I sort of hate how slavish I am towards (the ghost of) Katharine Hepburn in that I tend to gravitate – at least momentarily – to things she likes. The thing is that her opinions are usually one point. Case in point: Spencer Tracy. I swear, I didn’t care two cents for Spencer Tracy until the memory of Kate invoked his ghost and now he’s one of my favourite screen couple. I immediately think of Tracy/Hepburn when I ruminate on iconic screen couples. It’s not just because of the prolific nature of their onscreen career, though and truthfully it doesn’t matter much that they actually had an enduring offscreen romance. In theory, they seem ill matched. Kate’s much too fantastical and brash and Spencer comes off as placid – almost stolid. But, they’re sort of magical together (proof, proof, proof.)
I can’t think of any cinematic couple to match their electricity except for Dick and Liz. True, they come off much more explosive than the general good-natured sanguine nature of Tracy/Hepburn, but it’s difficult to deny them their histrionics. They’re much more sensual, and it works even if it’s a bit disturbing if you consider what their actually “home” life might have been. The reason I bring this up is because I think of how contemporary Hollywood has eschewed all those great occurrences of real-life couples pairing up (successfully) on screen. I don’t care if I’m one of the few who had legitimate interest in Mr and Mrs Smith I like it for the chance of seeing a real couple on screen. As impersonal as everything is now, Hollywood has sort of lost that irreverence. Which is one of the reasons that I love Vicky Cristina Barcelona even more...Don’t you wish more real life couples would do movies together? I want another Warren/Annette film. A Will Arnett and Amy Poehler comedy. More Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. What about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment