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October 4, 2005
Mommy Premiere-est
The day we were waiting for finally came: the film version of Terry Ryan's book "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" had its official release this past weekend, and we were at the San Francisco premeire, which was free of celebrities except of the SF variety. That is, the author, her domestic partner, and their friends, admirers and familes were all there, including writer-of-note Isabel Allende. That "whomp" you just heard was the sound of a name being unceremoniously dropped.
For those of you just joining us, my beloved Christopher was born and raised in Defiance, Ohio, the titular town of novel and movie fame. I have only visited (many times, mind you), but was still as excited as I would have been had it been my Dear Old Moundsville up on the screen. When the book was published to some acclaim a few years back, we were thrilled. Now the movie has been made, and whether or not it's a critical success, it was a delight to every eye in AMC 1000's Theater 14 last Friday.
Christopher had written a childhood pal who still lives in town who kindly bought us two bright blue "Defiance Bulldogs" t-shirts to wear, and we were quite the celebrities in our own right both at the screening and at the reception afterward. Above, we are with a gaggle of ne'er-do-wells that we gathered for the fun, including Dr. Bob Barnett (far left), an old theater pal of Christopher's who actually lives in Defiance currently, and Marge (front & center beside C'pher), another Defiance native who's made her home here in Northern California. Click here to see the rest of C'pher's small photo album from the night.
As for the movie itself... I thought it quite wonderful. Again, for those of you who have been at the bar this whole time, 'Prize Winner' is a true-life memoir about Evelyn Ryan, a mother of ten kids whose husband drank away every paycheck, leaving Mother to provide for the family the best way she knew how; by entering and winning jingle- and slogan-writing contests so prevalent back in the day.
I was truly afraid of the family's blase reaction to their volatile father at times, and often the fabulous Julianne Moore's portrayal of Evelyn made her seem so perfect I thought I was watching yet another Stepford Wives remake. But it was easy to excuse the latter when two of the other Ryan kids, who were at both premiere and party, told us personally "Yep... Mom was just like that." Plus, she does rightly lose it a few times and that makes her triumphs all the sweeter, not to mention her good attitude under the worst of circumstances.
I chose the picture at the top of this entry because it was one of my very favorite scenes in the whole movie: Evelyn wins a timed shopping spree at the local Supermarket at a time when money was scarce and food even more so. The store employees and manager helpfully conspire that she should get even more in her cart with help, and she fills it up not just with staples to feed her family of twelve, but with all the exotic things the family has always wanted to try -- Hearts of Palm, Shrimp Cocktail, capers, and of course loads and loads of candy. They get home and open up anything and everything in a feast that the kids remember to this day. For the first time, I really felt that happy sense of optimism that everyone says was the hallmark of the 1950s. Watching that one scene, you can almost believe that America was a better place back then.*
Christopher has written a little account of our evening that he hopes to get published in his hometown newspaper, the Crescent-News (he knows some people on the staff there, and his Grandfather used to be its publisher). I love it because if he had a blog, that would be the place his piece would go. Instead, he's going for the real printed deal. What do you expect from a guy who typed every college paper but one on his Grandfather's old manual typewriter?
The moral of the story: Small towns are all well and good, but boys who know how to type a letter are the best.
* It wasn't.
Posted by kyle at October 4, 2005 3:57 PM