PRESTO CHANGE-O
I have been so ignoring my adoring public sitting out there in
the dark. My profusest apologies but things have just been moving at fever
pitch with my having to recast my Ssssoundssss of Ssssilence tour
into a benefit for New York disaster relief. The opening concert was held this
past Saturday at the Sunshine Nudist Golf Club in Darrington, Washington.
Psychovant productions was most helpful although there was a bit of contretemps
over my costume. Apparently, entertainers are supposed to appear in the nude as
well when performing for the Godiva Golfers Association.
Now, I have an absolutely fabulous body for my thirty-nine years but I never appear in public without my custom-made cantilevered whalebone foundation garment under my costume and wasn't about to do my famous Lester on Lister dance routines without my bosom being firmly encased. Bob Mackie, the darling, rode to the rescue with a nude colored body stocking and some sequined shadows in appropriate areas. The crowd went wild. Shannon, of Psychovant, tried to book Meryl Streep as an opening act but she was apparently busy with some seabird project so we got Jamie Lee Curtis who gets naked for anything.
I was proud to present a check for $39,695.57 to the American Red Cross and retired to my hotel to put my feet up and catch a film. New York City being very much on my mind, I opted for the New York comedy Quick Change with Bill Murray from some years ago. It's very New York, it's funny, and it features only the outer buroughs so there's no agonizing shots of the WTC or the Manhattan skyline.
Murray, who co-directed with Howard Franklin, plays Grimm - a man determined to change his life. As we meet him, he's dressed as a clown and together with his partners, sweetheart Phyllis (Geena Davis) and ditz Loomis (Randy Quaid), he pulls off a bank heist in which they nab a million bucks. They've got it made if they can just get out of the city before the police, led by Jason Robards, nab them. Unfortunately, the city seems to have it in for them and everything that can possibly go wrong does on their way to the airport.
The film is an episodic road/caper comedy in which our three heroes are beset on every side by circumstance including muggers (Jamey Sheridan), pretentious yuppies (Phil Hartman and Kathryn Grody), the mob (Stanley Tucci), crazed taxi drivers (Tony Shaloub) and overly zealous bus drivers (Philip Bosco). The vignettes are funny, satirical and well performed by expert character actors.
Bill Murray is the glue that holds the piece together. From his first scenes where his droll deadpan contrasts hysterically with his Emmet Kelly make-up through his slow burns as the chance of escaping seems to become more and more remote through no fault of his own. This is a classic Murray part and one more worth remembering than some of his more famous turns such as Ghostbusters or Stripes. Geena Davis and Randy Quaid, both expert farceurs support him ably but it's Murray's movie all the way.
The script, by co-director Franklin, pokes fun at city living, law enforcement, and especially Hollywood conventions regarding the use of bank robberies and the big city in film. There are sly references to more serious fare such as Dog Day Afternoon or Mean Streets sprinkled liberally throughout. The film wraps the plot up with a neat bow in a somewhat unrealistic manner but hey, it's a comedy.
Helium balloons. Monster truck without hydraulics. SWAT team. Long blonde wig. Glove vomiting. Officious assistant to police chief. Baggage cart riding. Taxi leaping. Unidentifiable middle eastern language.
Now, I have an absolutely fabulous body for my thirty-nine years but I never appear in public without my custom-made cantilevered whalebone foundation garment under my costume and wasn't about to do my famous Lester on Lister dance routines without my bosom being firmly encased. Bob Mackie, the darling, rode to the rescue with a nude colored body stocking and some sequined shadows in appropriate areas. The crowd went wild. Shannon, of Psychovant, tried to book Meryl Streep as an opening act but she was apparently busy with some seabird project so we got Jamie Lee Curtis who gets naked for anything.
I was proud to present a check for $39,695.57 to the American Red Cross and retired to my hotel to put my feet up and catch a film. New York City being very much on my mind, I opted for the New York comedy Quick Change with Bill Murray from some years ago. It's very New York, it's funny, and it features only the outer buroughs so there's no agonizing shots of the WTC or the Manhattan skyline.
Murray, who co-directed with Howard Franklin, plays Grimm - a man determined to change his life. As we meet him, he's dressed as a clown and together with his partners, sweetheart Phyllis (Geena Davis) and ditz Loomis (Randy Quaid), he pulls off a bank heist in which they nab a million bucks. They've got it made if they can just get out of the city before the police, led by Jason Robards, nab them. Unfortunately, the city seems to have it in for them and everything that can possibly go wrong does on their way to the airport.
The film is an episodic road/caper comedy in which our three heroes are beset on every side by circumstance including muggers (Jamey Sheridan), pretentious yuppies (Phil Hartman and Kathryn Grody), the mob (Stanley Tucci), crazed taxi drivers (Tony Shaloub) and overly zealous bus drivers (Philip Bosco). The vignettes are funny, satirical and well performed by expert character actors.
Bill Murray is the glue that holds the piece together. From his first scenes where his droll deadpan contrasts hysterically with his Emmet Kelly make-up through his slow burns as the chance of escaping seems to become more and more remote through no fault of his own. This is a classic Murray part and one more worth remembering than some of his more famous turns such as Ghostbusters or Stripes. Geena Davis and Randy Quaid, both expert farceurs support him ably but it's Murray's movie all the way.
The script, by co-director Franklin, pokes fun at city living, law enforcement, and especially Hollywood conventions regarding the use of bank robberies and the big city in film. There are sly references to more serious fare such as Dog Day Afternoon or Mean Streets sprinkled liberally throughout. The film wraps the plot up with a neat bow in a somewhat unrealistic manner but hey, it's a comedy.
Helium balloons. Monster truck without hydraulics. SWAT team. Long blonde wig. Glove vomiting. Officious assistant to police chief. Baggage cart riding. Taxi leaping. Unidentifiable middle eastern language.
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