Hopper, Adams, Morrow and...the still alive and kickin'...Bakalyan woulda kicked Avalon's behind for her. (Mineo would've been there, but only as moral support. And Dean would have expressed the angst we all felt.) The '50s JDs -- now those were the guys.

ChiO, I doff my hat to your generation. They had better taste than mine. Except, I don't know about those 50s JDs. They were all way into their twenties!

I don't know about those 50s JDs. They were all way into their twenties!

Of course! It takes a certain maturity to play a child.

I'm several years into it myself...and should have it perfected any decade now.

Good luck, ChiO!