#24 Twenty Feet from Stardom
The 1960s were flush with Motown female talent such as the Supremes, the Ronettes, and Gladys Knight the Pips. But there was plenty of talent waiting in the wings, waiting for their shot to hit it big with the rest of them. They never got their chance; instead, they made lucrative careers as backup singers for famous acts throughout the motown era and beyond. This fascinating documentary follows some of those women as they tell their stories of singing back up Vocals. Perhaps the most entertaining of all is Mary Clayton, the African-American soul singer who recalls the story of being woken up at 3 AM, 6 months pregnant with curlers in her hair, to go sing the now iconic hook to the Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter". "Whatchu mean rape, murder? That's what you're trying to get me to sing on this hook?" She recalls with a laugh. I happened to see this documentary during the Minneapolis-St. Paul film Festival in Mary Clayton gave a live talk and performance afterwards. The movie theater in Minneapolis is no Palladium, but it's a good start, and hopefully it leads to more exposure for these talented women who deserve their shot at the spotlight.
#23 Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen's 49th film (!) follows Jasmine, a wealthy socialite whose husband is caught up in fraudulent business and ends up with all of his assets frozen. With nothing left and nowhere to go, Jasmine Jets off (on coach class for the first time), to San Francisco to spend some time living with her sister, Ginger. Jasmine is completely breaking down – physically, spiritually and mentally- as she tries desperately to figure out her next steps. The movie throws in flashbacks to her former life, in which you can see the empire start to fall piece by piece. I have seen much better Woody Allen films, but it is been a long time since I've seen a performance is astonishing as Cate Blanchett's in the titular role. She absolutely, positively knocked it out of the park. The supporting cast – Alec Baldwin as the estranged husband, Sally Hawkins as the freewheeling sister, Andrew Dice Clay as her former brother in law and Peter Sarsgaard as the love interest – do a nice job of balancing out her extremes. With the Dame (coming up soon in the countdown) as her only competition, the statue is hers to lose, and it would be a travesty if she did.
TNT, amigos-
Mulhern
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