I'm going with my best cousin Jess, with whom I watched the movie version every weekend for about six straight years, at midnight, so we could swoon in private. And. I know it by heart. Which could be a problem if the actors don't.
Opening scene:
Lucy Honeychurch throws open the windows in her Italian pensione and pouts, "But I thought we were to have a view of the Arno!"
But she says it "AHHH-no" and is impossibly adorable. I want to be impossibly adorable. I am not British, so this is impossible.
Enter George, who is a crazy hunk.
And he plays with his food! But he's kind of crazy. The food question mark means he's really deep, which plays to my 13-year old presumption that handsome British guys dressed in all white who run amok on the lawns of great estates are deep (later proved wrong by experience).
Lucy plays Beethoven and gets all melodramatic on her piano, but mother doesn't like it when she plays that modern Beethoven, because it makes her "peevish".
Which is pretty funny to me at the time, because I PLAYED BEETHOVEN REAL LOUD AND GOT ALL MELODRAMATIC ON MY PIANO!! And my mom was like, could you please play something a little more....restful??!! Beethoven was the original rebel music!
Anyhow, Italy happens! And we know what that means: sexy time in lavender fields!
I don't know what makes you think this is my favorite part.
Later there's a fat, naked Mr. Beebe, which makes my mom think the movie is pornographic. Thus the watching at my cousin's house (where things are so lax they have sugar cereal, Barbie dolls, and cable!)
There's a skinny, gruesome Cecil, who is Lucy's "intended". He's gross and farts dust!
George tells Lucy that Cecil is "the sort who can't love anyone, least of all a woman".
And she's like, oh dude you just blew my mind!
So she conducts a little experiment and asks Cecil to kiss her. He obliges by banging his spectacles against her face and rubbing his waxed mustache on her, and thus Lucy knows George is right about him. Bad kisser, doesn't play with his food, never ran naked with Mr. Beebe. Sayonara sucka!
Lucy dumps Cecil. Cecil goes all cross-eyed, has a tuberculosis attack, and goes off to pin butterflies in the library.
No, I don't know where he goes because all I care about is Lucy is GOING TO GET WITH GEORGE!
The story has a pretty satisfactory resolution. No one dies, they end up in Italy, and their passionate necking is sanctioned by church and state, and thus my mom, for they are now man and wife.
I am free to observe their passionate wedded bliss. If only I could get Mr. Beebe out of my mind.
Ah if only we'd had time to watch the movie at my house before we go to the theatre. Hopefully George will still be swoon worthy. As a side note, sugar cereal only happened on the weekends when Dad was in charge and the Barbies were for hanging up in the tree and fire...good memories ;)
ReplyDeleteGeorge was RATHER tasty, don't you think?? We will do this in reverse...stage version this weekend, film next. WIth like, some English-y food but not the gross kind?
DeleteHow funny -- I just recently watched this for the first time and loved it (I love me a film adaptation of a classic). The Brit wangs were a fun and welcome surprise!
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting! They're trying to take this production to Broadway and I was like, I'm not sure this movie has much of a following beyond weird adults who are ex-weird teenagers. Oh, but that might be you??
DeleteAnd ps, THEY DID THE FULL LAKE SCENE ON STAGE.
But Judi Dench deserves a mention for saying "tempestuous tulip". She's so saucy!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best movies ever. Also because of this:
"It is love, Vicar. Call it Italy if you like."
I'm so glad I internet-met you :)
That's RIGHT! I can hear her voice now! She says "tulip" as "choo-lip"
DeleteJudi Dench invented saucy, I'd say. She vastly improves every movie she's in.
Omg, we should Skype and watch this together, my lovely internet soul mate ;)
That's one of my favortie movies ever! Sometimes when I'm having an awe inspiring moment I just want to scream BEAUTY!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhile falling out of a tree??!! I can't tell you what a joyous moment this is for me, finding other ladies with SUCH impeccable taste in films...
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