A Few Of My Favorite Things in 2010

“I like doing this because it’s what I’ve always wanted my entire life — people asking me my opinion.”
Fran Lebowitz

“I live like Marie Antoinette, if she had had money.
I like to live well & that takes work”.
Joan Rivers

Documentary films are having a golden age in the first decade of the 21st century, & 2 of my favorite films of 2010 were surprisingly honest documentaries about very funny New York women, both are favorites at Post-Apocalyptic Bohemia: Public Speaking, Martin Scorcese’s conversation with Fran Lebowitz & Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work from Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg.


Directed with inimitable & energetic style, Scorsese filmed Fran Lebowitz sitting & talking from 11pm-5am for a few nights, seated at her regular table at the Waverly Inn, in an onstage discussion with longtime friend- writer Toni Morrison & on the streets of NYC. Scorsese’s idea, Lebowitz said. The subject matter was not known ahead of time, her idea. Lebowitz: “The only deal that Marty & I made was Marty said, ‘O.K., we will not leave Manhattan.’ ”





“We live in a world where people think happiness is a condition, but it’s not; it’s a sensation. It’s momentary. So do I have little moments of happiness? Yes. Is that my general condition? No. Is that anyone’s general condition? I can’t believe that’s the case. Are there people that are generally more buoyant than I am? Yes, most people. I don’t think of myself as being unhappy, I think of myself as being morose, but it’s just natural, it’s not my circumstances so much. I can be in bad circumstances like anyone else, or I can be in good circumstances, but in general, if you broke into my apartment & I didn’t know you were there, you would not see me whistling around the house.”


Fran Lebowitz is smart, sharp,& very funny. She started in the New York literary scene in the early 1970s when Andy Warhol hired right off the bus to write a column for Interview magazine. Decades later, she’s an acclaimed author with fans like me who clamber for her acerbic wit.

Lebowitz offers insights on gender, race & gay rights, as well as her pet peeves: celebrity culture, smoking bans, tourists & strollers. Lebowitz: “Gender is a very big piece of luck. Any white gentile straight male who is not President of the United States failed.” On Barack Obama & racism: "Racism a fantasy of superiority & a fantasy can end, you know. It probably won’t, but it can.” On aging: “At a certain point, the worst picture taken of you when you were 25 is better than the best picture taken of you when you’re 45.” About NYC: “New York was not better in the 1970s because there was more crime. It was better because it was cheaper.”


Public Speaking is on HBO on Demand this month. I plan to watch it several more times. I really need to get my cranky on & Fran helps. It receives an A on the Steve Report Card.


I saw Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work on a first date on a beautiful summer evening. The Husband & I were double dating with our dear friend Lil’ Jake & his new beau- Special K. To me, a movie seems an odd first date, just as dining does, sitting with a stranger, performing an intimate act not always meant to be shared: Crying, Laughing, Chewing.


That first date went well, & now we face the true test of a friendship involving 2 couples- Travel. The Husband & I, Li’l Jake & Special K are going to attempt to visit Palm Springs in mid-February for Modernist Festival. After viewing Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work, we all agreed that it was a superior documentary, entertaining, insightful, & freighting (including Ms. Rivers without make-up).



In the film, Rivers is presented as deeply human, motivated by anger, desperation, & fear. & yet Rivers' displays of sadness, grief, & outrage might be calculated for the film makers. Is Rivers just playing the part of an aging celebrity baring her soul in a documentary? Worth watching for the very funny & vulgar humor balanced with unexpected honesty & lack of vanity. An exceptional film about a complex woman. It receives an A on the Steve Report Card.

Put these 2 films on your Netflicks Queue.