A THREAD TO "10" & A TOAST TO FRIENDS!

This is one of my favorite scenes in film.
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Diane J. (of Diane's Place blog fame) has been a wonderful blogging friend of mine for years. She has always shown deep compassion for the children I have featured on this site since 2006, and she herself has a heart of gold. With a wink and a nod, Diane asked me in her preceding Blog post Comment yesterday what happened to one of the best-known scenes in movie history: Bo Derek running on a beach toward the camera in slow-motion in Blake Edwards' movie, "10". Of course, I had to address this. There isn't a man alive today over the age of 21 who hasn't studied this iconic movie scene in silence and let his mind, heart and soul just soar. I'm sorry ladies, but that's a fact. Anyway, these concerns coincided with a phone call from one of my best friends in Ohio last night who asked me whatever became of my Blog feature "Friday Movie Suggestion Night"? After offering an explanation, I began searching for the above captioned film clip.

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The scene in this video has been shown on my BLOG Page several times over five-years. That's because I like it so much. It's funny, it's classy and it's real. I was thinking about it over lunch yesterday and it really struck me as a significant moment in the movie. The central character of composer George Webber (Dudley Moore) was dealing with a life crisis in Mexico where he had chased newly married Jennifer Miles (Bo Derek). In the midst of a visit to an outdoor patio resort bar, (by the way, this was Brian Dennehy's break-through role in film as "Don" the bartender) Moore manages to use his jagged-edge emotions for inspiration to finish a song he and his lyricist business partner Hugh (Robert Webber) are creating for a Broadway play. It's a warm and emotional piece of music with Dudley actually at the keyboard in a scene that ends with a wink and some humor before fade-to-black. Incidentally, the song featured here, "It's Easy To Say" was nominated for two Academy Awards and was written by Henry Mancini.

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Yeah, I know. You may have seen it. But then again, someone who may be stopping by for the first time here (God forbid) hasn't seen it before. Or if they have, well, it's probably been a very long time. So, to continue with some...er-uh, continuity, I felt it was a good idea to feature it.

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I hope your weekend before Christmas is quite nice. And if it's remotely possible, do enjoy the late Dudley Moore in this clip. I was watching a documentary on Dudley the other night where he visited his old neighborhood in England. I miss this fine actor and musician, as I am sure many of you do as well. Had he lived, I think he would have been delighted to learn that his real life friend and co-star in this film, Julie Andrews, is planning to come back to the stage again in 2010. So, I submit this Blog Post with a spirit of sincere appreciation to Blake Edwards (I've been a life-long fan of Blake's incredible work from "The Pink Panther" with Peter Sellers, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn, "Days of Wine and Roses" with Jack Lemmon, "Skin Deep" with John Ritter and many more). To each of Blake's gems I say: "Cheers!" But moreover, to one of my best friends in Ohio: for noticing the shuttering of "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" one-year ago earlier this month, and also the anniversary of the loss of my Dad yesterday. Friends like this confirm to me that I am truly blessed!
Michael