It’s a lovely, clammy Saturday night, and tonight we’re watching
West Side Story (1961) starring Russ Tamblyn, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood. Right now they’re all at the local Friday night dance, the scene where Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) meet for the first time, and everybody immediately has a brain hemorrhage because he’s American and she’s Puerto Rican. Even worse, their relatives belong to opposing gangs — the Jets and the Sharks — who constantly beat the shit out of each other for control of a cruddy little inner-city neighborhood. Adapted from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” it’s a great story with great music, great dancing and great performances.
West Side Story won 10 Oscars. Whoa ... THAT’S A LOT OF GODDAMN STATUES!
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| Richard Beymer as Tony and Natalie Wood as Maria in “West Side Story.” |
It’s 9:35 p.m., and I’m afraid this might be a short post tonight. I’m distracted by
West Side Story and I’ve got a craving for sugar-free chocolate pudding with Cool Whip … which would involve waking Sam, who’s been asleep next to me on the sofa for at least the last hour. Oy, it’s always something, isn’t it?
In the meantime I’m proud to present the Howdygram’s last chapter of Let’s Learn Yiddish, because I’m officially out of English words to translate for you. I hope you’ve enjoyed this feature as much as I have ...
A
yarmulke is a
skullcap. A
yenta is
a gossip, a busybody or
a matchmaker. A
yiddisher kop is
a smart person. Yinglish is English with lots of Yiddish words thrown in.
Yontef is a Jewish holiday. A
yutz is
a stupid or clueless person. And finally,
zoftig refers to a
plump or
full-figured woman.
West Side Story ended about an hour ago, I watched the last 20 minutes of
Picnic (1955) starring William Holden and Kim Novak, and now it’s time for
A Date with Judy (1948), a silly teenage romantic comedy starring Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor and Wallace Beery. I have no idea why I love this stupid movie so much, but I record it every time it’s on TCM and I always have fun with it. In a nutshell, Jane Powell (she plays Judy Foster) and Elizabeth Taylor (Carol Pringle) helped to plan a high school dance that includes, of all people, Xavier Cugat and Carmen Miranda. Judy’s parents were there as chaperones, and since they have a 20th wedding anniversary coming up soon after that, Judy’s father (Wallace Beery) has a brainstorm … he hires Carmen Miranda to teach him how to rhumba — secretly — so he’ll finally be able to dance with his wife. As soon as Melvin Foster’s lessons get underway, however, all kinds of screwy misunderstandings start to pop … particularly Judy and Carol thinking that Judy’s father is having an affair, which is pretty fucking ridiculous. (Seriously, would YOU have an affair with Wallace Beery!?)
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| Jane Powell and Elizabeth Taylor in “A Date with Judy.” |
My only complaint about
A Date with Judy are the old, stodgy songs that Jane Powell sings. They’re atrocious. But other than that, I’m pleased to announce that
A Date with Judy has earned the Howdygram’s three-star
★★★ rating!
And now … time for a fistful of pills, a hefty dose of insulin and a good night’s sleep. Thank you for reading this!
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