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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
What celebrity death hurt the most?
The “In Memoriam” segments in award shows are going to be brutal with the death of so many renowned entertainers recently. We’d already lost Heath Ledger, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack and Ollie Johnston. Stan Winston, Cyd Charisse and now George Carlin have departed just this past week.
Some of these deaths were completely unexpected, others less so. Still, it always hurts when we lose a gifted artist, whether fate takes them too soon or natural causes take their course.
All these obituaries and tributes in the news lately got me thinking about the impact of a celebrity’s passing. The one that hurt me the most is an easy call.
Some people who know me as a Beatlemaniac may think it was the death of John Lennon. That was certainly a shock, but I was 10 at the time, and I wasn’t heavily into the Beatles before then. For better or worse, it was John’s death that got my Beatlemania going.
The death of George Harrison, too, was incredibly sad, but as much as I didn’t want to acknowledge it, it was well known cancer was getting the better of him.
No, the celebrity death that hit me the hardest was the untimely passing of Jim Henson in 1990, from a severe strep infection. That came like a cruel bolt from the blue, it happened so fast. I had seen him on The Arsenio Hall Show with Kermit only a week or so earlier.
It was already tragic enough that I and many others had lost a childhood idol. It hurt even more when we learned later that Jim’s life might had been saved if only he had gone to the hospital just a little earlier.
Worse still, the Muppets have never been the same. The only truly great Muppet projects after Jim’s death were the TV tribute to Henson and The Muppet Christmas Carol. A succession of increasingly uninspired movies and TV shows followed. I dearly hope the planned revival from the creators of Forgetting Sarah Marshall can restore their luster. Until then, thank goodness for the DVDs.
So which celebrity deaths hit you hard, whether the passing was expected or not? Celebrities who were in the movies would be preferred, but in the interest of broadening the comments, I’ll widen the net and let us all drown our sorrows together.
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Today’s DVDs: Charmers that warrant watching
“Three outta four ain’t bad” is the key saying for today’s DVDs, and two of the four titles were movies that did fairly well at the box office, but deserve to be seen by a wider audience.
Definitely, Maybe: This romantic comedy about a man (Ryan Reynolds) who recounts his past romances with his daughter (Abigail Breslin) gets a little too hung up on its “Guess which one is my mom” hook. It doesn’t need such gamesmanship when three extremely appealing actresses are the girls: Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz and Isla Fisher. Heck, they even make Reynolds seem not so annoying. GRADE: B+
The Spiderwick Chronicles: This family film got a bit lost in the shuffle earlier this year, perhaps because of the glut of fantasy movies, lately, and that’s too bad. This one is better than most, with its terrific effects, a strong story, and a solid cast with Freddie Highmore, Mary Louise Parker and David Strathairn. Its certainly better than the aimless The Golden Compass, and I’d put it on par with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because both films have weak spots overshadowed by some great moments. GRADE: B+
Persepolis: This black and white animated film about an Iranian girl forced to flee her homeland was somewhat overrated because its form was so unique. I thought the ending lacked impact, but it’s still is a one of a kind film with many inspired moments. GRADE: A-
And then there’s 10,000 BC, but you don’t want to rent it, much less buy it. Full review. GRADE: D-
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