lifestyle,lifes,women,scandals,celebritys,artist,wife,family,politicians,married,bisnis,onlines,vids,pics,magazine,arts
It being the dog-days-of, and because, too, I like at times to live in the past, much of my thus-far summer has been spent revisiting TV’s yuppiest dramedy, or what others called a “high-end soap,” or what New York magazine sized up then, simply, as the show people “love to hate, hate to love, and love to talk about.”
Ah, the late ’80s, when Clinton was still the governor of a backwater state, and nobody really laid down their cellphones like guns at lunch. Twenty-four years ago it was when a show called thirtysomething tah-dah’ed, its title coming in the e.e. cummings lowercase, but the era-defining-ness definitely being broached in the upper. Co-created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick and axis’ed around the extraordinarily ordinary — the existential qualms of career, parenting, sex and self — it was a respite from the neon-flash of the Miami Vices that ruled the tube, or the boa camp of the decade’s Dynasty.
“OMG, I loved thirtysomething” a co-nostalgist exclaimed when I brought my secret Netflix-watching (the entire series is on the site) whilst standing in a long, long, long customs line last week at the airport. (Hey, it was one way to kill the time).
“Without thirtysomething, there’d be no Six Feet Under. Maybe no Mad Men either,” I told the customs-buddy, exercising a thesis that’s been building in my head (and which I made a point of not declaring later to the border officials)
In fact, as I’ve been making my way through the first season of the show, it’s occurred to me that the show — masterful in its execution of the long-arc, and in its capacity to let characters talk and talk and talk — was such a game-changer that it paved the path, in its way, not only for the wordy character-based shows like My So-Called Life and Gilmore Girls, self-involved quirk-fests like Ally McBeal and Weeds, but also the ensemble intimacy of Friends, and Entourage and, yes, even Sex and the City. (Indeed, when Bravo began airing repeats of thirtysomething some years back they actually recruited SATC-mamma Candace Bushnell to introduce each ep with commentary, her going on to label the show the “the Sex and the Suburbs of its time.”)
Part of the fun in watching the show in the rear-view, naturally, is in the acquisition of all the period insignia. $278 is actually considered stupidly expensive for a baby stroller, according to one plot trope — HA! Watch one of the characters look mystified as her office decides to go all computerized! See another boast about landing Les Miserables tickets (could there be a more ’80s notion of yuppie self-worth than that?) Catch the fly-by, meta-pop dialogue hit about Siskel and Ebert liking a certain movie!
But apart from the cosmetic changes, some big, some small — nobody tweets, it’s true, and the Cold War is officially still during the start of the show, and G-A-Y is a way bigger deal — what’s triply intriguing to me is how current the world of the lead couple, Hope and Michael (Ken Olin and Mel Harris) and their motley crew of pals, still now seems. When two of the main male leads go shopping together for “dish racks,” it’s the same-old of post-millennial bromance. When the social minefields come up, via a disparate dinner party, and a character spouts that it’s weird being “the friends of friends,” it’s like listening in on any conversation in any Starbucks in any metropolis. And Hope’s très complicated relationship with her mother? Not passé, let’s just say.
And, oh, how pretty Ken Olin was — the First Bush-era Ward to Mel’s June, in thirtysomething. Sporting his ever-present suspenders (he may have even out-Larry King’ed in that department), he treked through the series as the cultural emblem of the sensitive yuppie, and ended up, off-screen, on the cover of GQ. (Time marched on in that department, it not being that kind to the Olin we caught more recently, in the latter-day Herskovitz-Zwick series, Brothers & Sisters).
More generous it — time — has been to the show as a whole, for sure. Decorated in Emmys but never really a ratings grabber, it stands with Seinfeld, according to a piece some years ago in the L.A. Times, as the most culturally influential TV series of the late 20th century. “Yet,” as this writer noted, and I agree, “while Jerry Seinfeld’s sitcom famously proclaimed itself to be a show about nothing, thirtysomething proudly strove to be a show about … well, something.”
Think Nirvana and Edward Scissorhands. That’s who this professional clotheshorse points to in describing some of her earliest influences. A wisp of a thing, with a knack for fashion clairvoyance, her boutique, Reborn, is the hot destination in town. Dream dinner guests Leonard Cohen, Adrien Brody, David Bowie. Words to live by Live your life, not the one others wish for you. Favourite movie Jamon Jamon, Before Night Falls, Edward Scissorhands. Your greatest extravagance My dog, Pema. Dream Vacation Anywhere tropical without my cellphone … Your most treasured possession My store, Reborn.
