March 18, 2021: The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (Part Two)
This movie is interesting so far, and funny!
Granted, it’s a Woody Allen movie, so that shouldn’t be terribly surprising to me. It also won’t be the last of his films I’m watching this months, little spoiler alert there. You can go ahead and guess which one’s coming down the pike, if you want to.
By the way, this is a surprisingly uncommon trope. Most of the time, people will go into a TV, rather than coming out of it. Why is this not done more? Seriously, this is an interesting idea, and it’d genuinely odd to me that this is still a mostly untapped idea. Get on that, Hollywood! Although...the last time you did something like that...
Right. Maybe...maybe do something else with the idea, huh? Like, use it...but use it well, please. Anyway, back to the movie! First part right here!
Recap (2/2)
As agreed, Cecilia takes Gil to meet Tom, and when he does, Tom goes OFF on the dude, accusing him of ruining his career, just as it was about to take off, yaddayaddayadda. This is contrary to the claim that Gil wouldn’t get angry at Tom, disappointing Cecilia. Tom and Gil argue about Tom’s presence n the world, and Tom insists that he’s in love with Cecilia.
Gil asks Cecilia to tell him to go back, as he’s a fictional character, and she’s real. Tom insists that he can learn to be real, the possibility of which Gil denies. Nevertheless, Gil informs his superiors and the authorities about this, which Cecilia shows Tom what the real world is actually like. And back at RKO Pictures, it’s revealed that another iteration of Tom in a theater in Texas is forgetting his lines. The plot thickens.
Cecilia takes Tom to a church, and as they’re beginning to talk about religion, Monk shows up. He’s gotten word of the two spending time together, and he’s here to break it up, like an asshole. Tom defends Cecilia as Monk is about to assault her, and the two fight in the church, although Cecilia pleads with both of them. And the way the fight is stages looks...well, staged, which is clever.
However, this isn’t a movie, and Monk plays dirty, sucker punching him and literally kicking him while he’s down. Cecilia steps in to stop it, and she refuses to come with him, staying with Tom to make sure he’s OK. Monk leaves, angry and needing a drink, and Tom gets up completely fine. A perk of being an imaginary person, it would seem. No blood, and no injuries.
After this, Cecilia runs into Gil once again, and he bemoans the situation, and his potentially ruined career. However, Cecilia feeds his ego mercilessly, calling him a movie star with great potential. This ego inflation works wonders on Gil, and he quickly warms to Cecilia, offering to buy her lunch. He also reveals his real name, Herman Bardebedian, and compliments her looks as well.
Meanwhile, at the amusement park, Tom is lingering about. He’s called on by Emma (Dianne West), a “working girl” that offers to take him back to her place of work, which is a brothel. There, he speaks with the sex workers there, who attempt to proposition him. However, he’s only interested in speaking philosophy and existentialism, charming all of the women there. They offer him a “free night”, but the pure-hearted Tom refuses, as he’s in love with Cecilia. It’s a surprisingly sweet scene.
Meanwhile, Gil and Cecilia are walking the town, with Cecilia showing her talents in playing the ukelele at a music shop, and with Gil singing along, in yet another VERY sweet scene. This is an interestingly sweet movie, hidden beneath the sardonic nature of the whole thing. After this, the two recite one of Gil’s scenes in a movie, culminating in a kiss between the two.
Cecilia’s extremely shaken by this, although she does appreciate the kiss. And yet, she’s still married, AND she’s devoted to Tom, whom she says is “fictional, but you can’t have everything.” Confused, she heads out. Which makes this the rare film where a man is technically cucked by himself. Nice.
Meanwhile, at the movie theatre, the cast is speaking to an empty theatre, and noting their complete uselessness without Tom present. They once again note the futility of their situation. A communist character tries to get the rest to revolt, while Henry proposes that they’re reality, while the audience is the screen.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Tom Baxters are starting to cause trouble in other theatres. Four theatres report Tom Baxter attempting to leave, prompting RKO to pull the picture from theatres. But first, they must get the rogue Baxter back into the movie, then they’ll take every copy of the film and BURN THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Meanwhile, at the amusement park, Tom attempts to woo Cecilia one again, and proposes going out that night. And he does go out with her, but to the theatre. And there...he pulls Cecilia into the movie!
In the movie, his money is good and real, and the entire cast goes to the Copacabana as scheduled, with Cecilia tagging along this time. And I’m loving every second of this, this is an awesome story. At the Copacabana, Kitty the nightclub performer is singing. Once she’s done, she questions Cecilia’s presence, as it goes against the plot. Tom tells her that Cecilia is real, and Kitty faints at the realization.
Tom takes her out on the town, and the maître d’ realizes that they’re chucking out the plot...meaning that he can finally do something that he’s always wanted to do: DANCE. And as he tap-dances on stage, can I just say, I adore this movie. Because I ADORE this movie.
After this, Tom takes Cecilia out on the town as promised, and we get a stereotypical film montage of dancing and partying in the fictional New York City. They go back to the apartment in the early morning, which is now empty of people.
There, the two finally kiss...only for Gil to show up in the movie theatre and interrupt it. Between the screen and the theatre, the three have a conversation, where Gil admits that he’s in love with her. The two step out of the screen to speak with him, and the love triangle crystallizes in a conflict. As the other movie characters arrive and add their input, the choice is up to Cecilia.
And she chooses Gil. Tom is crushed, but Cecilia explains that Gil is in the real world, and Tom...well, Tom is a fictional character. And Cecilia has to live in the real world. Tom goes back into the film, which finally proceeds as scheduled. And Gil and Cecilia leave together, to start a new life.
...Or will they? Cecilia goes home and packs, as Monk attempts to reconcile with her. But Cecilia’s done, and she’s leaving him for good. Monk threatens her once again, but this whole situation has filled her with some courage, and she leaves, like leave-leaves. She goes to the movie theatre, where she’s set to meet Gil...but he’s gone. Because Gil never loved her. It was all, well...an act. He played Cecilia to get Tom to return to the screen, and to continue his own career, the absolute piece of shiiiiiiiiit.
Left with nothing at all, Cecilia once again delves into escapism, and views the real film Top Hat, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. She walks in on the scene where Astaire is singing...well...Cheek-to-Cheek.
Fade to black.
And, damn! That’s The Purple Rose of Cairo! A terribly bitter ending for a great movie! And, uh...yeah, this is a low fantasy film, but it’s also high up there in my favorites, and is now my favorite Woody Allen film. But I’ll elaborate more on that in the Review. See you there!
J Edgar Hoover was a big part of founding the FBI and he served as the first Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Lorelai is poking fun at Emily’s “spying,” because she found out through Headmaster Charleston’s wife.
The Paper Chase (1973). A first-year law student at Harvard Law School struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of his sternest professor.
As far as college movies go, this seems invested in a pretty original premise! The concept of a law student caught up in the world of his professor’s family via his daughter is an interesting one, and the general pace and thrust of the film captures the pressure and frustration of higher education, as well as the struggle for identity, pretty well. It’s full of interesting dynamics that are never quite fully realised, in no small part because you don’t care enough for the lead. It means that it just never quite hits the mark it wants to. 6.5/10.
The Electric Grandmother is a television movie that originally aired January 17, 1982, on NBC as a 60-minute Project Peacock special, based on the science fiction short story "I Sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury. It stars Maureen Stapleton and Edward Herrmann and was directed by Noel Black. Bradbury's story was originally written as a teleplay in 1962 as "I Sing the Body Electric", an episode of The Twilight Zone. (Wikipedia)
