What Ever Happened To The Great On-Screen Couples?

An absurd question? I think not! Back when the old MGM studios were in charged, they had their favorite onscreen duos. The same couple might appear in a dozen movies together, but thanks to sizzling on-screen chemistry, it never got old. Lauren Becall and Humphry Bogart. Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Why do I bring this up? Well, we all have a favorite, but I absolutely love (nay, j'adore-- yes, it requires French) Olivia de Haviland and Errol Flynn. They’re absolutely amazing in the eight movies they were in together. From 1935’s Captain Blood to 1941’s They Died with Their Boots On, the exceptional acting and sizzling chemistry between the two lit up the silver screen.

"Hello dahling, I'm a cad" -- actual Errol quote

I first fell in love with this couple as a kid watching the original 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood. I love the story of Robin Hood to begin with- hell I purchased Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with my own money (there were tots American dudes running around crusade-era England! And MORGAN FREEMAN!).

Errol is the quintessential Robin-- brave, vigorous, and rockin' a pair of technicolor green tights. And Olivia, though clearly acting in a time prior to the woman's lib version of Marian, infuses an admirable spirit to her portrayal. She's gorgeous, gentle, but beneath you can see her rebellious side.

But what I really fell in love with was their chemistry. They just had it. Something that was missing from all the modern day movies I watched.

"Hello there Studly McTights!!"

Of course, once I realized they'd made ore than one movie together, I made it my own personal goal to view every Olivia-Errol movie. Haven't completed that goal yet. But another personal favorite in the collection is the Western, Dodge City. A bleak outpost town, full of crime. Errol is a Texas cattleheard who, after the death of a small child, agrees to become the sheriff and clean up the town. Olivia is the school teacher who (due to events on the wagon trail bringing her to Dodge City) despises, and later comes to love, Errol. The romantic tension in this movie is palpable, leading the viewer to wonder if they ever really did have an affair (You can read De Havilland's response to that question here). But dang, if I don't get chills every time I watch that movie.

Plus it contains a pretty epic bar brawl scene. Complete with singing bar skanks.

Cowboys and Indians? Sign me up, bitches!

I've also watched They Died With Their Boots On and The Charge of the Light Brigade. If your looking for lighter fare, that's definitely not what you want to watch. Both are historically based, with rather sad endings. But the acting is impeccable, and as always, the chemistry between the two actors amazing.

Which brings me to my big question: what ever happened to the great on-screen couples?

Sure we have, in the bigger franchises, classic "couples." But don't tell me fifty years from now people are going to look back at Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson and say "There was a couple with a spark." More like onscreen snoozefest of teenage angst. I don't want my grandchildren thinking Megan Fox and Shia Lebouf are the epitome of on-screen romance, when Fox was paid to wear little and scream a lot.

Who's left out there that have scored in multiple, unrelated movies together? The best I can come up with are Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and my personal favorite (and one I hope to see in many more movies together because they actually do have chemistry), Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet.

As for me, I'll stick with Errol and Olivia. Gentleman, you have a lot to live up to. Especially when it comes to rocking a pair of green tights.

All that, and a winning smile...

Be Still My Heart: There's Still A Chance I Can Become A Princess

In case you were wondering, Prince Harry is still single. No he's not dating his sister-in-law's sister, Pippa as all the supermarket magazines claim. It would be totally weird if they did though, very "Brady Girls Get Married." Check out the theme song to the short-lived sitcom, The Brady Brides, which followed the made-for-TV movie. My real question, what was Alice doing still keeping house for these grown women????




Back to Harry, he is SINGLE. Be still my heart! Fake sigh! Maybe Kate Middleton and I can still be sisters!

New Christine......

In a recent explanation to a long-out-of-the-loop friend about the whole Fred situation, I summed it up as this: "I'm old Christine." If you lived under a rock for the last 5-ish years, I'm referring to the now-cancelled CBS show starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

The Plot:
Christine is a hardworking wife and mother. She owns a gym, she sends her kid to private school, her brother lives with her. And her husband leaves her in episode 1. Then she discovers her husband has a new girlfriend, AND HER NAME IS CHRISTINE TOO! Why is this important, you ask? Well when Fred was looking for a fine young 19-year old, he managed to find one with the same name as me. Somehow, that just makes it all a little more twisted. And yes, it makes me old Christine. I don't care. I think she's got way more going for her than new Christine anyway.


For anyone that was curious about new Christine, read here:
http://boostupidboys.blogspot.com/2011/06/awkward-log-flume-for-5.html

Awkward: Log Flume for 5

Super-awkward.......

As far as my definitions for situations on a hierarchical level of personal hell go (think DANTE's INFERNO), I think I've added a new situation. Now I'm contending my recent amusement park trip against my previous most awkward post-relationship moment- being stuck sitting next to my ex-boyfriend on a train, while my friends sat in the row in front of me, less than 24 hours after we broke up. When later confronted about the event they said, "Oh, we thought you might still have some issues to work out." No, our issues were pretty well settled as of last night, when I told him it was over. And by far the best quote came from a friend that was a little not-too-caught up to the news: "I didn't know you guys had broken up. I thought you wanted some couple time."

