A Kiss is STILL a Kiss!

"You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” Rhett Butler

"I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth" Chico Marx

 

Lady and The Tramp, 1955

  “I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”
Bull Durham,1988

Have you noticed kisses don't mean as much anymore.  When you watch a film these days how often is THE KISS just expected, ho-hum, gratuitous, superfluous and simply  an "is  what it is " non-event.  I think it is sad that romance has disappeared---we know what's going to happen and  it is rarely worth the ticket price when it does. Maybe we have become jaded by too many kisses, too many scenes that are throw-aways, kisses that are just filling space.   Where's the spark, where's the heat, where's the  witty dialogue, where's the soaring music, the anticipation, the drama, the MOMENT.  I want THE MOMENT!  SO this Valentine's Day I am celebrating with some of my favorite on-screen smooches and some of the best kissy quotes --interesting that films made in much less socially open periods are the ones we remember--iconic kisses that are unforgettable and keep us watching again and again.  So Hollywood listen up--this Valentine's Day--take a lesson from classic films and don't just toss those kisses in wherever and whenever...save them, make them special... and give us back THE MOMENT!  Happy Valentine's Day!

The Thin Man, 1934

It Happened One Night, 1934 

Snow White, 1937

Gone with the Wind, 1939

Ball of Fire, 1941

 "I'm gonna show you what yum-yum is. 
Here's yum...And here's the other yum...And here's yum-yum."

Casablanca, 1942

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."

From Here to Eternity, 1953

"I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do."

Roman Holiday, 1953

Sabrina. 1954

"Here's a kiss from David," he told her - "It's all in the family"

Summertime, 1955

To Catch a Thief, 1955

 "I've been waiting all day for you to mention that kiss I gave you last night... Not only did I enjoy that kiss last night, I was awed by the efficiency behind it." 
She replied: "Well, I'm a great believer of getting down to essentials."

An Affair to Remember, 1957

North by Northwest, 1959

How to Steal a Million, 1966

 

Thomas Crown Affair , 1968

The Way We Were, 1973

Moonstruck, 1987

Princess Bride, 1987

 “Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The End.”

Goodnight Jay-The End of a Late Night Era

"I don't like goodbyes.  NBC does...I don't care for them" and with that opening line to his last monologue Jay Leno's final Tonight Show's valentine began.  

In front of an audience of VIPs and dear friends who would serenade him with a "So long, Farewell" Jay Leno said goodbye to what he called "the best job in show business" and did what Jay Leno does better than anyone, he hosted the Tonight Show with wisecracks, grace, and an uncharacteristic emotional goodbye.  Calling himself the "luckiest guy in the world" Jay Leno stepped out of what was the most coveted job any comedian could ever have.  The Tonight Show for many of us will always mean Johnny Carson and there was a great deal of controversy when Jay took over after Johnny, but never from Jay.  He was the focal point of a swarm of show biz nonsense but he always remained centered, gracious, the consummate gentleman,truly a rarity in his business- a class act.

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Jay Leno came of comedic age at an extraordinary time for stand up comedy, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Pryor...these were his buddies and stand up comedy defines who he is.  He has been playing the same club every Sunday night since 1978, he had the biggest stage any comedian could have for 22 years but would still do 100 shows a year on the road, honing his craft, trying out bits and staying close to what made him the best in the business.  He was often criticized for not being edgy enough, but Jay Leno knew that at 11:30 every night he was in people's bedrooms making them smile before they went to sleep and he played to everyone.  This was not his first goodbye to the Tonight Show, in 2009 for a bad 7 months NBC put Conan O'Brien there in what was a train wreck for late night TV, and through all that Jay Leno was the calm in the craziness, taking it all as just part of the game...a game that took the working class kid from Andover, MA with learning issues and a love for cars to the highest point in his field-whatever else NBC may have done wrong in the Leno era, and despite all the rivalry with his friend David Letterman, NBC did get the right guy.

