"But you see in dealing with me, the relatives didn't know that they were dealing with a staunch character and I tell you if there's anything worse than dealing with a staunch woman... S-T-A-U-N-C-H. There's nothing worse, I'm telling you. They don't weaken, no matter what." ~Little Edie Bouvier Beale
Have you seen Grey Gardens? I have. It haunts me on a regular basis.
Maybe it's the documentary style. Maybe it's the grainy film. Maybe it's the lost era of the 70's. Or maybe it's just that rich folks, left unattended....melt into what they are at the core: simple and crazy.
The stars of the documentary are Little Edie and Big Edie, daughter and mother. The Edie's are cousin and aunt to Jackie O. Film makers heard about their 28 room mansion on Long Island about to be closed down for the condition is was in, when Jackie and her sister Lee came to the rescue to get it up to code. These to 'stars' were high society back in the day and are now bag ladies with a bankroll. Cats and crap piled to the ceiling included.
If Jackie had been left in one of her mansions, forgotten by her family, would she be eating Friskies with a dash of lemon and calling it "Pate"? Would any of the rich and famous be who they are, without the public lifting them to heights that no human can withstand the pressure?
Brittney Spears, who moves from mansion to mansion in Beverly Hills, can sleep on mounds of money she's made over the years. But how do folks describe her? "She's just a barefoot, hillbilly that made good!" For sure, without the money, she would be just that. Three or four kids, playing out back of the trailer park, BritBrit cooking up greens and waiting for her man to come home for the mines. Broke, happy and now it makes sense that she doesn't wear undies...she can't afford them.
A talk show host was talking about this the other day. His example was Angelina Jolie. If it wasn't for Hollywood turning her "quirks" into tabloid hoopla, she would be a receptionist who everyone would talk about was 'c-r-a-z-y'. It would probably be her fourth or fifth job in a year. Meanwhile her neighbors worry cuz she keeps too many knives and someone said there was blood in her fridge.
The FBI would be at her door in a heartbeat.
"Shame....she was such a pretty girl. Probably had the world at her finger tips...but she was just so....so....strange!" ~one of her neighbors on the six o'clock news.
The Edie's seem crazy enough. Sweet as pie, but durn right crazy. Crazy like a train wreck you can't turn your view from. I had heard that was the story, but it still caused me to stare, open mouthed, at the TV in awe.
On the extras they show the following this film has. Fans watching it over and over again. Memorizing the lines. Talking about how Little Edie would be a fashion maven today instead of the crazy girl with the sweater for a turban. I thought at the time, THAT'S crazy! I mean, once you see it, is there really a reason to see it again? CAN you sit through it again?
Then......I got my own copy.
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