Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Knight Movies: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me; Grand Piano
by Richard Knight, Jr., for Windy City Times
2014-03-05

This article shared 5419 times since Wed Mar 5, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


It's rather appropriate that Chiemi Karasawa's glorious documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me begins with the legendary "Stritchie" performing a portion of Sondheim's "I'm Still Here" on the soundtrack. The legendary song—with its acerbic, world-weary tone ( written for Follies in 1971 ) and inspired by the long career of Joan Crawford—is the perfect match for Stritch's inestimable talents. Famously contrarian, profane, foghorn-loud and gloriously funny in her brutally frank assessments that take no prisoners ( including herself ), the diva, now 89, is nothing less than the walking, talking embodiment of Sondheim's theatrical classic.

Good times and bum times—she, indeed, has seen 'em all. Throughout Karasawa's movie we look back with her ( via archival photos and vintage footage ) as she contemplates a lifelong performer's version of retirement ( fewer gigs and a move out of town ), rehearses for those shows with her patient ( really patient ) musical director Rob Bowman, tapes an episode of 30 Rock, and examines, without a trace of sentimentality, her own mortality. "Gettin' old ain't for sissies," she quotes Bette Davis as she deals with diabetes, memory issues and various other senior-related infirmities that increasingly work against her body and test her resolve.

However, nothing keeps Stritch down for long or from keeping her professional commitments. ( Only Mother Nature—in the form of a hurricane—seems to have the power to do that. ) The candid observations from this sometime holy terror about her lifelong battle with the bottle, stage nerves ( though she is never less than commanding once the lights come up ) and the occasional vulnerability are augmented by tributes from a host of familiar faces, including Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, James Galdofini, Paul Iacono and Nathan Lane.

As this feisty old broad of Broadway with the showgirl legs that won't quit goes about the business of opening a cabaret revue of all Sondheim songs with the challenge inherent in his brain-teaser lyrics ( which she often forgets ) at the Cafe Carlyle to a roomful of adoring acolytes; takes a peek at a rehearsal space being dedicated in her honor ( hence the review of all the old photos and clippings, gathered together by her assistant ); and strolls around Manhattan, accepting ( as her due ) the nonstop greetings from fans, Stritch is in her element. She also knows that for her—after decades of career triumphs mixed with plenty of setbacks—the party's over and the time has come to "go home" to Michigan more than 50 years after arriving in her adopted New York City. You can bet she doesn't go quietly.

Through richly revealing anecdotes and many of the artfully constructed songs she made her own ( "The Ladies Who Lunch" from Company the most famous ), Stritch provided a telling overview of her remarkable career and sometimes tempestuous offstage life in her fantastic 2001 Tony-winning one-woman show Elaine Stritch: At Liberty. Karasawa's sensationally entertaining movie—which, at times, seems a kindred spirit to Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's warts-and-all Joan Rivers documentary—updates Stritch's story, and the ensuing years can't help but add a layer of poignancy. The film, which debuted here last fall at the Chicago International Film Festival ( at a memorable screening that Stritch attended ), is in theaters this Friday and available now On Demand. http://elainestritchshootme.com/

Also On Demand—for a few more days at any rate—is a nifty little thriller in the Hitchcock or DePalma mode from Spanish director Eugenio Mira called Grand Piano. Elijah Wood stars as Tom Selznick, a classical superstar whose concert pianist career was cut short by a bad case of stage fright. Now, thanks to the support of his movie star wife Emma ( played by Kerry Bishe ), he's attempting a comeback via a performance in Chicago ( one presumes at Symphony Center—though the faÃade of the Civic Opera House takes its place ).

Tom is set to play the specially made grand piano ( a Boesendorfer ) of his former mentor, a musical genius who has just died in what are hinted at were mysterious circumstances. As Tom takes to the stage and begins to play, flipping open a page in his piano score, he discovers a note that tells him if he hits one wrong note he will be assassinated—and so will his wife, who is sitting prominently in a box seat just above the stage.

As the orchestra thunders away, Tom's fingers effortlessly skitter up and down the keyboard, while he just as frantically tries to figure out if this is a joke and how to make it stop. During a break in the music, he follows instructions and races offstage, finds an earpiece and gets back to the keyboard just in time to continue. ( The audience, naturally, think he's wrestling with a return of the stage fright. )

Now he has the malevolent voice of his would-be assassin Clem ( John Cusack, in high dungeon archvillain mode ) issuing ever-more terse "or else" instructions to accompany his tempo crazed playing. As the concert draws to a close, Mira, working from a script by Damien Chazelle, ratchets up the tension as Tom becomes increasingly desperate, trying to figure out the assassin's real agenda—which involves the one-of-a-kind piano that is outfitted with extra keys.

The plot of Grand Piano is admittedly over-the-top, but Mira's swooping camera, endless dolly shots and other visual tricks keep it aloft ( at times we even see the inner workings of the piano ). There's also the committed performance of Wood, whose edginess never lets up. ( His hysteria is nearly palpable and there are moments he convinces you he's playing the tricky classical pieces. ) Naturally, Victor Reyes' piano-based score—which has equal parts menace and florid flourishes—needs to be singled out as well ( as it reminds one, in a good way ,of Bernard Herrmann's "Concerto Macabre" from Hangover Square ).

Grand Piano is grand fun—stylish, highly entertaining hokum in the old-fashioned way of other "sophisticated" concert pianist thrillers like the high-faultin' 1946 Bette Davis-Claude Rains-Paul Henreid programmer Deception, the aforementioned masterful Victorian set classic Hangover Square ( with gay actor Laird Cregar's final performance in the lead as the mad pianist ) and a little-known but terrifying episode of Boris Karloff's 1961 TV program Thriller called "Terror in Teakwood." http://www.magnetreleasing.com/grandpiano/

Film note:

—Cinema Q IV, the fourth annual LGBT-themed movie series, kicks off tonight with Rodney Evans' 2004 film Brother to Brother, which gave Anthony Mackie his breakthrough performance. The series continues each Wednesday in March at 6:30 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington St.

Emily Blunt's debut starring role in the lesbian romance My Summer of Love plays March 12; the sexy, sports-themed German teen coming-of-age dramedy Summer Storm ( sponsored by the Goethe-Institut ) shows March 19; and Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in the musical biopic De-Lovely, about gay composer Cole Porter, on March 26.

The Queer Film Society ( of which I'm president ), the Legacy Project, Reeling Film Festival and Affinity Community Services are presenting the series in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Windy City Times, ChicagoPride and the Reader are media sponsors. The four movies in this year's Cinema QIV line-up are celebrating their 10th anniversary. The screenings are free. www.queerfilmsociety.org .


This article shared 5419 times since Wed Mar 5, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29
- Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.