VARIANCE FILMS THE PERFECT FAMILY LLC (2)
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May 4, 2012
Kathleen Turner is a perfect mom again,
in this marvelous comedy
by Anthony Glassman
In one of her greatest film roles, Kathleen Turner played the perfect suburban housewife. Her family was happy and loved. Her home was immaculate. She was civic-minded and caring.
She was also a serial killer.
Yes, we're talking about Serial Mom, one of John Waters' most accessible films, the one it's safe to let your mother watch. Only two of her other films might even compare in terms of sheer greatness: The War of the Roses, which turned Romancing the Stone on its ear, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in which she was literally animated.
Of course, neither of those films were helmed by John Waters, so they are what they are.
Despite now being a woman of “a certain age,” Turner is a busy little bee. She keeps
getting acting jobs, and for that, we should all be thankful. Where would we be without that husky voice, those ample curves, those eyes that can stare directly into the depths of your soul?
Now, backed by a stellar cast including Sharon Lawrence, Emily Deschanel, Jason Ritter and Richard Freakin' Chamberlain (which should be his official stage name whenever he's in a cool production), she is back as another perfect mother in Anne Renton's The Perfect Family, a selection at both OutFest and the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011.
Turner plays Eileen Cleary, a middleaged married woman, very involved in the church, and up for Catholic Woman of the Year. The only thing standing in the way is her arch-nemesis Agnes Dunn (Sharon Lawrence).
Kathleen Turner plays Catholic übermom Eileen Cleary, backed up by Monsignor Murphy (Richard Chamberlain) in The Perfect Family.
"Every time something good is about to happen to me, Agnes Dunn pops up," she laments.
Another stumbling block might be Eileen's family.
Her marriage to alcoholic Frank is coming apart at the seams. Her son, Frank Jr., is having an affair with a manicurist.
"She's older than you are. You can't even get a midlife crisis right!" she tells him.
And the cherry on the sundae of Sunday School rule violations is her daughter Shannon, who announces she is going to get married to a nice Catholic-named Angela. Her parish priest Father Joe (Scott Michael Campbell) is a kind soul, and Monsignor Murphy (Richard Chamberlain) is supportive of her bid for Catholic Woman of the Year, but they are both Catholic clergy. As Eileen posits, she's Catholic, she doesn't have to think about whether or not she approves of her daughter's impending marriage.
As the story reaches its climax, Eileen is faced with the ultimate question: Is her messed-up, dysfunctional family more important than her church and the opportunity to win Catholic Woman of the Year? Is it possible to have both, or will she take neither?
Of course, Renton could totally shatter the narrative thread of the film and have Eileen suddenly snap and reveal that she has dissociative personality disorder, and her alternate personality is Beverly Sutphin. She then goes on a killing spree, painting a mural on the wall of the church in Agnes Dunn's blood.
Okay, probably not. But The Perfect Family, which opens May 11 at the CedarLee Theater in Cleveland Heights, is a marvelous comedy with a brilliant cast that Pope Benedict XVI will most likely not go
to see.
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
Shannon Cleary (Emily Deschanel) and her soon-to-be wife Angela Reyes (Angelique Chabral) are two more nails in the coffin of Eileen's idealized life.
Author to discuss out 1920s journalist
by Leana Donofio-Milovan
Lakewood, Ohio-The fact that the uncloseted Winsor French flourished in the harsh boys-club environment that was 1920s and '30s journalism speaks volumes to his talents.
He began reporting on urban nightlife in Parade, the magazine he founded and edited. His columns were about the social activities of those who were normally cast into the shadows: bootleggers, black entertainers, Jewish socialites, disabled school children and fellows like himself who found the company of other men more exciting than women.
He was one of the most faithfully read columnists in the history of Cleveland jour-
nalism. For more than forty years he covered the jazz beat and café society. Jim Wood, author of Out and About with Winsor French, will discuss the fabulous personal and public persona of this groundbreaking newspaperman. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event, at 7 p.m. on May 16 in the Main Lakewood Public Library Auditorium.
This program is presented by the Lakewood Historical Society. No registration is needed. Call 216-226-8275 ext. 127 for more information.
Leana Donofrio-Milovan is in the programming and publicity department of the Lakewood Public Library.
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