11-15-14:Cary Elwes Delivers 'As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride'
Re-Reading and Re-Viewing
It's easy enough to re-watch a movie, some more than others, but it's hard to tell just what will stand the test of time because it takes time. The Princess Bride, made in a simpler time, passed that test. Director Rob Reiner succeeded what a lot of directors had failed. He brought William Goldman's beloved book, about reading and the power of story, to the screen, with faith and an understated sensibility. What was not obvious to movie-going-crowds at the time became obvious over time. The Princess Bride is a classic.
Key to the success is the cast, and the central role in the movie was perfectly played by Cary Elwes. In 'As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride,' Elwes captures the making of the movie with the same charm the movie itself employs. The book is funny, sweet, charming, occasionally dashing and filled with the kind of details that readers can carry back into a re-reading of Goldman's original novel and a re-viewing of the movie itself. It's quirky, knows exactly what it wants to do and excels.
After a frank foreword by Rob Reiner ("'Nobody knows anything'"), Elwes tells us the many ways the movie is a classic in a well-wrought introduction. Then it's off to the movie-making with an impossibly young star getting the break of his life, in part due to his ability to impersonate Bill Cosby's Fat Albert.
Elwes has a strong sense of character and the best parts of the book involve his insights into the men and women who played the character in the movie. He has a long-running sort-of competition with Mandy Patinkin, fueled by their characters being set against one another in what the novel calls "the greatest swordfight in history." It's really entertaining to read all the work that went into this scene, pivotal because there are no effects and no doubles. (Other than a gymnast for a couple of flips.) This in fact underscores much of the charm in the movie. Reiner was a stickler for the genuine and the family feeling he brought to the production clearly had an impact on the final product.
Elwes gives a wonderful and elegiac portrait of André the Giant, a mischievous sort who managed to create more than a little trouble for Elwes. Goldman is a crispy father figure, Reiner, the fun Dad who brings all the great toys. No matter who you like in the cast, you'll see a different side to them here.
And that is the reason to read this book. Remembering that the movie is about a child being read a book, as is in the novel, Elwes' portrait of the production adds another Escher-like layer to the proceedings. Read this book and you can easily go back and watch the movie with a whole new level of enjoyment. The book is a true gift to fans of the movie and the original novel; in reading 'As You Wish,' your wish to re-experience a beloved work of art if it were the first time is brought to life.
11-10-14:Dana Cowin 'Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen'
Learning to Cook — and Live
One hardly expects the introduction to the first cookbook by the editor of Food & Wine magazine to begin, "I am going to be honest: I am not a great cook." In fact, that's not a line I'd expect to find in any cookbook, which makes it especially refreshing here. From the title on, Cowin had me on her side.
That's only half the battle. She promises not just cooking lessons from master chefs, but cookable recipes from them, and a few life lessons along the way. Having lived with the book for over a month, I'd have to say she delivers on all counts. And, while there is nothing that will change life as you know it, there are plenty of recipes in here that will make it more delicious, and enough wisdom dispensed with enough humility to keep you well fed and perhaps even well-behaved for a sconce.
To be honest, some of the recipes do feel pretty life changing when they are on the plate (or in the bowl). The first thing I made was something I've never even thought of attempting, Pear + Brown Sugar Upside-Down Cake. No cake has ever emerged from my kitchen that didn't start life in a box, so this was an adventure for me. While it might seem like it would be complex, Cowin breaks it down clearly and crisply and it is eminently makeable. Mine turned out looking a bit different, but that was just because it had extra-caramelized sugar which was, to be sure, extra delicious. The vanilla and almond extract gave the cake, which was light and fluffy, a real, bought-it-from-the-bakery taste.
So I'm sold, and go back to square one, page one, where I find an engaging introduction in which the writer admits to not being a good cook, and happens to be in the enviable position of being able to do something about it. The prose voice that Cowin takes on carries through the recipes, the asides and the book. Moreover, she does a fine job of bringing up the life lessons in an understated manner, so you can take them of leave them. No matter what you decide with regards to them, so long as your memory is working you're likely to find them popping up at useful times, whether you're cooking or not.
'Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen' lets Cowin make the most of her position as the editor of Food & Wine. The recipes follow an easy to handle format, and the photography is great; both helpful and enticing. The recipes are, for the most part pretty low on ingredients, or are broken down in such a manner that they feel pretty low on ingredients. She follows them up with tweaks, tips and talk from the 65 chefs. This all served up in the manner of a human-friendly, smart tech manual. There's a bit of how-to here that makes the kitchen seem fun and unintimidating — and the life lessons as well.
I've found a few staples already in 'Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen,' and more than a few useful overall tips. But where 'Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen' really excels is in that most basic requirement for any cookbook. Cowin inspires even the most timid and disinterested cook to get in the kitchen and start cooking with recipes that ensure success and bring you back for more — both in the kitchen and on the table.
New to the Agony Column
09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."
09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."
08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]
07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."
04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
