4: My Week with Marilyn

Madison art Cinema in MADISON, CT

December 4, 2011

With Maria

My grandfather has cracked me up twice in my lifetime.  The first was when he was looking through the newspaper in 1990 and said completely seriously, "Page (my grandmother, not me) and I were looking forward to the 2 Live Crew concert.  So disappointed it was canceled." 

The second time he cracked me up was about twelve years ago.  I never knew what to buy my grandparents because when you get to be a certain age, you have everything.  I was actually in a Walgreens when I saw classic movies in a sale  bin.  I grabbed Some Like it Hot along with a tin can of Altoids for their glove compartment.  On Christmas day, Grandmother opened the mints and Grandaddy had the video.  As the paper came off I heard the man shriek "MARILYN MONROE!" like the Braves had won the series.  Then he hid the video before anyone could take it from him.  I'm laughing now...

I had never seen a single one of Marilyn's films-Grace Kelly is my blonde of Hollywood legend. But that very next day, I went to my local video store and came home with a ukulele playing blonde.  It was cute.  More for the cross dressing musicians hiding from the bad guys than her, but still, it was a fun way to spend the 26th of December.

Last December, I went to my favorite town of Madison to see Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn. It was based on a memoir by film maker Colin Clark.  After university, his first job was with Laurence Olivier working on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl.  He had the opportunity to spend a week with the icon herself-Marilyn Monroe. To be honest, I only wanted to go because Emma Watson is in it too.

Young adults, ages 16-30, should be required to watch the opening scenes when Colin is trying to land the job.  He doesn't give up.  He goes above and beyond to work for Olivier. He sat in a waiting room for quite some time.  He did any menial task they offered him. There was no sense of entitlement or waiting around until it fell in his lap, he made it happen.  We seem to think everything should be given to us, but those scenes reminded me that more than a little work is involved in success.

Emma plays Lucy the wardrobe girl on the movie set.  She is the standard cute brunette that Colin likes and has a date with, but she's no Marilyn Monroe. At the end of the film, Lucy asks him if Marilyn broke his heart-he replied yes, and she said, "Good." I am convinced this is why I developed such a quick wit. The sexy blonde is going to always win the guy in the short run, and strong women walk away with a smirk.

 I have seen lots of biopics and made for television movies about Marilyn Monroe-but this one focused on one small part of quite a drama filled life.  Any little part of anyone's life is worthy of a story.  A chapter of a life doesn't have to last for a very long time to remember it forever and for an audience to find entertaining.


It's Oscar night, and I want Michelle to win the gold statue.  She was the Marilyn Monroe.  She nailed the voice and the silliness.  She handled the emotional outbursts and the flirtation.  She annoyed that poor man to the point that he didn't direct again until 1970.  As sick as that classic actress was, she had pure comic slapstick talent. Michelle did that too, and I don't think I'd ever seen her in a comedy before.


Dawson's Creek was my guilty pleasure those first years as a teacher-again, the blonde taking Dawson away from the brunette next door.  No matter-who ended up with Tom Cruise?  Michelle  didn't win for Brokeback Mountain or Blue Valentine.  Maybe this is her time...but then again, Marilyn never won either-she didn't get a nomination.

What matters?  Recognition for your work by professionals and critics, or love by fans for years and years to come?

You know what matters to me?  My serious grandfather busting out with a joke.