Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

Flick Wit - December 2007

I Just Don't Like Her

December 28th 2007 18:33
She has earned fame and fortune as an actor, director and producer; she has been the muse of Woody Allen, won almost every major acting award, and been in some of the most memorable movies ever made. She is Diane Keaton, a superstar and extraordinarily talented woman. But I just don’t like her.

Diane Keaton
With feminine clothes and layered hair - a whole other Diane. Image courtesy of askmen.com


Why? The truth is, I’m not at all sure. I know she’s a gifted actress and by all accounts she’s a lovely person. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the ‘slacks’ and ‘blouses’ – Lord but I hate those words! – or the ties and bowler hats, but I hope I’m not that superficial.

Could it perhaps be her affair with Allen? He’s a genius, for sure, but can she be forgiven for stroking more than Woody’s ego? It’s hard to know.

Annie Hall
Diane and Woody in Annie Hall - she actually pulled off the masculine look back in 1977, which is more than I can say for Woody. Image courtesy of gonemovies.com


I thought that maybe I’d just gone off her because of her films over the last decade. Although I feel for aging actresses, who often get the cold shoulder from Hollywood once their boobs drop below their armpits, Keaton has done remarkably poorly in recent years. Hanging Up, which she also directed, was a travesty, as was Town and Country. She did well in Something’s Gotta Give, although I wasn’t particularly fond of it, and alright again in The Family Stone, despite the movie being rather average. Her latest film, Because I Said So, was a total mistake.

The Family Stone
In her tux at the premiere of The Family Stone - Image courtesy of celebritywonder.com

But it’s not just her most recent work that puts me off her. She annoyed me in The First Wives Club and The Father of the Bride, and even though I can recognise that she was brilliant as Annie Hall, I was rather less than enraptured by her even then.

Diane Keaton
Very strange indeed - Image courtesy of thebosh.com

She is definitely kooky, but I love kooky. So why don’t I love her? What do you think of Diane Keaton? And why in God’s name does she have to wear the ugliest clothes in existence?

Michaelie Clark
158
Vote
Add To: del.icio.us Digg Furl Spurl.net StumbleUpon Yahoo

   
Subscribe to this blog 


Just this blog This blog and DailyOrble (recommended)

   

   

   

[ Link ]
Posted By: Michaelie - Category: No Category
Related Posts:

Comments
40 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by tlcorbin

December 28th 2007 19:34


Coffee Quip
Because she can Michaelie, I can't stand the child molester Woody Allen, that Dianne hung out with, and that sours her to me. Raven

Comment by katyzzz

December 28th 2007 20:23


Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
I'm with Raven there Michaelie, I think the problem may be that we expect actresses to be beautiful and look it or extremely talented, thereby hangs a tale. But I'm not that much into the movies so can't really give an informed opinion.

Good, well done, post, as usual, why am I turning green?

katyzzz

Comment by Anonymous

December 28th 2007 20:48
You've nailed it - there are just some actresses that get on my nerves - Terri Hatcher, Juliette Binoche, and my worst... Sally Fields. But Diane Keaton is up there too. Oh and that silly actress who plays Grey in Grey's Anatomy.
What about the irritating blokes? LIke Will Ferral ...
Jo

Comment by JohnDoe

December 28th 2007 23:55


Film & TV on DVD
Personally I don't mind Keaton, in fact sometimes she is great (Reds). I totally agree though her latest efforts have been less than stellar, below average.

For me its bland actresses with no on screen personality like Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock etc that annoy and frustrate....but I know why I don't like them, can't think of any off hand that get on my nerves for no reason.

Comment by Michaelie

December 29th 2007 03:49


Flick Wit
Well, I think it's getting old! Maybe it's time for her to do something else she can do.

Yeah, hard to know who is stranger - Woody because he's Woody, or Diane for voluntarily sleeping with him!

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

December 29th 2007 03:52


Flick Wit
katyzz, lol, thanks.

I don't expect her to be beautiful, I just expect her to wear shoes. And put away her tartan gladrags and silver gloves.

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

December 29th 2007 03:57


Flick Wit
Jo,

Teri Hatcher and Will Ferrell are two that really annoy me as well. And Ellen Pompeo from Grey's Anatomy. She never opens her eyes or mouth enough!

Glad someone else dislikes Keaton for no apparent reason!

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

December 29th 2007 04:10


Flick Wit
JD,

There are reasons, just none that would usually outweigh the fact that she is a good actress. Even in those last few substandard ones, she did better than the others, though she didn't do as well as she used to.

Maybe it is Woody and the hats after all.

Thanks,

Michaelie

Comment by Mr Nice Guy

December 29th 2007 06:03


Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory
Mich

Keaton falls into the biege category of mine.

Don't like her enough to defend her - but don't dislike her enough to body slam her either.

Cheers

MNG

Comment by Michaelie

December 29th 2007 06:31


Flick Wit
Haha, well, me neither! I don't hate her, she just gets on my nerves for no good reason that I can pinpoint - just a heap of bad ones.

Great to see you MNG, hope your Christmas/New Year's is going well!

Michaelie

Comment by Cibbuano

December 29th 2007 09:09


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
I think I'm the only that's going to say this, but I absolutely adore Diane Keaton... when I first watched Annie Hall, I thought that there was nothing special about her.

Then I saw Sleeper. Wow - she looked great and turned up a great comic role.

