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SEGEL; LEBOWITZ; SEX AND THE CITY REBOOT Our Friend, a “tearjerker” dramatic film, opens in a few theaters Jan. 22 and is also available that day on video-on-demand. It is based on a 2015 Esquire article in which Matthew Teague detailed the death of his wife, Nicole, from ovarian cancer. The couple’s best friend, Dane, upended his life and stayed with them for months, assisting with everything, including helping with their two young daughters. Jason Segel, 40, plays Dane, his first major film in four years. Casey Affleck plays Matthew, with Dakota Johnson as Nicole. Critics were divided, but all praised Segel’s performance.
In 1978, Fran Lebowitz, now 70, came out of almost nowhere with Metropolitan Life, a collection of stories featuring acerbic, brilliant and funny observations about contemporary life. It was a smash, as was Social Studies (1982), a similar collection of stories. Lebowitz was in demand as a paid speaker and talk show guest for most of the 1980s. Most people, I think, assumed she came from an intellectual family and had an Ivy League degree. In reality, her father ran a New Jersey furniture store, and she was a high school dropout (she did get a G.E.D.). Lebowitz worked menial jobs until magazines started buying her stories, some of which were in her first book. Her Cinderella story faded as she wrote virtually nothing after 1982, blaming a writer’s block. Then, in 2010, Martin Scorsese brought her
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back into the public eye with Public Speaking, an HBO documentary mostly about her entertaining speaking appearances. A decade has passed, and Scorsese has stepped up again to showcase Lebowitz in a new documentary. Pretend It’s a City, was released on Netflix on Jan. 8. Scorsese pretty much points the camera at Lebowitz and she opines, in
her funny/snarky way, about New York City, the pandemic and other things. A memorable line: It would take one subway ride for the Dalai Lama to turn into a lunatic, crazy person. On Jan. 9, it was confirmed that a revival or reboot of Sex and the City will begin filming this spring for HBO Max. Three out of the four leads will return: Sarah Jessica Parker, now 55, as Carrie, Cynthia Nixon as Miranda and Kristen Davis as Charlotte, who converted to Judaism and wed Harry, a Jewish guy played by Evan Handler, now 60. It’s likely that Handler will be in the reboot. Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha, has said that she wouldn’t appear in another sequel. Few details are available, just a vague press release about the ladies navigating the realities of life and friendship in their 50s.
rs, Dear Reade
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JANUARY 21 • 2021
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