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Charles Nelson Reilly, Amy Adams
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Reilly prowls the stage of a theater in Los Angeles (that co-directors Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson) filled with his own furniture (trucked in that day from his house) relating his Believe It Or Not story. Born in the Bronx, Reilly was an only child cowed by a racist, harpy of a mother and a timid, artistically talented father who turned to alcohol after a huge career setback. At four, Reilly was taken to the local movie palace and thought to himself, ‘This is the place for you’ and as soon as he is able to escape what amounts to a Dickensian childhood, he heads for the bright lights of Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood.
But the heart of the film is how growing up with the overbearing mother shaped the cantankerous, forthright and always hilarious Reilly. In one vivid section, Reilly draws a portrait of the family, now living in Hartford, Conn., with his extended family—an aunt, uncle and grandparents—that is so vivid you can almost hear the bickering. A family so screwed up that not even tragic playwright Eugene O’Neill would touch them, he notes—adding humor, as always, to the heartbreak.
Poltermann and Anderson have their cameramen (using hand-held pieces) doing their best to keep up with Reilly as he races about the stage, moving from one amazing memory to the next. At one point, success brings the rising Broadway character actor face to face with the president of NBC, a network looking to pump up its television shows with theater talent. This man takes one look at him and says, ‘They don’t let queers on television.’ ‘It was a short meeting’ Reilly quips but, years later, he reveals delightedly going through each issue of TV Guide and counting how many times he would be on television that week—so many that he would think, ‘Who do I have to fuck to get off TV!’ Even the horrid mother is humanized as the piece nears its conclusion. Throughout, Reilly’s rage and passion are tempered by the unending well of his hilarious insight—he’s just plain funny which saves him (doesn’t it save us all) time and again.
The Life of Reilly is a big rambling, fabulous, movie—a wonderful eulogy to a man who was much more than jokes on an afternoon game show. It plays exclusively at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton, Fri.-Thurs., March 7-13. Poltermann will be present for Q&As after the Saturday evening and Sunday matinee screenings. www.facets.org
Uncork the champagne, you Noel Coward lovers and you passionate Cole Porter queens. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is here, and it’s a movie that combines the effortless sophistication and lyrical cleverness of those two witty gay icons with the yearning and heart of Dorothy Parker and Paul Gallico’s Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris or even A Matter of Time, Liza Minnelli’s flop musical about a chambermaid who becomes a world-renowned movie star. Set in London in the ’30s just before the start of World War II, the endlessly charming movie is located in that rarefied world in which a down-and-outer can rise within 24 hours to the top of society and transform everyone around her with her good common sense in the process.
Frances McDormand plays the know-it-all crank, Miss Pettigrew, who, at the outset, is desperate for a job as a ladies’ maid after another failure. Enter the ditzy, daffy, delicious Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a stage starlet determined to see her name in lights in London’s theatre district. If Delysia has her way (with that name how can she not?), young, rich Phil Goldman (Tom Payne) will star her in his next revue, Pile on the Pepper. She’s just slept with him to seal the deal when Miss Pettigrew arrives on the scene. But Delysia’s heart really belongs to the poor but talented and extremely cute Michael (Lee Pace), her accompanist—though she’s also at the moment being kept by Nick (Mark Strong), the rich owner of the nightclub where the two work. It’s actually Nick’s art deco-stuffed apartment where the first act takes place. Within moments of arriving the wary Miss Pettigrew becomes indispensable to Delysia and before you can say ‘Moet Chandon,’ Delysia has given the dowdy Pettigrew a makeover, softened her heart, has introduced her to a romantic prospect of her own (played by Ciarán Hinds) and is relying on her to help her secure the lead in Phillip’s show. Phil, it seems, is going to announce his decision that very evening at a soiree to be hosted at Nick’s apartment. Naturally, there will be many reverses as this charming little farce comes to its cream-puff conclusion.
Director Bharat Nalluri perfectly realizes the rarefied atmosphere of this artificial, long-gone world in which all the characters seem to have the stage just under their feet. Sets, costumes and music help make this delightful soufflé rise and stay afloat—all this in service to comedy of manner performances from McDormand, Adams and those easy-on-the-eye male actors. (Coward and Porter would certainly be mad about these boys.) And Shirley Henderson makes a great villain (with her teeny, almost spectral voice and razor-sharp comic timing reminiscent of Madeline Kahn). Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day seems so perfect for the stage that, after the movie runs its course, one can only hope the producers will take this obvious cue and adapt it for the boards. It’s a delightful little comedy as is or easily expanded into a musical of The Drowsy Chaperone variety. If only Noel or Cole were alive to write the score! Alas!
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com. Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site, where there is also ordering information on my new book of collected film reviews, Knight at the Movies 2004-2006.