 "I don't need to be fired three times..I get the hint. I get the hint"

Jay knows that he is over 60, the world is moving faster than he cares to keep up with and that television, media and the audience has changed and that this may not have been his decision but this time he is OK with it.  The late night audience is fractured with a great deal of competition and what once was a viewership of over 12 million has dropped to five million... but Jay started at number one and leaves at number one.  His was a run that was second only to Johnny's and with a brand like the Tonight Show he has left an historic mark on American comedy.  It is doubtful  that The Tonight Show will ever look or feel the same, Jay was always in the model of the traditions of the Tonight Show and was careful to keep so much of what Johnny Carson built in tact while still making it his own but it could not have been an easy task to step into a legend's shoes but Jay never tried to be anyone other than who he is and that may have been the key to his real success.  Jay Leno is  genuine, and that sparkles through every night.  Jimmy Fallon is a talented guy but this is a different world and it could be that The Tonight Show no matter how cool and hip the host may just be a dinosaur...there are lots of places to go at 11:30 at night--It would be nice to think we could all be in the same place laughing together, goodness knows this country could use a good laugh, but those days are probably gone.

"It's fun to kind of be the old guy and sit back here and see where the next generation takes this great institution.... It really is time to go and hand it off to the next guy. It really is."

 As Jay Leno took his final curtain call as host of The Tonight Show he dropped the wise cracks for a bit, talking about the losses in his life and how the Tonight Show staff became his family, and to reveal a man who gets it and who never tried to be anything other than a guy who likes to make people laugh and that he did every night for 22 years. Jay Leno is a complete and pure comic with a respect for his craft and for those that came before him. As he said goodnight he told his wife Mavis "Honey, I'm coming home."...but there is no doubt that Jay Leno will find himself a spotlight to stand under and keep us laughing for years to come.  Thanks Jay. 

 "Jay, you've made a whole lot of jokes about me over the years, but don't worry, I'm not upset," Obama said, adding that he was making Leno the U.S. ambassador to Antarctica. "Hope you have a warm coat, funnyman." Barack O'bama

Still The Coolest Street-Happy 43rd Birthday Sesame Street!

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"Sesame Street's mission is to "create innovative, engaging content that maximizes the educational power of media to help children reach their highest potential."

  This week everyone's favorite 8' 2"yellow feathered friend, along with all his neighbors on one of the world's most famous streets, celebrated 43 years of educating kids while having a lot of fun! The first episode of Sesame Street aired November 10,1969.

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  It has been anxious time for our friends on Sesame Street as they became the center of the PBS funding cut chatter during the election-Good news pals Barack has your back!

  The importance of Sesame Street in the lives of pre-schoolers across the globe kids cannot be overstated.  In a society becoming more fractured economically kids with limited to no access to the plugged in world of apps and the internet and cable do have access to public broadcasting and Sesame Street at no charge-no special technology or fees required.  Sesame Street provides all kids the start they need to succeed in the critical early learning grades.

via The Atlantic and Mental Floss

  Sesame Street has not only helped kids learn their letters and numbers, but it has also held their hand through difficult time and taught them important life lessons-caring, friendship, sharing, tolerance, understanding...and coping skills-most memorably after the death of Mr. Hooper the grocer and September 11 and this week in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy Sesame Street announced that it would air a special episode to help kids understand the effects of a hurricane as Big Bird's nest is destroyed in a storm.

 Sesame Street has always been a hot destination for celebrities, many of whom would never make public appearances on any other show...and of course every First Lady since Pat Nixon has stopped in to say Hi to the gang including Michelle Obama who along with Elmo talked about the importance of healthy eating and gardening.

  Sesame Street is seen in over 140 countries worldwide from South Africa, where an HIV Positive character was included, to Israel where Oscar's Israeli counterpart is Moishe Oofnik, whose last name means "grouch" in Hebrew,  and last season in Afghanistan   where supposedly the characters of Oscar the Grouch and The Count von Count were set aside due to cultural taboos around trash and vampires

 In Egypt 's version-Alam Simsim, a strong and gutsy girl character named Khokha not only teaches the alphabet and numbers but also inspires and eductates girls that they can grow up to be anything they want and she wants to be a lawyer and a doctor and an engineer when she grows up! In Bangladesh Tuktuki intends to learn to read and go to school just like the boys do!  This week Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor came to Sesame Street to talk to Abby Cadabby about careers.  Abby wants to be a Princess but Justice Sotomayor explains that really isn't a career  "... a career is "a job you train for, or prepare for and plan on doing for a long time...pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career... you can go to school and train to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, and even a scientist..."  Abby decides to go for the gavel!

