Kwickie Kritical Kommentary - 1 Book, 2 Movies

 First, the book.

Okay, are you a fan of the movie "The Godfather"?  If so, then you've just got to read this book.  It is a detailed and well-researched look at that classic 1972 movie was made.  Stories abound about Francis Ford Coppola (who was in danger of being fired throughout the entire time the movie was being made), Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Mario Puzo, and Robert Evans and various and assorted other Paramount Studios punjabs.

Even if you didn't especially care for "The Godfather" (is that possible?), but love movies, this is a worthwhile read just to see how the sausage gets made when making movies.  Believe it or not, right up until the very release of the film in March, 1972, there were people involved at Paramount who thought that it was going to be a Big Time bomb.  What they ended up getting was an undeniable masterpiece, one of the greatest American films ever.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

Now, the movies.

"Where The Crawdads Sing", based on the bestselling novel by Delia Owens and directed by Olivia Newman.  The novel was a big hit on the book club circuit.  It tells the tale of "Marsh Girl" Kya Clark, a girl who basically raised herself in the North Carolina marshes, and who has a talent for studying and drawing the flora and fauna of the area.  How she is treated by the townsfolk of the area becomes the key to the story when a murder is committed and Kya becomes the main suspect.

The movie started slow for me as it showed Kya's background and what led her to become the Marsh Girl, but once we see Kya as a teenager and adult, it picks up and becomes not only character study and a commentary on small town life and mores, but a bit of a legal thriller as well.

The only actor in this one with who I was familiar was David Strathairn, who plays the older Atticus Finch-type lawyer who defends her.  Kya is played by twenty-four year old English actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, who I thought was terrific in the movie.  And just how is it that London trained actors can pull off North Carolina accents so flawlessly?

Daisy Edgar-Jones

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

Finally, from 2008.....

Yep, I'm probably one of the last people on earth to see this movie.  It is a story of a girl about to be married.  Trouble is, she doesn't know who her father is, but she knows that it could be one of three men, so she invites all three of them to her wedding, unbeknownst to her mother, who may or may not know which of these blokes is the father.   And it's all set to the music of Swedish rock group ABBA.  It's fluffy, and it's silly, but it's a lot of fun, too.

You get to see Meryl Streep sing and dance and act as only she can.

You get to see Christine Baranski sing and dance and vamp it up.

You get to see Amanda Seyfried sing and dance and look cute as can be.

You get to see Pierce Brosnan try to sing while looking devilishly handsome.

It got me in such mood that I cannot wait to be invited to a wedding and get out on the dance floor when they play Dancing Queen.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.