Kathleen: A Hero On Screen and Off (plus a new movie recommendation)

I fell in love with Paul Newman when I was about twelve years old. I remember my mother telling me that he was the same age as she was--both born in 1925--and thinking that couldn't be. He was such a heartthrob! I seldom missed one of his movies, and he starred in several that became classis. He was the consummate hero in movies like Hombre (playing an Apache no less, but that's another story), the ultimate anti-hero in Cool Hand Luke, the delicious bad boy many times over, and a real thug in Hud, a character he played as a thug and was surprised when people still saw him as a hero. He was charming and handsome and women loved him no matter what.

He was gorgeous even as the years passed, and his 50 year marriage to Joanne Woodward is amazing by any standard. He enjoyed a long life, left us a wonderful body of work, and will always be the star who first made my pre-pubescent heart go pitty pat. Grey hair looked good on him. He made aging seem like the way to go.

Best of all, he did wonderful work off the silver screen. There is so much in today's news about greed these days. You look at the number of zeroes insome of the "compensation packages" paid to a single person, and you wonder, when is enough enough?

Paul Newman started a company because friends told him he should bottle his salad dressing. But he didn't need more money, so he gave all the profits to charity. His brand was successful beyond his expectations, and his foundation will continue to do good work beyond his death.

Paul Newman was a hero in the true sense--a man we can all look up to. In interviews his humility shone through, especially in later years. Robert Redford's statement--that Newman enriched his life and the life of the whole country--is a wonderful testimony. He will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered by people who knew him personally and countless more who wish they had.

What's your favorite Paul Newman movie?

(Note: I'm posting this now and coming back in a couple of hours to add a bit about the movie I saw last week: Appaloosa.)




Appaloosa came out last Friday, and I was there on day one with my Indian cowboy. (Today's our anniversary, by the way. Number 38!) No Western slips below our radar these days. They're all too rare. We had different expectations, and it was interesting to compare notes after the lights went up. We both really like Viggo Mortensen, for slightly different reasons. What turns us both on is his acting and the fact that he's a real horseman. We both love Renee Zellweger. I love Ed Harris. Clyde really liked him in this movie. And Jeremy Irons makes a killer villain. So two thumbs up on performances in this one. The setting is beautiful--can't go wrong with New Mexico--real Western feel, delicious atmosphere.

Best of all, the script is worthy of cast, setting and genre. It's based on a Robert B. Parker novel, and I have a feeling the author is pleased. While the story features elements we've all seen before in Westerns--gunmen hired to save a town from the powerful, greedy rancher, cowardly town folk, the "lady" and the whore--the script turns the obvious on its ear and drives the plot through its twists on the shoulder of evolving characters and fascinating relationships. The two men are business partners and close friends. Enter the woman, and here's where Clyde and I responded differently to character. I won't go into detail because that would be a spoiler. And that's what makes this so different. It wouldn't be a crime to spoil the plot. It's the unfolding of character and the development of relationships that make the film.

What a delight for a writer! What's really interesting is how differently Clyde and I responded to the story's resolution. It was a good ending in my opinion, but, again, turning the HEA on its ear. It might disappoint some people, even though...well, that's all I can say. I'll say this, it's a great one for a date, and it's not a chick flick. I loved the way it worked on several levels and still satisfied as a Western.

So let's talk...