 

Sesame Street weaves the culture and societal concerns of each country through the characters and lessons of each show, and for the original Sesame Street, the characters and cast reflect who we are-different, special, unique and a melting pot of cultures and customs and beliefs -maybe the next political party should come from a special neighborhood called Sesame Street!

   

Did you know...

- According to Sesame Workshop, Elmo is the only non-human to testify before Congress.
 He lobbied for more funding for music education, so that “when Elmo goes to school, there will be the instruments to play.”

-Oscar the Grouch used to be orange 

-Mr. Snuffleupagus has a first name--Aloysius

- All Sesame Street's main Muppets have four fingers except Cookie Monster, who has five

A Sabrina Sunday

"Once upon a time on the north shore of Long Island, some thirty miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate. "

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"The estate was very large indeed and  had many servants.  There were gardeners to take care of the gardens, and a tree surgeon on retainer.  There was a  boatman to take care of the boats, to put them in the water in the spring and scrape their bottoms in the winter. There was specialists to take care of the grounds- the outdoor tennis court and the indoor tennis court, the outdoor swimming pool and the indoor swimming pool, and there was a man of no particular title who took care of a small pool in the garden for a goldfish named George."

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" Also on the estate there was a chauffeur by the name of  Fairchild who had been  imported from England years ago together with a new Rolls Royce.  Fairchild was a fine chauffeur of considerable polish, like the eight cars in his care, and he had a daughter by the name of Sabrina."

"It was  the eve of the annual  Six Meter Yacht Races and has had been traditional on Long Island for the past 30 years the Larabees were giving a party.  It never rained on the night of the Larabee party, the Larabees wouldn't have stood for it.  There were 4 Larabees in all, Father, Mother and two sons.  Maud and Oliver Larabee were married in nineteen hundred and six and among there many wedding presents was a Town House in New York and this estate for weekends.   The Town House has since been converted  into Saks Fifth Avenue.

 Linus Larabee, the elder son, graduated from Yale where his classmates voted him the the man most likely to leave his Alma Mater 50 million dollars.  His brother, David, went through several of the best eastern colleges for short periods of time and  through several marriages for even shorter periods of time.  He is now a successful 6 goal polo player and is listed on Linus' tax return as a $600 deduction    Life was pleasant among the Larabees, for this was as close to heaven as one could get on Long Island."

Thus begins Billy Wilder's enchanting fairy tale of the chauffeur's daughter named Sabrina, whose father warned her not to reach for the moon, and the Larabees two sons-handsome playboy  David /William Holden, and crusty stiff old bachelor Linus/ Humphrey Bogart.  I won't give it all away... but that little girl, the one who grew up on the outside looking in, living above the garage with her nose pressed against the ballroom window all the while hopelessly and madly in love with the ne'er do well  David...

 ...and who  like a "nobody" watched as David twirled the society girls around the dance floor or met them with champagne in a rendez-vous at the indoor tennis court, all to the orchestra playing "Isn't it Romantic"...

... is sent off to cooking school in Paris by her Father in the hopes she will get over David.  Sabrina,however, arrives back on Long Island, chic and transformed, along with her poodle named- David.   The real David is instantly smitten, though he has no idea who she is...and...well Go Watch!

"He's still David Larabbe and you're still the chauffeur's daughter, and you're still reaching for the moon.."  No Father, the moon's reaching for me" 

 Yes, Sabrina does get to go to the ball and wear that iconic Givenchy gown, but oh what happens at that ball....

"I have a lovely evening dress with yards of skirt and way off the shoulder, should I wear it?"

Of course I adore Audrey Hepburn in this film, but for me it is the remarkable Humphrey Bogart, a softer Bogie under the spell of a sublime Audrey. 

"...its as though a window had been thrown open and a lovely breeze swept through this stuffy old house"

Billy Wilder's fairytale stands the test of time-a charming classic where all the parts fit and the romance is nontraditional, unexpected and perfect.  Written by Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman from the play by Samuel Taylor Sabrina will always be one of my favorite fairy tales-and remember Paris is always a good idea!