4 august 1998		charade how darin and i talk
The quote of the day: I bet Audrey Hepburn caused anorexia. I bet all the harm she caused through that far outstripped all the good she did through UNICEF. -- Darin, watching Charade. Running news: Day off.		We watched Charade last night. Not a good movie. There were entire scenes just in there for "character development" (or, rather: "to have Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant on-screen, not doing anything"), and the movie just ground to a halt. We found ourselves saying, "Get on with it already!" They don't make 'em like that anymore. At least, I hope not. (Mind you, I'm speaking of the movie-qua-movie, or movie-qua-story, if you like. As movie-qua-star-vehicle, it was just fine, but only because you can have Grant and Hepburn reading the phone book and it would be light and charming and romantic.) We did like some of the banter in a couple of scenes. Darin turned to me and said, "People always criticize dialogue like that because people don't talk that way...but we actually do!" We turned it on a little late, so we didn't know who was in the movie, other than Hepburn and Grant. Hepburn's husband is killed and a number of his cohorts show up to the funeral. One silhouette appeared in the doorway and we both said, "James Coburn!" It's amazing how this guy who was never a superstar on par with Eastwood or Cruise or whomever you want to pick is so recognizable, but there it is. Coburn, by the way, has been playing the same character for 40 years, but if it works for you, run with it. By the way, the Quote of the Day is meant to be funny. Darin was being sarcastic. (Given some of the mail I've been getting recently, I feel the need to explain that.) Damn. Darin read me some passage from a Patrick O'Brien novel last night and my immediate reaction was, "That phrase is so great it has to be the title of my next entry." Of course, I've slept between then and now, so I have no idea what it was.
		Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com