That Pretty Woman
June 29th, 2009I want to take this moment to remember Farrah Fawcett. I was never a fan of “Charlie’s Angels”. The hugely popular show never managed to lure me back to it’s premise week after week. I did not like that we could not see Charlie (yeah, I knew it was John) and that Bosley guy annoyed me every time he said his lines. Am I remembering his name right? If so, that is truly scary. LOL. Kate seemed a pain and Jaclyn utterly beautiful……yet I did not care……. But I liked this Farrah. She had a wonderful look, a sunny blonde with an athletic form that shouted “I’m still a girl” and a smile that made you smile. Not a hint of a pout or smirk. Just great. Could she act? Nope, not really, as if she had to in that group! But things evolve as any philosopher will remind you. Farrah developed as a actress, receiving her first “good” reviews for “The Burning Bed”. She was better then anyone expected, ( WHY do we do that? ) and it did not stop there. One of my favorite films of hers is “Small Sacrifices” about a woman who kills her children so her boyfriend won’t leave her…….maybe marry her and I felt sympathy for her. Farrah made this woman’s horrific deed understandable. Wow. A lot is being written in the last few days about the strength and grit she possessed in her struggle against that devil cancer. Maybe it’s me but I sense a surprise in that discovery of her depth. Why? Her most accomplished film roles spoke to her awareness of her talent, a talent that pushed her beyond the easy ”trap” of remaining “TV’s angel”. She knew what she was capable of creating. She drew on interior qualities that allowed her to become the characters we now applaud her for. She prevailed. I hope in the days ahead we remember the woman revealed in her best work. The astonishing rage of ”Extremities”, the wrenching portrait of an unhappy wife in “The Apostle”, the desperation of “Small Sacrifices”, the confident ambition detailed in “Double Exposure: The Story of Magaret Bourke-White”, the foreshadowing triumph of “A Burning Bed”. All strong. All real. All dear Farrah. More later, caucella