My brother and I are vegetarians; my husband a “vege-preferian”; my seven-year-old nephew will list his top 3 cheeses upon request (for the record: cheddar, provolone, brie); and my mom uses her oven for storage — all of which means I get to be chef for Thanksgiving, a tradition that started in 2010. In years past, I have stuck closely to the menu from the first time I hosted: stuffed acorn squash, homemade cranberry sauce with port and pecans, beer and mustard braised brussels sprouts, and some other vegetable side dish. Usually there would be a soup to start and a pie to finish (my favorite: Brandied Pumpkin and Chestnut Pie). However, I decided to be a little extra fancy this year now that I’ve been a subscriber to Food & Wine for a few months. The menu is heavy on starches and dairy, something of an unavoidable emphasis when cooking decadent vegetarian cuisine.
Cheese Plate: Cabot Extra Sharp, Bellavitano Black Pepper, Saint Angel Cranberry-Apricot Chutney Solomon’s Island Chocolate Raspberry Port *in the end, we decided to save this for Christmas
Thanksgiving Eve. John and I celebrate the fact that his department sold out of turkeys and that he is still alive.Psychedelic tubersThe requisite out-of-focus dinner plate picture taken with a cell phone
I’m disappointed by a sequel and gain a new perspective on a childhood favorite.
anchors aweigh
Anchors Aweigh signals the arrival of a new kind of movie musical. Gene Kelly brings his balletic modern dance to the screen and still integrates plenty of tapping, while Frank Sinatra’s blue eyes and smooth vocals are to die for.Anchors Aweigh was the first of three Kelly-Sinatra collaborations in which Kelly plays the cocky man about town and Sinatra the shy, inexperienced goofball. (I’m realizing the extent to which Kelly built a career playing very likeable jerks; apparently his Broadway debut in Pal Joey called for the same thing.) With a standard musical plot, the film’s appeal is not the love triangle story, but the clever musical sequences as well as the varied vocal and dance styles.
Sailors Joe (Kelly) and Clarence (Sinatra), on leave for 4 days, ward off a potential suitor from their new friend Susie.
Meet Susie (Kathryn Grayson), the singer who has been doing “extra work” in Hollywood and taking care of her little nephew (Dean Stockwell) who desperately wants to join the Navy. In an effort to impress the lovely Susie, Joe and Clarence try to get her an audition with the great pianist and conductor Jose Iturbi (playing himself). Joe and Clarence don’t even know what Iturbi looks like, but miraculously, by the end of the movie, Susie does get her breakthrough screen test.
An excellent scene features Iturbi leading an ensemble of 18 piano players while Kelly and Sinatra look like silent comedians or cartoon characters. I love the camera work and the opening shot that reads like an absurdist joke.
After Iturbi disappears and Joe and Clarence again miss their chance to set up an audition for Susie, Clarence does some soul searching at the Hollywood Bowl as he realizes he isn’t in love with Susie, but with a waitress.
Joe temporarily escapes his feelings of loneliness and longing for Susie, whom he thinks Clarence loves, by dancing with a little girl.
Later, Joe learns of Susie’s reciprocal affections and, in the movie’s SECOND! dream sequence, he dances his true feelings:
Not many movies successfully combine musical theater, cartoons, the Mexican Hat Dance, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky! Anchors Aweigh is an entertaining spectacle — bloated, boldly experimental, occasionally brilliant. More importantly, it’s the herald of great work to come from both Kelly and Sinatra.
the bells of st. mary’s
I would have enjoyed The Bells of St. Mary’s more had I not expected it to contain the same light comedy and charm of its predecessor Going My Way. The Bells of St. Mary’s possesses the same touching earnestness and sentiment, but with Ingrid Bergman playing the foil to Bing Crosby (reprising his role as Father O’Malley), the movie is more drama than musical.
Bergman plays Sister Mary, a committed teacher whose traditionalism and firm, but loving style contrasts with Father O’Malley’s easygoing, forgiving latitude. For example, she wants to maintain the school’s grading standard, but he wants to pass anyone receiving a “D”. Though the sister superior and chaplain of St. Mary’s differ over the management of the school and the discipline of the its pupils, their disagreements are quiet and mild, which isn’t that interesting to watch. They manage to work together, do right by their students, and even secure the gift of a new building. The real drama happens near the end of the movie, when a doctor diagnoses Mary with tuberculosis and doesn’t tell her. He tells O’Malley instead and persuades the chaplain to send Mary away without letting her know the details of her condition. However, O’Malley listens to his conscience and does the ethical thing: he doesn’t let Mary go without explaining why she suddenly has to leave everything she loves.
In short, while Bergman’s vitality shines through and the story has some tender moments, the movie never grabbed me. The role of Father O’Malley wasn’t as strong or entertaining here either. Bing sings more Latin than he does English!
Whatever my disappointment, I still have a favorite scene: Sister Mary teaching a boy how to box.
Lanahj 