As previously mentioned in the first part of this review, Addie is played by Tatum O'Neal, daughter of Ryan O'Neal who plays Mose. And she's amazingly good in this, her first acting role. The character of Addie was in fact supposed to be about 12 years old, but Tatum's audition went so well that the filmmakers decided to alter her age to nine, which is how old Tatum was at the time. Incidentally, the fact that the neighbours would just hand over a young child to a strange man who turned up for her mother's funeral- even if they do suspect that he's her father- points to a couple of facts about this time period. First of all, it was a very different time and that second, it's obvious that the Depression played a part in their actions; it would be hard enough to feed and clothe their own children without taking in a charity case with a dubious background.
The title of this film is taken- obviously- from the 1932 song It's Only A Paper Moon, originally written for the Broadway flop The Great Magoo. The song can be heard in the film- as well as a lot of other songs from the era- which, along with its being in black and white, really gives a feel of the Dirty Thirties as Mose and Addie drive across the state. But It's Only A Paper Moon is not only a period song in the soundtrack: it also has significance in the story. At the carnival where Mose becomes entangled with Miss Trixie, Addie spends some time at the photobooth where the photographer takes pictures of couples and families sitting on a fake crescent moon against a backdrop. She waits, sitting on the moon, for Mose who has told her that he'll get his picture taken with her there. But he's a no-show, having met his carnival floozy and forgotten all about Addie. This scene tells us a few things about the fakery, shallowness, and general inadequacy of Mose as a father- or father figure, depending on what you believe about him. He plays at being one for their con, and maybe occasionally feels concern for Addie's well-being, but is quick to drop the act when it becomes inconvenient to him, or cramps his style. It's also clear that Addie wishes- or hopes- that their fake father and daughter act could be real instead of (as the song says) make believe, like a paper moon over a cardboard sea. As previously mentioned in the first part of this review, Addie is played by Tatum O'Neal, daughter of Ryan O'Neal who plays Mose. And she's amazingly good in this, her first acting role. The character of Addie was in fact supposed to be about 12 years old, but Tatum's audition went so well that the filmmakers decided to alter her age to nine, which is how old Tatum was at the time. Incidentally, the fact that the neighbours would just hand over a young child to a strange man who turned up for her mother's funeral- even if they do suspect that he's her father- points to a couple of facts about this time period. First of all, it was a very different time and that second, it's obvious that the Depression played a part in their actions; it would be hard enough to feed and clothe their own children without taking in a charity case with a dubious background. Tatum O'Neal would go on to win an Academy Award for this role, becoming the youngest person to win a genuine Oscar, not an honorary one of some kind. It's well documented that Ryan O'Neal rather resented the fact that his daughter won for the film and he didn't; maybe the complicated, contentious relationship the two of them act out in the movie wasn't that much of a stretch. In any case, the character of Addie is a complex one, alternately tough and vulnerable, cynical and hopeful. She presents an impervious face to the world, but carries a small box of mementoes with her which includes a picture of her mother which, when Mose isn't around, she holds up to a mirror next to her own face, earnestly searching for some resemblance. She also wears her mother's hat almost constantly, obviously wishing to maintain that connection to her. Addie voluntarily becomes part of Moses' Bible scam and it soon becomes clear that she has better criminal instincts than even Mose, able to think and act quickly in a crisis. In addition, she's skilled at being able to look someone over and swiftly & accurately sum up their character. She also still possesses some semblance of a conscience unlike Mose who, I suspect, eradicated his years before. When Mose attempts to scam an obviously impoverished widow with a number of small children, Addie breaks into his spiel and says that he made a mistake: this Bible was fully paid for in advance. She gives it to the woman, much to Mose's disgust, either feeling guilty about trying to con this obviously grieving and needy family out of their last mite, or remembering what it's like to be a poor child who has just lost a parent. Mose has no such compunction to show mercy to the mother or children. But I'll delve more into Mose's character, and the pseudo family relationship which develops between them in Part III.
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On Saturday night I saw a production of the musical Little Women, put on at Neptune Theatre by the Youth Performance Company. To be frank, Little Women was never one of my favourite books as a child; some of my sisters absolutely adored it, but I started and stopped reading it several times before I managed to get all the way through. Though I do recognise the skill of Louisa May Alcott's writing, the story just never really caught my imagination the way some other childhood books did. I've seen the 1933 movie version starring Katherine Hepburn, and the 1994 version starring Winona Rider- it's quite good, by the way- and the 2019 Greta Gerwig adaptation which I was so-so on. There were things I liked, and some things I didn't, but it was definitely watchable. To be honest, I didn't even know there was a musical version of Little Women until this was being advertised and I looked it up; it opened on Broadway in 2005. So I went into Little Women the Musical, knowing the book but practically nothing about the show... I regret to report that it was not very good. This is not a critique of the young actors in the production: they threw their hearts into it and their acting and singing, if not brilliant, were certainly adequate but sadly, let down by the material they had to work with. One observation/ mild criticism I will make about the cast: it was rather unfortunate that the young man they had playing Laurie was at least a foot shorter than the actresses portraying Jo and Amy, which gave a rather strange vibe, especially in the first half of the production when Amy is supposed to be a child. Although, considering the feminist leanings of the production, they may have considered this a feature, not a bug. Yes, I know that Little Women is considered a proto-feminist work, but it always irritates me when characters in period pieces think, talk, and act in ways which no one at that actual time would have. For example, in several scenes, Jo is going about dressed in men's trousers and suspenders- even traipsing into town dressed like that. It's the 1860's. And yes, some feminists had started in the 1850's wearing a type of baggy trouser, gathered at the ankle (called "bloomers" after their enthusiastic proponent, women's rights activist Amelia Bloomer). But these bloomers were worn under a skirt (see picture), were very controversial, and never really caught on with the wider public. It was the early/mid 1900's before any significant amount of women began wearing pants. Jo trotting about in men's clothes would have, at the very least, excited some negative comment, but no one even appears to notice here, not even super-outspoken Aunt Josephine who, seeing Jo in trousers, criticises other things about her but doesn't mention the one thing which would have scandalised her the most. Very odd. The production, unlike the book, starts out in New York where Jo has gone to live and write- and meet Professor Bhaer- and then flashes back to a few years before when Jo is at home. Various scenes from the book are acted out, interspersed with some selections from Jo's rather lurid stories she's trying to get published. And, of course, all these scenes are punctuated by a number of songs, as this is a musical. To be honest, most of this didn't work for me. The production relies on the audience knowing the story well instead of putting in the work to provide a convincing and well-framed narrative. If I had been watching this musical without any knowledge of Little Women, I would have no reason to believe this was a close family of loyal sisters... we aren't given enough of their characters or interactions to convincingly convey this. Also, the hopping back and forth between past and present, their lives and Jo's stories, seems disjointed rather than telling a cohesive story. Again, it's okay if you know the plot of Little Women, but if you didn't, I can't imagine that you'd be able to get a good sense of the story from this musical. Speaking of music, the songs in this are unfortunately almost universally bland and forgettable. I saw this production two days ago, and I already don't remember what any of the songs sound like. Mrs. March does get a song with some emotional resonance after Beth's death (oops- 154 year old spoiler alert)- Days of Plenty- but it's the only one that has any weight to it. There's also a cute little duet which Beth and Mr. Laurence sing/play- Off To Massachusetts- which is fun and believable... the rest of the songs, not so much. Jo's solo at the end of Act I- Astonishing- does not live up to its title; I suspect this was supposed to be a showstopper, leading into the intermission... it isn't one. To reiterate, this is not a reflection on the abilities of the young players: the actress playing Jo had a good voice and wasn't a bad actor. Objectively, the writing just isn't that good, and neither are the songs; since this was never one of my childhood favourites, the nostalgia factor does not make me view this musical through rose coloured glasses. My two sisters who also viewed this production, and really love the book, had a much more favourable opinion of it than I did... I still think I'm right, though. Related Posts:Sea-Foam A FLECK of foam on the shining sand, Left by the ebbing sea, But richer than man may understand In magic and mystery Transient bubbles rainbow-bright, Myriad-hued and strange, Tremble and throb in the noonday light, Flower and flush and change. A million tides have come and gone, Great gales of autumn and spring, A million summoning moons have shone To bring to birth this thing A foam-fleck left on the ribbed wet sand By the wave of an outgoing sea, With all the colour of Faeryland, Wonder and mystery. -Teresa Hooley Related Posts:My church is running its VBS program this week and our building is currently set up as several Roman venues. I can't really participate, as I have to work all week, but did see the various stages of production of the set, and also stopped by for a few minutes on the first day to drop off a few dozen cookies to be used for snack time. The children seemed to be enjoying the er, Bible stories immensely... or whatever was going on here. "When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation." -Alexander Hamilton This rather reminds me of the very fun episode of Road To Avonlea, "Another Point of View", which guest stars Christopher Lloyd. In it, Hetty King (the teacher at Avonlea school) is attempting to ready the students to participate in a provincial history competition. She grows increasingly frustrated by the children's seeming inability to retain the facts and dates of historical events and, in her frustration, becomes quite sarcastic and demanding with them. Which doesn't help. The kids complain to their parents, who complain to the school board, who call a meeting with Hetty. This is especially awkward because her brother Alec is a member of the board. The meeting goes badly and Hetty, angry and hurt, tells them she's resigning. The Board is horrified; they wanted Hetty to be less harsh with the children, not quit... and now there's no teacher for the school. Enter Alistair Dimple, out of work actor: he sees the add the Board places in the newspaper for a teacher and decides to masquerade as one, well able to spout enough Shakespeare to fool the Board into thinking he's a well-educated man, and to use his acting ability to charm them. They decide to give him a trial run while they wait for his teaching certificate to arrive from the very private school in England where- he tells them- he taught until recently. Of course, Dimple knows nothing about teaching and, if the contest had been in maths or science, he would be a disaster. But Dimple uses his knowledge and ability to put on a show to stage a bunch of historical reenactments, having the children take part in them. The one pictured above is from their reenactment of a Viking raid on the English coast, during which Hetty, shamelessly spying, is almost skewered by a stray arrow. In the end, the Avonlea students win the competition because, as it turns out, they remember events and dates better if their interest is engaged and they've actively participated in their lessons. Imagine that. Hetty returns to teaching, having learned a valuable lesson herself on how to inspire her students and Dimple slips out of town before it's widely known he's a fake; Alec, who had found him out right before the competition, keeps it quiet. Dimple, encouraged by his success in Avonlea, reads in the paper about a small town elsewhere which is looking for a church minister... he cheerfully turns his collar about to resemble a clerical one and heads off to his next acting job.
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