September | 2022 | I Get a Bit Obsessive

Happy last weekend of the month! And, more importantly, welcome to the part of my badly sorted spreadsheet where I finally watch all the Best Picture winners that start with “The.” It only took me nine years!

Anyway, I paired this with a boozy mousse, based on a sense of Mad Men level of corporate drinking, and a recipe you can make in a tiny kitchen apartment, which turned out to pair very well with the film!

Had I seen this one before?

No, which I’m now so mad at myself about, because I loved it so much.

Top 3 observations on this viewing?

I was telling my mom before watching this that I had seen it referenced in so many different ways in so many different contexts that I didn’t have any sense of its tone, which now having seen it makes sense, because it switches so effortlessly between farce and tragedy. It’s absurd, but populated with real, fully human characters. (I truly get the appeal of both Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine now it a way I didn’t fully before.)

2. This is a great New York City movie. In art direction, yes, but also in the way it captures the ways that everyone is constantly improvising ways to survive the fact that there are too many people in not enough space. – Strain your pasta through a tennis racket! Sleep on a bench in Riverside park! Abuse your power to coerce an employee out of his apartment! Stay too late at a bar on Christmas Eve with a drunk jockey’s wife in a fur! You know, New York things!

3. This movie references 3 other Best Picture winners! Grand Hotel & Cimarron (I think), are on the TV when Lemon sits down to his bachelor dinner, and someone later talks about a “lost weekend,” which is also directed by Billy Wilder (which will be coming up here soon enough now that we are in the “the-s”). Obviously, I don’t think this was on purpose, but it was fun to spot.

What did it beat? Did it deserve to win?

Elmer Gantry – Never seen it, but love that Shirley Jones has an Oscar for it

Sons and Lovers – I’m not generally a D.H. Lawrence fan, but the lead of this is a James Dean doppleganger

The Alamo – Seen this so many times as a kid. I know it’s John Wayne conservative American propaganda, but also, I love it a little bit (caveat – I have not seen it since I was 10)

The Sundownders – I have never heard of this.

Clearly, I cannot judge really, except that The Apartment is pretty perfect, so I feel okay saying that this deserved the win

Bechdel test pass?

I don’t think so, technically, but maybe it squeaks by because Mrs. Dreyfuss talked to Fran about eating. But, more importantly, the fact that the women don’t talk to each other about the men, is by the active design of the men, and when they do start talking to each other the men’s house of cards collapses and it is truly beautiful to see.

Also beautiful, this mousse, I would recommend whipping the eggs before adding the sugar, I didn’t and it was a pudding consistency, rather than a mousse, but the flavor was good!

Spicy Boozy Mousse

Ingredients

1.5 cups dark chocolate chips
1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
2 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup B&B liquor

Directions

Melt your chocolate chips over a double boiler (I still just use a heat safe mixing bowl over a saucepan)
Set aside to cool
Use a mixer to whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form
Separate the eggs, discarding the yolks
Once the chocolate is room temperature, fold into heavy cream, whip on high until thick and creamy
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites, adding sugar gradually
Mix until thick and sticky (about 3 minutes)
With the mixer on high, add egg white mixture into chocolate cream
Keeping the mixer on, slowly add liquor in 3 small pours
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour
Remove from fridge and rewhip before serving to aerate
- *Note, clearly this dessert does not bake, so it will remain alcoholic

I feel like the Emmys always sneak up on me, and this year was no exception. So much so that I didn’t actually catch the opening of the show (Tim and I are just starting “The Sopranos” from our prestige TV list, and I needed to watch Tony Soprano strangle someone on his daughter’s college visit weekend – sorry for the spoilers for a two decade old show!) So I don’t know what Keenan did at the top of the night, but I thought generally he did a good job as host (and I literally shrieked when Kel popped up.)

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good, if not particularly memorable night, but I wish that the producers (along with the Oscars team) would just acknowledge that the actual point of these nights is acceptance speeches. I genuinely want to hear these people talk! That’s why I watch these shows! Anyway…here are my highlights:

We tuned in just in time for Michael Keaton to be as wonderful as always:

I still haven’t watched Succession (based on my current prestige TV viewing schedule I’ll watch it in about a decade), but I have loved Matthew MacFayden for a very long time (since Darcy, but through many other BBC costume dramas) and I am very happy for him:

Obviously, the best speech of the night was from “Abbott Elementary’s” Sheryl Lee Ralph:

She made me cry last night, and I cried again right now watching it back. Just a legendary moment.

I was worried that someone was going to have to follow her, but then we got to return to one of my favorite recurring storylines – how long will it take Brett Goldstein to swear in his acceptance speech:

At this point it’s basically a foregone conclusion that Last Week Tonight is going to win their category, but I really enjoyed getting to watch the “Only Murders in the Building” team riff (and Martin Short say “I’m hugging everybody”):

Playing off Jennifer Coolidge is an insane directorial choice, but I really liked her reaction to it, may we all just start a silly dance when our moments are ruined:

Amada Seyfried is amazing in The Dropout and I loved her speech, even though she shouldn’t have to talk like she’s being played on 1.5 speech (just let them talk!):

Lizzo’s speech was amazing (including the fact that she did not understand that her cast was behind some sort of security line). Also, loved watching everyone navigate her skirt on the way to the stage:

Mindy & BJ’s mysterious relationship is one of my favorite things in celebrity gossip, and I very much enjoyed this presenting moment (Mike White being on Survivor is a fun piece of trivia too!):

The two biggest “I need to watch that pretty immediately” things from last night were the rest of Abbott Elementary and Rothaniel. I remember watching Quinta Brunson on Buzzfeed videos back in the day, and I’m really happy for her! (Jimmy Kimmel should have rolled off the stage to let her have her moment.):

The In Memorium was nice, but why did they keep John Legend in the frame the whole time? Let us all watch the slide show, this is about honoring those we’ve lost!

As you all know, I can’t watch Squid Game for violence aversion reasons, but I think it’s really cool that a non-English show one in two major categories! More of this please!

I’m always happy when Zendaya wins things – as was Sandra Oh, clearly:

Jean Smart is perfect, and it feels right that Rachel Brosnahan sends cookies to her fellow nominees:

Really enjoyed Coach Beard counting down behind Jason Sudekis in their Best Comedy win moment:

(Also, did the women in red not know they were getting a Season 3 until that moment? Her reaction was kind of wild.)

Succession won best drama, I enjoyed their speech, but mostly I want to take this moment to say that a few weeks ago at a bar a women said I look like Sarah Snook, and so I’m going to pretend my show won an Emmy last night:

Fashion wise there was a good balance of sparkles and classic black. There were only a few people who opted for wild volume, but unfortunately our long international nightmare of strange underboob/stomach cut outs continues. Here were my favs: