Shirley MacLaine-a-thon

"I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part." Shirley MacLaine

Last week I saw Terms of Endearment for the first time. I got it from the library. I loved the first scene where Shirley Maclaine is convinced her baby has died of crib death. She bounces the baby and pinches her until the baby is wailing. Aurora walks out of the room and says, "That's better." That is a scene right out of any new parent's life. From there is gets worse and of course I am sobbing by the end. Literally I haven't cried that hard since the time I watched Charly with Whitney, James and Brian. We were all trying to pretend like we weren't crying but we were all out of control. Actually that was pretty funny.

To make myself feel better I watched Steel Magnolias. Southern movies take on a whole new appeal now that I live down here. And of course I cried again but then I was smiling as Sammy rides after his laboring wife on the back of a motorcycle dressed as the easter bunny. Have you even noticed that the movie feels like a play most of the time? Favorite quote: "My secrets out. I am having an affair with a Mercedes Benz."

Anyway, another Shirley MacLaine movie I recently saw for the first time was The Apartment with Jack Lemmon. This is worth a watch and won Best Pictue in 1960. A darker romcom, she plays an elevator operator who catches quite a few male's eyes in an insurance company. She sure was lovely in her youth. "Shut up and deal."

P.S. I just learned through imdb that she is Warren Beatty's sister.