Stuff and Things
May. 11th, 2006 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiSince Brian is on call tomorrow night, we decided to go out last night for dinner and entertainment rather than our Thursday burritos and goffee routine. We grabbed dinner at Bombay Mahal (our favorite Indian place on Moody street), where we learned we've actually hit townie status, when the host welcomed us back, and upon our leaving asked if we lived in the area since he's seen us walking by outside hand in hand. We also finally caught http://www.thenotoriousbettiepage.com at the http://www.westnewtoncinema.com/.
Its funny, the place is about a 5 minute drive from our house, and I haven't been there to see a movie since I've been a kid (Mom and Dad didn't take us to the movies often because it was an expensive day out, and they disliked the theater for its allegedly dirty, sticky floors). I think the old, grungy setting was perfect for the movie (filmed partially in black and white), and I'd like to go there more often to catch things (they are also showing "Kinky Boots" and "Thank You for Smoking" now). The bathroom reminded me a lot of the one in Radio City Music Hall - an art deco 'ladies lounge' with seats, mirrors, etc. Most of the seats in the theater were original, old and uncomfortable, but it kind of goes along with that old movie house charm. The projectionist was having issues with the camera and after some trying to fix it moved us to a theater next door. We actually were able to sit in some newer, larger and more comfy chairs that had been added to the back of the theater there. I love old buildings!
As far as the movie goes, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I've heard really mixed reviews of it, but I like how the director used the mix of black and white and color, like how she portrayed Bettie (there were negative things happening in her life, but for the most part she was in control of what she was doing, just a normal person with an interesting vocation). Its fascinating seeing how different things are now compared to how they were in the 50s in terms of pornography, legality, etc. I thought Gretchen Mol did a great job portraying Ms. Page's personality (at least, how her personality seems to come across in photos and movies I've seen). I loved, loved loved the clothing, the sets, the general 50s feel of the movie. I'm really glad we got to see this before its gone from theaters.
Its funny, the place is about a 5 minute drive from our house, and I haven't been there to see a movie since I've been a kid (Mom and Dad didn't take us to the movies often because it was an expensive day out, and they disliked the theater for its allegedly dirty, sticky floors). I think the old, grungy setting was perfect for the movie (filmed partially in black and white), and I'd like to go there more often to catch things (they are also showing "Kinky Boots" and "Thank You for Smoking" now). The bathroom reminded me a lot of the one in Radio City Music Hall - an art deco 'ladies lounge' with seats, mirrors, etc. Most of the seats in the theater were original, old and uncomfortable, but it kind of goes along with that old movie house charm. The projectionist was having issues with the camera and after some trying to fix it moved us to a theater next door. We actually were able to sit in some newer, larger and more comfy chairs that had been added to the back of the theater there. I love old buildings!
As far as the movie goes, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I've heard really mixed reviews of it, but I like how the director used the mix of black and white and color, like how she portrayed Bettie (there were negative things happening in her life, but for the most part she was in control of what she was doing, just a normal person with an interesting vocation). Its fascinating seeing how different things are now compared to how they were in the 50s in terms of pornography, legality, etc. I thought Gretchen Mol did a great job portraying Ms. Page's personality (at least, how her personality seems to come across in photos and movies I've seen). I loved, loved loved the clothing, the sets, the general 50s feel of the movie. I'm really glad we got to see this before its gone from theaters.
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Date: 2006-05-11 01:17 pm (UTC)You will LOVE Thank you for Smoking. I loved Kinky Boots, even though it's formulaic. Seeing "the monster" from Serenity as Lola... singing, attitude and all - was hilarious. :)
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Date: 2006-05-11 01:32 pm (UTC)Bettie Page
Date: 2006-05-11 02:12 pm (UTC)There was a great interview with the actress in Bust magazine a month or so back, where they mentioned this to her. I was curious to see how she'd pull it off, but she did so well carrying Bettie's personality that I think her size wasn't really an issue.
"No offense, but Bettie was a size 14, which back then was the acceptable size for women."
Well, keep in mind too that sizing for women has changed since the 50's. A 14 back then is a 10 by today's standards (like, Marilyn Monroe was a size 12, but by today's standards would be an 8). They were both curvy, but they were still quite small. Either way, the actress was smaller than Betty, but I think she did well with it and made it believable despite that :)