Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

 

Mona Lisa Smile - 2003

Coming up next we have 2003's "Mona Lisa Smile", a film about an art teacher who accepts a position at a prestigious ladies' college and challenges the way way in which they view art, their lives, and their places in the world.

The film's cast includes Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnifer Goodwin, Dominic West, Juliet Stevenson, Marcia Gay Harden, Marian Seldes, Laura Allen, Topher Grace, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Marylouise Burke, and John Slattery.

Katherine Watson comes from California to teach art history at prestigious Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

She is instantly struck by how straight-laced and conservative the school is.  Katherine becomes shocked that the school is little more than a waiting room for young girls hoping for marriage.  The teachers there don't encourage any modern thinking.  Nancy teaches poise and elocution, essentials for a woman who hopes to further her husband's career.  "I thought I was headed to a place that turned out tomorrow's leaders, not their wives!" complains an exasperated Katherine.

Katherine also has reason to doubt a fellow teacher who has a romantic interest in her.  He is under her scrutinizing gaze.

But with her smile and good humor, Katherine is able to make the best of her tenuous situation.

She challenges her students to rethink the mold that's been prescribed for their lives, to look outside the box when it comes to art, and consider the world from a different point of view.

But, Katherine continues to clash with students.  Students from the more powerful families associated with the school even issue threats.  "If you fail me, there will be consequences," warns one of them.

However, Katherine's unique classes prove to be extremely popular with the student body, and enrollment has gone up considerably for the next term.  The board decides that she can return to teach at the school if she will consent to a more structured program that is submitted for their approval first.

Katherine decides that this isn't for her, opting to travel Europe instead.  She pens a farewell note to each of her students ahead of graduation day.

Throughout time at Wellesley, Katherine influences a core group of girls.  Among them is Connie Baker, a young woman with self esteem issues and the desire to find her dreamboat.

Giselle Levy is someone who looks up to Katherine, but is on a destructive path that leads to flying from man to man and turning to alcohol.  Her more liberal views are frequently at odds with several of her classmates' more conservative outlooks.

Joan Brandwyn is a bright young woman who is torn between pursuing a career and settling down with the man she loves.  Katherine tells her that she can have both, and she helps her student to see that she's got more options than just marriage.

And, finally, there is Betty Warren, who's desire to portray the perfect wife and "Wellesley girl" betray the awful truth that her ideal world is crashing down around her.  She is quite formidable, challenging the knowledge that Katherine seeks to impart to her students.

But, by the time graduation day arrives, Katherine is pleasantly surprised to see the difference that she's made in the lives of the students that she's touched.

Cast rundown:

   Julia Roberts.....................................Katherine Watson

   Kirsten Dunst....................................Betty Warren

   Julia Stiles........................................Joan Brandwyn

   Maggie Gyllenhaal..............................Giselle Levy

   Ginnifer Goodwin...............................Connie Baker

   Dominic West....................................Bill Dunbar

   Juliet Stevenson.................................Amanda Armstrong

   Marcia Gay Harden.............................Nancy Abbey

   Marian Seldes....................................Jocelyn Carr

   Laura Allen........................................Susan Delacorte

   Topher Grace.....................................Tommy Donegal

   Ebon Moss-Bachrach...........................Charlie Stewart

   Lisa Roberts Gillan..............................Miss Albini

   Marylouise Burke................................Secretary

   John Slattery......................................Paul Moore

And that's it for Mona Lisa Smile.  To prepare for their roles as students, many of the lead actors were put through a two-week course at a finishing school before they began filming.  Julia Roberts observed art history classes at New York University to prepare for her role as Katherine Watson.  Many of Wellesley alumni expressed their dissatisfaction of the way the school was portrayed in the film, maintaining that the atmosphere was never like that.  Laura Allen, who appeared in a minor role in the film and was an actual graduate of Wellesley, expressed her regret at appearing in the film after the negative backlash.

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Lillian Russell (1940)

 

Lillian Russell - 1940

Coming up next we have 1940's "Lillian Russell", a highly fictionalized biopic about the legendary singer and actress who electrified audiences just before and at the turn of the 20th century.

The film's cast includes Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold, Warren William, Leo Carrillo, Helen Westley, Dorothy Peterson, Ernest Truex, Lynn Bari, Claud Allister, Eddie Foy Jr., Una O'Connor, Joseph Cawthorn, Ferike Boros, and Irving Bacon.

Helen Leonard wants to be a famous singer/actress one day.  She delights her family by singing such songs as "Brighten The Corner Where You Are" and "Come Down Ma Evenin' Star".

But it's her rendition of "And The Band Played On" that rockets her to stardom and causes her first theater boss to change her name from Helen Leonard to the ultra chic Lillian Russell.

Lillian has all kinds of success in her new career.  Men want to date her, and women want to copy her.  At the opening of her first show, she sings "Ma Blushin' Rosie".  Later, after she is established on the stage, she performs a full rendition of "After The Ball" for President Grover Cleveland over the telephone with a full orchestra and vocal accompaniment during an intermission.

She is a sensation in both America and Europe.  As her career matures, Lillian sings such emotional songs as "Blue Lovebird", but she never loses touch with songs with which she is most often associated, such as "Waltz Is King/After The Ball".

The film also explores Lillian's various relationships, including her longest one with Diamond Jim Brady, who showers her with gifts and is smitten from the moment he first meets her.

Jim is always sending Lillian presents.  At one show, she playfully scolds him.  "Now, Jim Brady, just look at all these lovely presents you sent me.  A basket of orchids with a diamond necklace and bracelet, American Beauty roses with rubies, gardenias with emeralds, violets with pearls, and a jewel studded bicycle.  Jim, have you lost your mind?" she asks.  He smiles and says, "No, just my heart."

We also watch Lillian's happiness with her husband, Edward Solomon, who wrote the song "Blue Lovebirds" for her.

And a man who always seems to be there for the important moments in Lillian's life finds a special place in her heart as well.

Cast rundown:

   Alice Faye................................Lillian Russell

   Don Ameche............................Edward Solomon

   Henry Fonda............................Alexander Moore

   Edward Arnold.........................Diamond Jim Brady

   Warren William.........................Jesse Lewisohn

   Leo Carrillo..............................Tony Pastor

   Helen Westley..........................Grandma Leonard

   Dorothy Peterson.....................Cynthia Leonard

   Ernest Truex............................Charles K. Leonard

   Lynn Bari................................Edna McCauley

   Claud Allister...........................Arthur Sullivan

   Eddie Foy Jr.............................Eddie Foy Sr.

   Una O'Connor..........................Marie

   Joseph Cawthorn......................Leopold Damrosch

   Ferike Boros............................Mrs. Rose

   Irving Bacon............................Soldier

And that's all for Lillian Russell.  Alice Faye absolutely shines in the title role.  Originally, MGM was slated to do a film about the famous songstress with Jeanette MacDonald in the lead role.  That project fell through and 20th Century Fox picked it up.  Henry Fonda was forced to do this film in order for him to play the lead role in "The Grapes of Wrath".  He intensely disliked the experience.

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