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Let me begin by making a flat admission: I have, and have long had, a fondness of–indeed, a preference for–women. In point of fact, I am, and have long been, as the Paul Rudd character in the hit filmic “bromance” I Love You, Man describes himself, “a girlfriend guy.” I am really and truly loony concerning women. I love their humor, their charm, their gentleness, their sweetness, their good-naturedness, their vivaciousness. Truth be told, my No. 1 fantasy/desire in life is to have near-incessant sex with Robin Givens. And in all my years of watching E! Entertainment Television, the best time I ever–repeat: ever–had watching that network was in seeing this one segment of Scream Play, one of its “reality” game shows, which had a Baywatch theme and where the contestants were, as the host described them, “six beautiful blondes.” (I also distinctly remember, to this very day, the host saying: “Movies like Jaws, Orca, The Perfect Storm made us afraid of the beach. But the television series Baywatch was a stroke of genius. In it we saw lifeguards like Pamela Anderson, Nicole Eggert, Gena Lee Nolin”–all blondes, hurrah, hurrah–”in tight bathing suits making rescues”)
All this is a way to introduce the fact that I recently had the great fortune to see two films–one on video, the other on DVD–which both feature beautiful and talented and charming women, women any even halfway-sane man would love to get next to. In the order in which they were seen, they are:
.Robin Wright in the Kevin Costner film Message In A Bottle. We first see her character, Theresa Osborne, upon a plane with her young son, and the son has his hand upon the window, looking out of it. Soon they de-plane and the boy spots his father and his new lady–he and Theresa are obviously divorced–and runs to them. Theresa and her ex have some dialogue, then the boy, his father, and the father’s new woman go off, leaving Theresa fondly waving and looking at her departing son.
All thoughout Message Robin never fails to charm and/or touch the heart. Indeed, during the film her considerable strengths as an actor are shown to great advantage. She knows what to do with her eyes, always focusing or shifting them at the right moment, never descending to pointless squinting or wide-eyed staring. Her inflection is always true, continually fitting the sentiment of the dialogue she’s uttering. She is well aware of the power of pause, never, ever rushing through anything she’s saying. Her movements regarding her mouth never cease to be effective, always conveying the emotion of the moment. And, of course, the cold, hard reality that she’s achingly beautiful definitely doesn’t hurt (Costner has frequently displayed impeccable taste concerning leading ladies. His co-star in For Love Of The Game was John Travolta’s sexier and more charming half, Kelly Preston, and in Tin Cup his co-lead was one of the modern American cinema’s foremost cougars, Rene Russo). In all, proof positive that being a devoted mother–Robin near-continually has spoken of her children in interviews–does not in any sense lessen acting ability.
.Heather Locklear in Flirting With Forty. When we first meet Jackie Lawrence, Heather’s character, she’s with her two young children and they’re all in a Christmas-tree lot checking out which tree to buy. Right away, in her negotiations with her kids, the love and devotion she has for them as a mother comes through. Afterward, when she and the kids get home, Jackie is called to a client’s house regarding work concerning interior decorating–her character is a designer–and, once again, Heather, through facial expression and, especially, inflection, skillfully conveys the easy camaraderie Jackie has with her young offspring. In a while, Jackie’s ex-husband and his (smokin’-hot) girlfriend come to take Jackie’s children on a ski trip. Jackie’s birthday is approaching, so the ex-husband’s babe innocently gives Jackie a gift, gushing as to how the latter is going to turn “the big 4-0.” Here, Heather expertly captures her character’s embarrassment, tension, and essential sadness about experiencing the chilly blasts of advancing age.
And Heather does not for one moment flag when she gets to Hawaii (Her girfriends all chipped in to buy her a plane ticket for a trip there). Not only does her absolutely sensational bikini bod command and hold attention–People Magazine reported that while Heather was filming Forty in Hawaii, said bod “turned heads”–she immediately develops an intensely ingratiating rapport with Kyle (Robert Buckley), the twentysomething surfing instructor who rescues her from a boorish wannabe suitor. At first, she turned on by his handsome face and equally handsome abs and pecs, but soon true love develops between them. At one point the two are laying in a hammock and Kyle asks Jackie to “be my girl.” Here, Heather, stylishly summoning the right amount of warm devotion and re-awakened love, looks directly at Kyle and responds: “I’d love to be your girl.” And she maintains that level of fierce professionalism all during the rest of the picture (Another plus: Vanessa Williams has some nice spunky and charming moments as Jackie’s lead best friend).
It was the renowned motion-picture director Bruce Beresford, during a preface to a high-profile critic’s compilation of film reviews, who asserted: “I know it’s not politically correct to say it…but…watching beautiful girls can do a lot to relieve tedium.” After seeing Ali Larter in Obsession, Lia Johnson in I’m Through With White Girls (she also co-produced the film), Robin Wright in Message In A Bottle, and Heather Locklear in Flirting With Forty–and, before them, Robin Givens in Boomerang–I can definitely say that Beresford’s observation was spot-on. Duane Brooks www.yahoo.com