Laurin Liu, age 20One of the gotcha batch of young NDP MPs elected in the last national election, Liu is all Witherspoonian spunk and freshman passion. Fluent in English, French and Cantonese, soon enough she’ll be combining her parliamentary hi-jinks with her studies at McGill (a major in History and Cultural Studies with a minor in Islamic Studies!) Dream dinner guests Judith Butler, Eve Ensler and Alice from Eyes Wide Shut. Words to live by “Words should express just what one wants to say” — Nana Kleinfrankenheim. Favourite movie Sedmikrásky (Daisies) (1966). Who would play you in a movie Bill Murray. A person living or dead you most admire Tarja Halonen.
Alison Silcoff, agelessThe philanthropic genie behind one of Canada’s biggest annual galas, the Daffodil Ball, she’s helped to raise more than $21.5-million net over the years for the Canadian Cancer society. Has the ability to mine humour in even the unlikeliest of places. Dream dinner guests Brilliant historian and celebrity TV personality Simon Schama (an old friend from my Cambridge days), who can hold forth on any subject from Schubert to stilettos and from Einstein to ice cream, as well as his specialty subject; my favourite playwright and cynical wit Alan Bennett, Anna Wintour, Jon Stewart, Nigella Lawson. Guilty pleasure Sleeping in till 10 a.m. Then breakfast in bed with all the newspapers. Your greatest extravagance A week in Milan shopping, going to La Scala and eating in wonderful restaurants. Words to live by “Never give up. Never, ever, ever” — Churchill. Favourite movie Sophie’s Choice. Who would play you in a movie Marisa Berenson. Dream vacation India. I’ve never been and it’s been top of my list for years. A person living or dead you most admire Pierre Trudeau. The trait you most value in others Intellectual brilliance combined with a sense of humour and irreverance. The quality you most value in yourself Resilience.
Caroline Néron, age 37So beautiful, she was the bombshell who fell out of the sky into Richard Branson’s arms in a 2005 campaign for Virgin Mobile! An actress/singer/vampire — well, she did play the latter once in a film — she’s also got her own self-styled jewellery collection. It, and she, continue to turn heads. Dream dinner guests René Angélil, Céline Dion and Guy Laliberté. Guilty pleasure When in Paris, having dinner with friends at Hotel Costes. Words to live by La vie est bien faite. It means you reap what you sow. Who would play you in a movie Mila Kunis. A person living or dead you most admire Guy Laliberté. Your most treasured possession My most treasured gift (but not possession), my daughter.
Kathy Acimovic, age 32Fizzy, clever and very well-shod: that’s how this desirable shapes up. The senior PR manager for ALDO, she’s not just a world-wide shoe enabler — she’s an ambassador, herself, for Montreal. Dream dinner guests Josh Peskowitz, David de Rothschild, Andy Samberg, Dave Eggers, Francis Ford Coppola and Charles Saatchi. Guilty pleasure The Step Up movie franchise, I hear Step Up 4Ever is in the works! Along with just about every teen show on the CW. Words to live by Fail again. Fail better. Favourite movie Rear Window. Who would play you in a movie Rachel McAdams. Your greatest extravagance Shoes — hence the gig. Dream Vacation Surf camp. The quality you most value in yourself Unwavering enthusiasm for the things I love.
Rachelle Lefevre, age 32Riotous red of hair and green in terms of causes, this pot-stirring thespian — “Canada’s frank new sweetheart” is how she’s been described — has been all over the big-and-small radar in recent years: a break-out in the original Twilight, as one of the many wives in Barney’s Version, and as an adventure-packing doc on ABC’s Off The Map. Back in her hometown she is these days shooting a film — a French one! “I love how messy human beings are,” she’s said. “We’re trying to fit into the boxes in society, yet we have those moments where we want to come unhinged. I’m always looking for the roles where it gets messy.”
AND THE VERY HONOURABLE MENTIONS…
Jessica Paré: Not sure about her stenography skills in real life, but this much is true: This actress drives many men mad!
Manon Gauthier: Oh, the sangfroid of this CEO. Ranked one of Canada’s “Most Powerful Women,” she keeps things moving at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts.
Julie Couture: Delicious! Surely, you know the mummy type! Adds sparkle to some of the higher echelons.
Nikki Yanofsky: Do you believe? The second coming of Ella Fitzgerald — even if this scatter still has to do homework!
Phyllis Lambert: The Bronfman grande dame has rightly been dubbed “The Joan of Architecture” by the Wall Street Journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment