A couple of months ago I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Elaine May on Broadway starring in THE WAVERLY GALLERY. She was phenomenal. You'll see her on the Tony's in June picking up her award. Maybe several. She was so good they may give her the "Best Choreography in a Musical" Tony as well just because.
Elaine May has always been an idol of mine. From her days teaming with Mike Nichols to her directing (A NEW LEAF and HEARTBREAK KID are two of my all-time favorite movies) to the many screenplays and stage plays she's written, Elaine May is a Comedy God.
Recently I came upon this clip from the AFI special saluting Mike Nichols. This is Elaine's speech. You may not know who Elaine May is but after watching this I guarantee you too will love her.
Enjoy.
17 comments :
I couldn't agree more. Elaine is one of the funniest, if not THE funniest woman ever. Anyone can have a moment of brilliance, but to be that good consistently is amazing. I can only wish I could be a tenth as good. BTW You left out "Ishtar."
M.B.
When my wife and I were in New York on our honeymoon, we got to see "Power Plays," written by and starring Elaine May and Alan Arkin. Three one-acts, two by May, one by Arkin. None of the three was great; Arkin's was at least fascinating. But we got to see Elaine May. And Alan Arkin. Live. In front of us. A few feet away. Their performances were terrific.
That is charisma.
I agree about Elaine May. The "honeymoon toga" scene in A NEW LEAF is immortal comedy.
She's brilliant, and massively under-appreciated. There's a great video of Nichols interviewing May. Their chemistry is wonderful, and May is as brilliant as ever.
Kelsey Grammer was on a British talk show yesterday and he was asked about plans to bring back Frasier.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N_5EcXAe9Ro
She got a bad rap with "Ishtar." People reviewed the budget instead of the movie. It's been out in Blu-tay for a while and deserves a second...or third, or tenth look. I have friends who quote dialog from it as if it were the Hope/Crosby vehicle it's patterned on.
And the DVD doesn't cost any more (currently $11.25 on Amazon) than one for a movie produced for 5% on the budget.
I saw Ishtar back in 1988 when I was 11 years old. My abiding memory of it was that the cinema was mostly empty, and there were two young Japanese women in the row in front of me who giggled hysterically throughout the entire film.
I didn't like it but I'm willing to give it another go after 31 years.
Thanks for giving us the clip.
She got a laugh for mentioning the Gutenberg Bible of all things. Funny stuff. Plus Einstein's depression for not working out a unified field theory.
Always liked her for the albums she and Mike did long ago. I don't know any duo these days who can match them.
Nora Ephron was also funny with her appearance at the AFI salute to Meryl Streep.
Thanks to Peter for that link. You can skip straight to Grammer talking about the new season of Fraser. The video is so awfully edited, and the interviewers have a tendency to talk over their subject, apologies from the UK, but short version: He's apparently very keen to bring him back!
I have a feeling it would be a single camera show, given the trend of TV these days, and I quite like the idea of how his son could be used. It seems the most obvious answer would be his son returning home after the collapse of HIS life/marriage (mirroring Frasier's move to Seattle in the first spin-off), and the reconciliation of an estranged relationship as a theme. But then, maybe that's too close to Frasier.
Another option would be Frasier moving in with his son, and idealising his memory of his father moving in with him ("I was always very respectful of MY Dad!").
Hmm. The problem is giving Niles and Daphne a good reason to be part of the central theme. In Frasier the theme was the tension between him and his Dad. Daphne and Niles were integral to that dynamic, and would be part of every story naturally as carer and brother, respectively. Tricky to see how Niles and Daphne could be integral to Frasier's relationship with Freddie -- Freddie moves in with them instead?
Maybe BOTH Frasier and Freddie are independently forced to move in with Niles and Daphne? That seems like a rich source of conflict.
Captain Marvel has grossed $266m in the States after just ten days for a worldwide total of $760m.
That boycott by Trump supporters has clearly worked like gangbusters. :-D
Last Friday you wrote most astutely about the "set-up/punchline" dynamic of comedy teams like Laurel and Hardy. This applies equally well to Nichols and May. Their sketch about the man arranging a cut-rate funeral is one of the funniest things ever because of the way they set up each other. Mike Nichols must have been one of the few comedians who was willing to let the woman get most of the laughs. It's on YouTube.
Elaine May is definitely one of the all-time greats. Especially love A NEW LEAF and, as Lemuel said, the honeymoon toga scene.
wg
I've worshiped Elaine May for 60 years.
I'm another one who has always known who Elaine May is, and I have always loved her, though time tends to add new reasons to do so. But there's something about watching her make Mike Nichols laugh until he is literally crying that makes for a special moment indeed.
Plus, I have to admit that I've always liked "Ishtar".
Forgive me for belaboring the obvious, but Elaine May is a genius! Who else could make combine field theory funny!
Thanks for the link!
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