List of Fives Part Thirteen
Five Favorite Carrie Fisher Films:
1. Sunday Drive – Way back in the late 1980s, Disney started making a series of “movies for television” for their Sunday night programming line-up. I guess they had just purchased ABC or something. Anyway, one of these movies is this little gem that stars Carrie Fisher, Tony Randall, and Ted Wass. It’s about what happens to three travelers who are all going for a Sunday Drive (natch!) for different reasons. It’s just a cute little film and I am on the constant and ever vigilant lookout for it to make its DVD debut. It’s nothing serious but it was made when Carrie was about 30 and she looks gorgeous. I mean, that shot of her when they are in the woods fixing the flat tire! Hubba-Hubba! She also sings a little bit (always a bonus) and whenever Carrie gets to play fiery, self-confident women it’s always a good thing.
2. Leave Yesterday Behind – I think this television movie cemented my Carrie Fisher fan hood and separated it from Princess Leia fan hood. Does that even make sense? This rare little gem stars John Ritter as a college polo player who ends up a paraplegic after falling from his horse during a polo match. Retiring to his grandfather’s farm, he meets the spunky daughter (guess who!) of a neighbor and realizes that just because he has lost the use of his legs doesn’t mean his life is over. Love it! Carrie made this after returning from England filming that “little space movie” and anyone who questions her looks need just take a peek at this film. She’s absolutely beautiful. And she wears denim throughout. What? What?!?
3. Sweet Revenge – This aired on TNT way back when. Carrie plays a lawyer practicing in Paris. Her divorce is final but the judge rules that since her husband supported her while she got her law degree, she owes him alimony. Being the lawyer, she finds a clause. If her ex gets married again, she is out of the alimony game. She hires an actress to fall in love with her ex. Of course, what she doesn’t anticipate is that the actress and her ex end up actually falling in love. Unable to lie to him, the actress spills the beans and her ex comes up with a bit of revenge. It’s not the greatest film but Carrie’s performance is fantastic. She looks good, too. Especially in that little number she wears at the party during the climax of the film. Wow! And she gets to make out with that hunky French actor at the end, too. Yay!
4. The Empire Strikes Back – I had to include one Star Wars film so why not the one that offers great romantic banter between Leia and Han but also some kisses and about one hundred thousand close ups of Carrie! I’ve heard the reason for these close-ups is because Irwin Kershner fell in love with Carrie’s eyes and aren’t we all a little better for it? Arguably the best film of the trilogy (if not the saga) in terms of story arch and performance. Everyone is on the top of his or her game here, including Carrie. Has there been an onscreen couple with as much fire as Han & Leia? I don’t think so. It’s fun watching these two spar, maybe because we all know how it is going to end.
5. Postcards from the Edge – Okay, technically, Carrie doesn’t appear in this film but she wrote the screenplay as well as the novel it is based upon and because she is a loving, warm, and generous person, she also provides the commentary on the DVD. Kick ass! (You all do realize that she is the only cast member from the original Star Wars trilogy to participate in the commentary on the DVDs, right?) Anyway, one of the reasons I love, love, love this film is because the dialogue is snappy and quick, and Meryl Streep is essentially playing Carrie. So, you have one of the greatest actors ever playing Carrie Fisher. I don’t know if Meryl did some things subconsciously or not but there they are. Also, this film explores something not covered in the book: Suzanne’s relationship with her mother. Of course, it mirrors Carrie’s relationship with Debbie Reynolds (though Debbie is not a drinker like Doris).
Honorable mention: Romancing the Bride – God-awful “straight to DVD” film but Carrie’s in it and she’s the best thing in it. A young woman, while making final preparations for her dream wedding in Mexico, ends up at a cantina getting plastered on some Mexican secret tequila mega-brew and marries a young man who is definitely not her fiancé. She has to spend the next twenty-four hours before her wedding getting out of this legal marriage. Enter her mom, played with delicious sarcasm by Carrie! The reason I like this film (though, I only watch the Carrie scenes) is simple: in the late 1990s, Roseanne Barr bought the rights to re-tool the BBC comedy classic “Absolutely Fabulous” for American audiences. (It didn’t really need it but that’s another “Five Favorite” list.) When asked who could possibly play the American version of Jennifer Saunders’ “Edina Monsoon,” Roseanne admitted she only had one person in mind. Guess! No, go on! Yep, Carrie Fisher! Now, censors in the States would never let the American “Patsy & Edina” get away with all the illegal drug use so the show never came to fruition. Now, this is why I love Carrie’s portrayal in “Romancing the Bride.” This mother is as close as we are going to get to what Carrie’s take on Edina might have been. And I will be eternally grateful for the chance to get a glimpse.
Comments