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The Oscars, James Franco (did I tell you he’s my cousin?) and me.

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OK, I guess it’s time for me to weigh in on Sunday’s  Oscar ceremonies. My friends R,  A and I could not help but notice that  many of the be-gowned stars had bad hair: it was  either stringy,  in their faces or matted down, in patches.  Watching  from anything-goes Cambridge, even we were shocked. We liked Jennifer Hudson’s red dress and new figure and Oprah’s hair and straightforward presence (if not the boxiness of created by the stiching in her black  bodice). We  were a bit creeped out by Kirk Douglas and relieved when he made it through.  I thought Anne Hathaway was great in Love and Other Drugs, did a great job with her song,  and was a clear winner in the   best  gushiness category.

Which brings me to the point: James Franco. (Full disclosure–which I repeat whenever I get the chance–he is a cousin. Don’ t ask me how–but my mom grew up in Cleveland with Mitzi, his grandmother, and somehow, their  grandparents were related or perhaps two and the same). James’ Oscar appearance has been the topic of much discussion.

As my friend D wrote on Facebook: Can’t help it — after seeing Bob Hope and Billy Crystal, who can take Anne Hathaway and what’s-his-name seriously as Oscar hosts? At least bring back Alex Baldwin.


I wrote: That’s my distant cousin James Franco you’re talking about. I thought he did pretty well…considering the awful material they gave him. Had the sense that he thought it was a load of BS and couldn’t bear Anne Hathaway’s gushing. (I’ve never met him…tho he was at our family reunion, in Cleveland before he got famous).


D.  OK, Anita. I guess I stepped in it on that one. My wife has admonished me that James Franco is in fact a “Renaissance man” with many varied accomplishments to his credit. My apologies. And I promise to see “127 Hours”.
R Chimes in: Yeah she was way too ‘enthusiastic’ if I hear one more ‘whoo hoo’ I’m turnin it off.

Then S: I think James Franco was way stoned.

Me: I thought he seemed way bored, anxious to the point of distancing himself or able to see the ridiculousness of it all. Maybe he was stoned…or just exhausted. The guy has published a book of short stories, is a painter studying at RISD and is getting his PhD in English at Yale.

His grandmother, Mitz, is yet another story. She’s on twitter, of all things, and, when I searched for her on Google, found she heads an art museum and is going to appear on Oprah! I tweeted her an invite to my mom’ 90th/our family reunion in July. I’m hoping she’ll bring what’s his name. But NOTHING could induce me to see 127 hours.

Still,  I am a total fan. My friend Ray thought Franco’s “can you believe this?” shtick played well against Hathaway’s over-exhuberance.  And I  thought  his appearance in the red dress and blond wig was  funny.
Franco was especially wonderful when he appeared on John Stewart, who asked  if he were nervous about hosting the Awards.
James said, “no.”
Why not?
“Because the expectations are so low. Everyone will be wondering why HE”s doing it.”
And so, like my friend D and thousands of  viewers and self-anointed critics,  they WERE!
James: the reunion is at my mom’s on July 3.  Dressing in drag is optional.
—Anita M. Harris Anita  Harris is president of the Harris Communications Group, a  marketing communications firm in Cambridge, MA. And a  cousin of James Franco.


Love and Other Drugs: Funny but Difficult

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The pharmaceutical industry and especially Pfizer will hate Ed Zwick’s forthcoming movie–Love and Other Drugs–which portrays drug reps  as money-grubbing sex fiends.  

But while the  film, starring   Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway,  is loaded withsex scenes and Viagra jokes, don’t be fooled: it’s funny and enjoyable for the most part but deals with some very difficult and provocative themes.

In the film,  neer-do-well salesman  Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) takes up with the beautiful and insightful  Maggie Murdoch (Hathaway) who, at age 26, has been diagnosed with Stage 1 Parkinson’s Disease. Like Erich Segal’s 1970 Love Story, the film portrays the joys of love but also the anguish that comes with any incurable illness– here, in the context of seemingly uncaring pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Hathaway is convincing, even mesmorizing as the artist and activist who brings old people to Canada to buy drugs. Gyllenhaal is believable and fun as a manipulative salesman who seduces, in one way or another, every woman he meets. The two portray their characters’ evolving realization/questioning of what’s important in life.

I enjoyed the film, but I left feeling unsettled and a bit disturbed–a result of tension between the funny and sad parts, worry about the future of the characters—and wonder about how I myself might deal with a loved one’s serious health issues

My friend K commented that while he liked the film, he felt it was opportunistic –that Zwick and the actors will make a ton of money–while people with Parkinsons and other incurable, debilitating diseases will just go on struggling. 

But I thought Zwick did a great job of personalizing and making more manageble what can sometimes seem like overwhelming problems,  and that he has performed an important service by asking serious questions in a way that will be palatable to a  mass audience.

I recently met Zwick– who was having a publicity photo  taken at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge–and asked why he made the film. It wasn’t for money, he said. He’d been impressed with Jamie Reidy’s  non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, on which the movie is based,  and had personal experience with a situation like the one the movie describes.

For the pharmaceutical industry…it’s not a pretty picture. But I guess they’ll have to–and have the resources to –fend for themselves.

The film is to be released in late November. In the meatime, here’s a link to the official site and a trailer:  http://www.loveandotherdrugsthemovie.com/

—Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.