Shirley MacLaine blows me away. I’m mesmerized by the characters she chooses to portray as well as her performance for each and every one. She has a way of making you forget you’re watching an act. There are movies of hers that break my heart, yet I will watch them just for her. Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Guarding Tess…
Just lately, I’ve been watching In Her Shoes. This movie in turn makes me smile and cry. I love it. I love movies that let you witness the transition of a character from emotionally cluttered to content. Or as content as one can be in this mad, mad world.
My husband and I came in right at the beginning black moment for the sisters. Cameron Diaz’s character came off as this selfish bitch without any redeemable characteristics. My husband scoffed and went to bed. I stayed up, already interested. Then I flipped to that priceless On Demand and watched it from the beginning to better understand the characters. Oh, she was definitely redeemable and because we hadn’t seen the beginning, hadn’t witnessed her struggles due to poor education or possibly dyslexia; we didn’t see her very aloneness. This doesn’t excuse her behavior, but as the movie flows, so does our understanding and yes, our hope that she’ll find something for herself.
She isn’t the only character with lessons to learn. I loved them all down to the small role played by the older sister’s best friend. And I’m also a fan of Toni Collette and have been since Muriel’s Wedding. Also, a good flick.
I may have to go back to Shirley MacLaine’s beginning acting days and see what I missed. I saw a couple, but I’ve been a fan since I first absorbed Terms of Endearment in 1983. I say absorbed because this is a movie that seeps deep into you and kind of clings. I remember the first time vividly because I was 13 and I cried all night. I might have cried the next, too. I did the same with the other two movies of hers I mentioned above.
During In Her Shoes, there is this one small section of the movie where she gets an unexpected kiss and I rewound it three times just to replay the expression of shock, displeasure and yes, pleasure. She managed to cancel her emotions out and did it brilliantly.
In Her Shoes is a chick flick – a term I used to find silly, but have since learned to just accept. While my husband might watch it and like it, he won’t watch it more than once as I will. Won’t cry when with the renewel of the sisters’ love. I have sisters and know how very precious they are to me, so I get it.
Here’s to sisters—those you’re born with and those you make. 🙂
Note: Remember, you can write for the last Scene from a Pic for up to ten days, so make sure to click on the picture to bring it up large and look at it once in a while. Something is bound to spark. I do love reading Reader sparks.