A Night With Joan

The genius, Mary McBride, had the great idea to go see Play it as it Lays at the New Beverly Cinema . (Which is anything but new)

So after a fine dining experience at The Pig (which is expanding) on La Brea, where we three, Adam, Mary and I, ate much Brisket, we took a walk and saw this film

Tuesday Weld, though not exactly smart enough for the role, was certainly beautiful and completely got the whole mood of the character. Tammy Grimes was brilliantly jaded.

And frigging Anthony Perkins. He gets to kill himself while Tuesday strokes his hair!

Better than the movie, of course, is the book. One of the best books ever. But this movie, man, made in 1972, with completely smoggy, decadent Los Angeles, art directed to perfection is truly amazing.

If you’ve never read Play it as it Lays...it’s pretty much the story of an aging starlet who sees the emptiness of her life and of those around her. But in Joan Didion’s hands, it is, of course, way more than that.

Read the book. It’s really short and one of the best things I’ve ever read. See the movie. It’s fabulous.

Next Thursday evening: The Battle of Algiers