A Vision Of Meryl & Charlie

My sister and I ( in full how-to-amuse-ourselves-'til-World's mode ) were discussing mutable Meryl and how well she slips into various characters. We were praising her sophistication ,and observing that we'd like to see her in some 30's ( or thereabouts ) role..because let's face it, she looks fabulous in a costume drama.

That spilled over into what movie scores might be suitable..We thought maybe The White Countess , and one or two others came to mind..but the one we'd love to see would be " White Mischief ".( It creeps up to 1940 , but the clothes were still great)
If you don't know the book by Charles Fox (a real crime story) or the movie starring Charles Dance and Greta Scaachi ( in their very attractive primes)..It takes place in the last days of the Happy Valley crowd in Kenya during /toward the end of WWII.
Ah.. Colonial moral decadence !...Jazz !

He is a handsome, well-bred, dashing ..well, Tom Cat. She is a newly arrived, stunning, gold-digging trophy wife. They are instantly attracted , fall passionately , recklessly in love, and then...he's murdered. ( undoubtably by her husband ).

The new guidelines about easily recognized stories pose no problem because it's just Attraction, Passion, Party like there's no tomorrow and finally shattering separation. Anyone can understand that. Star-crossed lovers , just slightly jaded.

Charlie would look great in tropical whites and an ascot and Meryl..well , practically all those people did was party , and they dressed to the nines . ( but she should wear pearls.)
And the score ( arranged by George Fenton ) has just oodles of stuff.. You can sample it on Amazon; unfortunately it doesn't want to let me link, but it's the White Mischief soundtrack CD.

Here's a non-X-rated movie trailer for a bit of flavour.. (BtW, it's a very good movie )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYWzLj7EPbg&feature=related

..and there's another vid there called "Greta Scaachi smoking" that has a gorgeous rose pink dress and up-do toward the end that would serve very well.

I wish I could think they read these forums and might get inspired...

Actually there's a couple of Rhumbas, including 'Begin the Beguine' and there's more stuff for a good SD there if a foxtrot and/ or quickstep mix was allowed, but they'll probably go for all Latin.. Anyway, I think it could make a super FD.

The rhumba sounds like it is going to be the SD choice for next year, so this is a great thought.

Next year there won't be many Latin FD's because the SD is Latin.

I do get a kick out of Meryl's versatility in role playing. I was particularly amused by the Meryl as the cheap date in the 1920's in their Charleston SD. I swear you could see her cracking chewing gum. Her Delilah was really good, too.

Every so often when a skater really gets into a role, somehow my mind adds details that aren't there. (like the gum) I so want Kaitlyn Weaver to have a little rhinestone clutch purse to go with her black gloves during their straight line step in this year's SD.

I could really see Meryl & Charlie doing something in an FD to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I think Meryl could do a great "Baby" and Charlie would be an excellent Patrick Swayze.

I know you like the costume and makeup side of skating, and this article about Meryl & makeup might interest you:

http://makeupfits.wordpress.com/?p=44&preview=true

Meryl is really an artist when it comes to applying makeup. Of course it helps that she is a natural beauty but outside of performance makeup - I did see her going out to a USOC party before the OWG. She was really breathtakingly gorgeous with her makeup applied to perfection. Put pretty much all the other females in the shade.

I think she does make-up so well because she has a natural "make-up face." (Like some people have a natural "hat head."). Her features are distinct, well-spaced, and classic.

doris...I know what you mean about the gum-cracking ; at the time , I was squinting at my screen to see if she might have gone so far as to rouge her knees ( and I imagined them as rosy , anyway).Hot-cha-cha...

That was the kind of thing that set us off on this track in the first place. My sister says that there are certain programs that affect her in a way that, when she recalls them ,she always sees them complete with sets, or scenery..which ,of course, never existed in competition.

We started out saying that Meryl would look great as a 30's society type, sporting a long cigarette holder ( in our mind's eye), in a bias cut backless dress...this progressed along a winding track to White Mischief , which has a strong dramatic theme and a jazzy score , which we also think suits D/W well , and would avoid falling back on any musical war horses...