To return to my story, I headed to an amusement park this weekend with some friends, and Fred (he was invited by one of our guy friends, for the record). Fred and said friend (lets call him Greg) showed up to the event wearing superhero capes. For anyone that's been out of the loop, I have barely spoken to Fred three months. I did attend his birthday party (with mild protest) earlier this month after receiving a personal invitation. In said invitation (via text), he said he would like to be friends again and he missed me from his life, as I am/was one of his closest friends. That said, it would seem reasonable that he might attempt to talk to me, right? Haha, wrong again.

While Fred did spend time apologizing to my friend for singing Stephen-Lynch style songs about her at the party, and time chatting with my other friend about various summer plans, he said nary a word directed at me. Let the record show I didn't say much to him either, but that's my prerogative as the hurt party in this situation. I don't have anything particularly nice to say to him, so I'm choosing not to say anything. But he, who (refer back to above) claims he wants to have things be different (as in me talking to him on a frequent basis in a polite and friendly manner), better learn to start the conversation if he hopes for anything to change. Even a simple "Hey how's it going?" might show some effort on his part that he actually means what he says. Why would I want to be friends with someone who can't even say hello to me? I'm not seeing any reason to be buddies or make any efforts toward forgiveness at this time. See his announcement via Facebook that he's dating a 19-year old AND the prior 'I need time to think things out, I'm not ready for a relationship yet' posts in case you've forgotten why this whole thing begun. So in essence, I'm issuing him a challenge (it has become known and my and Java's phrase to live by) - MAN UP! Real men say they are sorry (they don't text it), they make efforts to live up to their claims, in theory they tell the truth, and they don't do things that might reasonably make their friends upset.

Furthermore, I have so easily made a decision about what my plans are for 4th of July [as I had planned to take an annual road trip to the Birthplace of Freedom - AKA Boston - with my friends, (including Fred)]. Drum roll please- I'M NOT GOING! Not only will I get some much needed downtime, but I will avoid a weekend of uncomfortable tension- yay! And as an added bonus, I won't have to sit there and watch Fred and New Christine (an explanation on her name to follow in the next post) all weekend. Yes folks, he invited his child bride girlfriend on a trip he knew I was coming on. That seems to add another check mark in the "He's a douche" column for those of you keeping score. But rumor has it she's hesitant to go, because she thinks some of his friends hate her, (I was not mentioned in the grouping ironically enough) so I'm curious to see how this plays out.

So now that we're all caught up, let's return to my awkward moment. Fred did have the good sense not to try to sit next to me on any roller coasters, as I might have tried to hit him in the face with my hands and blamed it on gravitational pull (damn that G-force). But when our group decided to hit the log flume, it all went crazy. We decided it would be reasonable to squish 5 adults in a log flume (broken up into two parts and probably broken up best to accommodate 4). Everyone climbed in before me. I stood there on the turntable loading dock saying "Hey guys, where am I supposed to squeeze in?" Of course the only room to be found was to squeeze into the front, smack dab behind my friend and right in front of Fred. In another time and place (read 5 months ago), I would have been thrilled with this prospect; it would have made me giddy. But given the circumstances, it made me ill and uncomfortable. I could not wait to get out. So I sat in a log flume, Fred just inches away from me, my friend's ponytail in my face, and got ridiculously soaked. It was not my idea of fun.

My Boys - In Support of the "Harry Met Sally" rules

I ahve finally finished watching the "first" season of my boys. Officially its the first half of the first season, but each chunk was separated by a year, so i consider it two entirely different seasons. I can now reflect accurately on what what main message of the all-too-short series were.

Here's what I got from the MY BOYS:

As a girl, you cannot be "just friends" with a guy, or group of them. Billy Crystal's voice is echoing in my head, so say it with me now, "Men and women cannot be friends. Sex always gets in the way." See my comments about When Harry Met Sally for more on this theory.

WAZZUP - PJ and Brando
PJ may not be a girly girl. She's a sports writer, she hosts nearly every poker night/sports viewing event. But she still has feelings. In a classic example of the WHMS rule, she makes a huge point of telling the guys how in college, Brandon kissed her and "wazzup"ed her the next day. For those of you that are unsure if you've been "wazzup"ed after a potential romantic moment, you probably have been. In PJ's case, Brandon walked by her in the libray the day after making out with her, simply saying "wazzup" and quickly walking away. He then for years denied the event and following wazzup, pretending he had been skiing that day. So yes, if you're totally blown off after a potentially romantic situation, you've been "wazzup"ed for sure. If you are indeed involved with a Brandon, he may suddenly admit to said wazzup, kiss you, ask you out on a potentially awkward date, then pack his bags and move out of your guest room. As an earlier and important plot note, Brandon basically called off his wedding after PJ pointed out his on-again/off-again girlfriend Wendy was not letting him take part in his own wedding, and would probably not let him live his life. Wendy also wouldn't let PJ be the best man. Not cool.


Stephanie and Kenny
From the first episode, or maybe second, we can clearly see that PJ's sassy and more sophisticated friend Stephanie (sorry no videos available to demonstrate my point here) has intense disdain for Kenny. But by the time everyone comes back from Bobby's not wedding to Elsa the nanny, we find out they've been secretly dating.Kenny is the 100% opposite guy from Stephanie's usual types- bankers, Gregg from business affairs, etc.. but their secret relationship got the best of them. Suddenly they're a couple and all the years of snide comments and tension goes away.

And in a whole different level, we have PJ and Bobby. Another post on this to follow.