Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson
One of my personal heroes, Anne Bancroft, has died.
When I was 15, I wanted to be a middle-aged swinging housewife from the 1960s. Specifically, I wanted to be Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate." It sounds strange, but it's true. I loved her style - leopard-print mini skirts, hoop earrings, two-tone streaked hair and a killer tan. She was awesome. I combed the racks of Aardvarks and bought every single pelt - mini skirt, coat, vest, go-go boots - I could get my hands on. I paired them with bright colored tights and hoops earrings, and made tails on my eyes with black liquid eyeliner. On a tall 15 year old from the San Fernando Valley, the look was decidedly retro-hooker (a couple of my friends' fathers commented on it), but in the best possible way. She was the original desperate housewife. And I'm not alone in wanting to emulate her fashion sense: look at Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan or Jessica Simpson. Though they may be doing it badly, and though not one of them would know what the hell I am talking about, they're all channeling a little bit of Mrs. R.
I read on the AP wire that Bancroft hated the fact that everyone associated her with that movie. I guess I understand, but few actresses reach such iconic status. She was tough and sad and sexy and far more appealing than her daughter Elaine, played by Katherine Ross. Although, a part of me wanted to be Elaine too. (A part of me wanted to be Benjamin, the Dustin Hoffman character, but that's another story.) At a young age, I knew that Bancroft was married to Mel Brooks, that she played Anne Sullivan in the "Miracle Worker" on Broadway (alongside Patty Duke Astin, whose memorable autobiography, "Call Me Anna," I devoured around the same time. Poor Patty!), that she and Shirley MacLaine slapped each other in that ridiculous fight scene in "The Turning Point." All that was great, but Mrs. Robinson kept me coming back. I've probably seen "The Graduate" more times than I have seen any other movie, and each time it's better than the last. My family lore has it that my mom married my dad after she saw it, which wasn't the smartest move on her part but still kind of romantic.
When I was 15, I wanted to be a middle-aged swinging housewife from the 1960s. Specifically, I wanted to be Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate." It sounds strange, but it's true. I loved her style - leopard-print mini skirts, hoop earrings, two-tone streaked hair and a killer tan. She was awesome. I combed the racks of Aardvarks and bought every single pelt - mini skirt, coat, vest, go-go boots - I could get my hands on. I paired them with bright colored tights and hoops earrings, and made tails on my eyes with black liquid eyeliner. On a tall 15 year old from the San Fernando Valley, the look was decidedly retro-hooker (a couple of my friends' fathers commented on it), but in the best possible way. She was the original desperate housewife. And I'm not alone in wanting to emulate her fashion sense: look at Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan or Jessica Simpson. Though they may be doing it badly, and though not one of them would know what the hell I am talking about, they're all channeling a little bit of Mrs. R.
I read on the AP wire that Bancroft hated the fact that everyone associated her with that movie. I guess I understand, but few actresses reach such iconic status. She was tough and sad and sexy and far more appealing than her daughter Elaine, played by Katherine Ross. Although, a part of me wanted to be Elaine too. (A part of me wanted to be Benjamin, the Dustin Hoffman character, but that's another story.) At a young age, I knew that Bancroft was married to Mel Brooks, that she played Anne Sullivan in the "Miracle Worker" on Broadway (alongside Patty Duke Astin, whose memorable autobiography, "Call Me Anna," I devoured around the same time. Poor Patty!), that she and Shirley MacLaine slapped each other in that ridiculous fight scene in "The Turning Point." All that was great, but Mrs. Robinson kept me coming back. I've probably seen "The Graduate" more times than I have seen any other movie, and each time it's better than the last. My family lore has it that my mom married my dad after she saw it, which wasn't the smartest move on her part but still kind of romantic.
posted by j.m. at 8:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home