I think it's the fact that Meryl's eyes are a little too widely spaced to fit the strict norms of beauty that allows her to use make -up to such great effect ( more space to work with ,and no danger of winding up with a burnt-holes-in-blanket look )

I can totally see Kaitlyn's rhinestone clutch purse..and probably always will, now that you've planted the seed.

ETA : A couple of further notes to White Mischief..( and there may be many other suitable films to plumb ), the Rhumbas in the score are big-band Americanised rhumbas and might not necessarily conflict with a more Latin SD ( and there's plenty of other music, anyway )..And this was the film that prompted one British reviewer to refer to Charles Dance as " the thinking woman's crumpet " ...These are shoes we think Charlie could fill.

dorispulaski said:

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I could really see Meryl & Charlie doing something in an FD to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I think Meryl could do a great "Baby" and Charlie would be an excellent Patrick Swayze.

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That would be awesome, maybe for a exhibition number.

I would LOVE to see Meryl and Charlie try the Atonment soundtrack. It hasn't been used set in the mainstream skating world, although I have no idea why and she would look so awesome in that 1930's style green silk dress. (She even looks a little like Keira).
http://www.originalprop.com/blog/wp...tly-green-dress-charity-auction-atonement.jpg

not to mention Charlie would make a perfect Robbie.

I know its cliche, but I'd love to see them do something from Titanic because I think Charlie could pull of the Leo look brilliantly.

Hmmm.There's another possibility, although I think WM offers Meryl a stronger character. ( At least a slinkier one ) I think Meryl fills a dress better than Keira..and she wouldn't need any detail around the waist to shorten her body line.

:disapp: Oh, not Titanic, please..(For me, that is ). I think Leo is the most unbelievable leading man since...well, let's just say in a very long time..and the relationship in the movie is equally unlikely to have been formed ..especially in such a short period of time, considering the social conventions of the day. Cameron may be a genius, but not in this regard.
I mean , I have no doubt they could pull it off , but then it could never become one of my favourite programs. ( And I'm selfish !)

Mathman said:

I think she does make-up so well because she has a natural "make-up face." (Like some people have a natural "hat head."). Her features are distinct, well-spaced, and classic.

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I love that characterization, Math! Add to this the fact that she conveys emotion so well, and she's able to take on characters and embody them. That's not something that every skater can do, or even every beautiful woman. Some of the most gorgeous women in the world have rather immobile faces. They're wonderful to look at, but they can't tell a story the way Meryl can.

Olympia said:

I love that characterization, Math! Add to this the fact that she conveys emotion so well, and she's able to take on characters and embody them. That's not something that every skater can do, or even every beautiful woman. Some of the most gorgeous women in the world have rather immobile faces. They're wonderful to look at, but they can't tell a story the way Meryl can.

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I love that she has that old Hollywood look about her. She just reminds me of an Audrey Hepburn type person.

Olympia ..I agree about immobile faces ( Gina Lollobrigida famously avoided moving her face much so as to avoid making wrinkles )...and I think, too, that it sometimes enhances the effect to have one slightly quirky feature, like Meryl's wide-set eyes. A classic example is Ava Gardner ,who was drop-dead gorgeous,in just about everyone's estimation, but her slightly cleft chin was not something thought of as ideal..until she came along to prove it was stunning.

So Gina is more or less just one of many pretty faces through the years, but it's Sophia Loren , with her too-large mouth and a face she wasn't afraid to move , who's still considered both beautiful and a fine actress.

There's definitely an older look about Meryl, though I don't know I'd classify it as Hollywood. I think she's jawdroppingly elegant. She could be royalty - I can imagine her sitting on the throne (Charlie's more of a duke) with a crown or a sceptre. I would love to see a dance that, like the Bollywood OD, emphasizes her "otherness." I could imagine then skating to something composed by Tan Dun or Shigeru Umebayashi and doing a wonderful job. Or maybe, if they're really ambitious, something by Michael Nyman (he is too wierd for dance, but G/P won their 2nd OGM to him).