Lazy Staycation: Watching Grey Gardens

Yesterday and today are the staycation part of my vacation, and I've done a grand total of almost nothing. I've motivated to do the Wii both mornings in an attempt to counter act at least a little of the weekend's peanut butter cookie consumption, but that's the most activity I've done.

This morning I watched the HBO version of Grey Gardens, which I liked. It's impossible to watch it with a totally fresh eye, having seen the documentary multiple times as well as the Broadway musical version. I thought Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange were strong, though, and did a lot more than turn in impersonations. And I liked that this movie hinted at a bit of what happened during the Beales' bizarre decline. The documentary famously chronicles their life in squalor, and the musical shows their life in society in act one and then the documentary portion of their life in act two. This movie connects those two incredibly different periods more than any other retelling I've seen. Edith and Little Edie are so fascinating and bizarre that I need a little help understanding how they went from debutante balls to eviction notices. These connecting threads are important: recreating scenes from the documentary alone wouldn't add anything new or insightful.