Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

 

  Much like the first movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , this film is definitely charming and sweet.  The kind of movie that makes you think but doesn't overwhelm you and gives you pleasant dreams at night as opposed to wide-awake yuckiness.   My only hope is that Dev Patel never gets cast as some kind of Indian villain because it would surely break my heart!

  Frenchie: "Beauty school sure wasn't what I thought it would be."   Vi: "Nothing ever is."    

  Let it go, let it go When I'll rise like the break of dawn Let it go, let it go That perfect girl is gone!   Here I stand In the light of day Let the storm rage on, The cold never bothered me anyway!     (From the first time I saw this movie, I knew exactly why so many adults loved it as much as children.  That movie is about empowerment!)

I can't even tell you how happy I am that this is not a row of accountants.

  Given my love of the Patti Smith/Robert Mapplethorpe love story/friendship , I was keen to check this one out.  This documentary focuses more on the relationship/patronship of Sam Wagstaff to controversial artist/photographer Mapplethorpe.    As a teenager in the 90's, I was very interested in Mapplethorpe's work .  Of course, at the time, it was very hard to actually see any of his work.  He had already died by that time , but he was still largely considered a pornographic pervert of the 1980's.  I remember writing a paper on censorship in high school and including the few bits and pieces of him that I could find.    Then as an adult, I learned about Robert Mapplethorpe through the eyes of Patti Smith , his young love and lifetime friend.    She speaks throughout this documentary and gives voice to how the friendship between the two of them made way for the three of them as Wagstaff came into the picture....

For a documentary that you know already is going to have a sad ending, this is actually pretty entertaining and sweet.  With interviews from his many siblings and fellow comedic actors, the idea you always had that Chris was a really sweet guy and funny even off-stage is solidified.  Luckily, the doc didn't delve too hard into his final dark days, but instead focused on the loss felt by those around him.  Being that Chris Farley was such a big part of my teenage years in his time on SNL, I still feel sad to this day when I consider he's not around anymore.  But I also still enjoy everything he left behind and am grateful to him for it.