Surviving Scarface: Elvira

Wow, the restaurant scene in Scarface (1983) is powerful. That's all I kept thinking the other night when I watched Brian De Palma's epic tale of the rise and fall of Cuban "political refugee" and drug lord Tony Montana (Al Pacino in one of his most popular and oft-quoted roles). The movie is chock-full of … Continue reading Surviving Scarface: Elvira →

Season of the Witch: Morgan Fairchild

Halloween images are flooding our social media feeds right now, offering a much-needed respite from the looming, suffocating dread of the current socio-political climate. You think Halloween is scary? Ha! I’ll take fun and spooky thrills and chills over real-world horrors any day, and twice on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, what better day to sleep … Continue reading Season of the Witch: Morgan Fairchild →

Happy 25th, Nomi

One of the absolute monoliths in the world of cult classics, Showgirls opened on this day in 1995. Over the last twenty-five years, I've thought a lot about why I love Showgirls so much and I've come to realize it's basically this: life is a big, epic, chaotic mess and the film masterfully, hilariously, and … Continue reading Happy 25th, Nomi →

Susie—not Suzie—Diamond

Google searches for Susie Diamond constantly ask me “Did you mean Suzie Diamond?” No, Google! I mean Susie! You know, Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1989 Steve Kloves masterpiece The Fabulous Baker Boys? That Susie Diamond. Susie is the role that should have won Michelle an Oscar. She won every other major award for her stunning, … Continue reading Susie—not Suzie—Diamond →

The Ethereal Amy Irving

Sissy Spacek deserves all the praise she gets for Carrie (1976), but it’s always bothered me how few people (beyond my fellow Carrie obsessives) seem to appreciate how beautiful and heartbreaking Amy Irving is as Sue Snell. As a kid I felt I was supposed to dislike Sue—she was popular! Boo! And was she trying … Continue reading The Ethereal Amy Irving →

Men Love Scrambled

Recently, while watching a favorite film of mine, Ron Howard’s Night Shift (1982)—about a pair of unlikely “love brokers” in early eighties New York City—I had an epiphany. Specifically, this moment of clarity occurred during an early scene when Shelley Long’s character Belinda, a gorgeous and statuesque hooker with a heart of gold, scrambles up … Continue reading Men Love Scrambled →

Still Staying Up All Night

I've been a night owl for a long time. Since my teen years, which were largely spent staying up late watching Letterman, Night Stand with Dick Dietrick, Joe Bob Briggs hosting MonsterVision, or my favorite, Rhonda Shear hosting USA Up All Night. Back then I would stay up until the wee hours, long after dark … Continue reading Still Staying Up All Night →