Film
PRETTY WOMAN
3 Things
A Loving Relationship Requires
On the 25th Anniversary of Pretty Woman’s release, the question for some still remains. Does Pretty Women take the seriousness of prostitution and the misuse of vulnerable women too lightly? Or is there more to the film than that? As a psychoanalyst who just re-watched this spirited and poignant film, I think there’s more. Sexual exploitation is…
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PRETTY WOMAN
Still Controversy After 25 Years
Does the film that launched Julia Roberts’ stardom insensitively overlook sexual exploitation? Or is it a romantic comedy that features one man’s fantasy? The jury is still out. Such serious issues as prostitution and sex trafficking are hardly comedic. (See my post on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Reactions have resurfaced from many camps with the celebration…
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THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
6 Obstacles To Love
We all need love. Age doesn’t lessen that. Yet, sometimes it’s hard to trust love, for complicated reasons, even though you want it. John Madden’s The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gives us a bird’s eye view into 6 serious obstacles to love. The reasons for putting love off are often not conscious, in my…
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THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
6 Ways To Change At Any Age
With The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opening on Friday, March 6th, I thought I’d review what the first heartfelt and hopeful film tells us about change at any age. Change is hard. Especially if you’re discouraged by losses, disappointments, stale marriages, difficult parents, and unresolved fears. Yet, this film gives us some important pointers…
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GRAHAM MOORE’S MOVING ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Why Harsh Critics?
I am one of those who applauded Graham Moore for his moving and courageous acceptance speech when he won his Imitation Game Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. So, as a psychologist, when I read the critiques, I had to stop and think: Why? Why pick on things like – he isn’t gay? He used the word…
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GONE GIRL
What Makes Amy Elliot Dunne Tick?
7 Clues
Amy Elliot Dunne is a seriously troubled young woman. Rosamund Pike’s nuanced and chilling performance, in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, does her troubles justice. Yet, can we merely write her off as an unredeemable sociopath? If we follow some clues to what drove her to do what she did – is it even remotely possible to…
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