"Bye Bye Birdie"

Good and kitchy. Image from here.

Dan is working at a gig in NYC tonight and I toyed with watching an Oscar-nom movie I've missed, such as "American Fiction" or "Poor Things." But instead, I dove into a classic I've heard about but never seen: "Bye Bye Birdie" from 1963, all sixties pop color and dancing and high school. Ann-Margret, Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ed Sullivan and Paul Lynde star. I rented it on Amazon for under $4.

Wikipedia says: The story was inspired by Elvis Presley being drafted into the United States Army in 1957. Jesse Pearson plays the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, whose character name is a word play on country singer Conway Twitty, who was, at that time, a teen idol pop artist. 

Birdie is being drafted and appears on "Ed Sullivan" before he goes, so Bye Bye Birdie. Many swooning girls and grown women under his spell throughout the film.

In this 2024, post-pandemic teen world laced with vapes, weed, physical girl fights, vicious social media gossip and blackmail photos that can kill, I'm all in on a quiet, rainy Saturday night for over-the-top lore from 1963. Also, I see still innocent, timeless teen charms, like giggling, talking on the phone, asking which foundation color is right, hearing "Should I wear my hair like this?" on a video call upstairs, liking horse riding and new sneakers, having teachers and adults who see you and believe in you, even if you don't,and wearing a boy's initial on a chain, while he wears a bracelet you tied on his wrist. Birthday candles and friends, ice cream wishes.Lip gloss. And music you love, even if your parents don't.

Time to go watch the movie. Good night.

Update 11:45 p.m.: I love old zany movies, but this was too zany. Out of the park."Charming" and "joyous" are the descriptions on Amazon. But it isa "musical romantic comedy film," so--madcap dancing, etc. MaureenStapleton as Dick Van Dyke's mother is...entertaining. She wears thesame voluminous fur coat and sturdy black shoes in every scene.

Update morning after 11:23 a.m.: Car broke down on Dan's drive from NYC last night but he is fine (car is not). So I watched last 5 min this morning. The climax (Birdie on "Ed Sullivan")  was redeeming but otherwise, it was too much dancing and silliness.Ann-Margret is so beautiful. I didn't K she was Swedish (Swedes

are beautiful, like my friend Kim and her fam) or recall her Elvis fling. Also love 60s style: Ponytails, sneakers, shift tops, sherbet colors,wide belts cinching the waist, full skirts, low pumps, stockings. And "getting pinned." Wow, patriarchy, men branding women.It was a fraternity pin, but it's still a diamond ring.