Then I saw Tell Me Again, Sam, and she was sublime.

Upon rewatching Annie Hall in the cinema, I was hypnotized, finally seeing what those 70s audiences were seeing...

I haven't seen anything with her recently, though...

Comment by Mike Crowl

December 30th 2007 04:50


Webitz
Work Report
Cibbuano, I think you're quoting all her really good movies. I had to endure 'Because I said so' while flying over the Pacific Ocean, and Keaton was the pits in it, quite apart from having an exceptionally annoying and badly written role. Maybe she's just short of cash and needs to do something/anything to pay the bills!

Comment by Annie M

December 30th 2007 07:07
I agree Michaelie. There is something highly disturbing about an ageing actress intent on looking like a penguin, regardless of her supposed on-screen prowess.

Comment by Michaelie

December 30th 2007 07:17


Flick Wit
Cibb,

Adore is a strong word.

Don't watch any of her recent stuff or look at pics of her traipsing about barefoot with silver gloves on, or you might change your mind.

I think Mike is right (I feel for you, trapped in an aeroplane with that movie playing) those are her better films, but it is like she has just gotten stuck fashion wise and become a bit desperate with her acting, and it has definitely gone against her. It has become really annoying.

I hope you can keep loving her. I can't even watch her objectively in Annie Hall now, and I think that's where she was at her best!

Thank you both.

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

December 30th 2007 11:32


Flick Wit
Annie, lol. Definitely. Plus, I think she may be taking high-waisted to the extreme.

Thank you

Mich

Comment by Ash

December 30th 2007 12:15


Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Hi Michaelie

I have to go with the majority here - she`s one of those actresses who fall into the 'doesn`t really bother me' category.

But anything to do with woody Allen??? YUK! I`m SOOOO glad to see that I`m not the only one who despises the little man. I used to think I was odd for not falling into the category ofthose who think him a cinema genius!

She certainly does have a weird style doesn`t she????

Ash

Comment by Michaelie

December 30th 2007 15:55


Flick Wit
Ash,

Weird is an understatement. She gallavants about in top hats and tartan suits, looking like a complete nutter, making movies like Hanging Up and Because I Said So, and she wonders why no one can take her seriously anymore!

The 'masculine look' worked well back in Annie Hall, but she's taken it on for too long and lost the plot with it and the simplicity it's supposed to have - looking feminine in contrast with the basic lines of men's clothing.

And yeah, Woody Allen. Enough said really!

Thanks Ash!

Michaelie

Comment by Cibbuano

January 1st 2008 21:36


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Ash, Michaelie - I'm one of the ones that thinks Allen is a cinema genius. I'd say he's my favourite director, and I'd say that with confidence!




Comment by Mike Crowl

January 1st 2008 22:02


Webitz
Work Report
The problem with Allen's films is that unless you chase them when they first come out you never see them. They're never shown on tv here, and if they have them in the video stores, I haven't seen them.

Comment by Tracy

January 1st 2008 22:23


Movies and Life
Hi Michaelie

I think you were brave to do such indepth research on someone you can't bear

Tracy

Comment by Michaelie

January 2nd 2008 05:17


Flick Wit
Cibb, I do think he is incredibly talented (in the first sense, of course!) and it shows since he is still able to create at such a high level all these years later.

But in every other way - even as an actor - I find him to be really repulsive. This is weird for me since I usually find talent extremely appealing (not that this is (necessarily) about shagability), even against the odds, as you may recall from my QT post, lol.

But he is your favourite director? I didn't know that, wouldn't have guessed it, and find it very interesting. Have you done any posts on him?

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

January 2nd 2008 05:42


Flick Wit
Mike, the later ones aren't too hard to find, like Match Point, but sometimes I'll go to Blockbuster or wherever and they won't have ANY older movies, not even some of the most famous ever made! But they will have every straight-to-DVD movie with Paris Hilton... ~Rolls Eyes~

The independent rental stores are usually worth a go.

Michaelie

Comment by Michaelie

January 2nd 2008 05:46


Flick Wit
Trace,

Haha, I think I am intrigued by my own aversion to her!



Mich

Comment by Mike Crowl

January 2nd 2008 06:30


Webitz
Work Report
Yes, we have one video shop in town that tends to stock older movies....in the end I think it's probably better to track them down on the Net somewhere.

Comment by Michaelie

January 2nd 2008 07:20


Flick Wit
Yeah, good old internet. eBay usually solves my more 'obscure' DVD problems. There's always someone, somewhere, prepared to give you what you want - for the right price!


Comment by What's Your Story?

January 2nd 2008 11:56


What's Your Story?
Big Day Plunge
She's eccentric, that's for sure! I liked her in Father of the Bride and in the super old movie she had about being a lady who ended up with her sister's kids or something... forgot the title. *L*

I wish she'd move on from all that masculine get-ups though!

Comment by Cibbuano

January 3rd 2008 00:03


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Mike, it's tough tracking down Allen films... I'd recommend smaller video stores that may sort shelves by director, or certain DVD stores. There's one in the Surry Hills Shopping Center that carries a few, and the shop on Oxford St. in Paddington did, too.

Myself, I find the best way to watch old Allen films is get them at the Library. The Woollahra library has his entire body of work, up till the 90s, I think.

Michaelie, yeah, he's my favourite. Very well-read, very consistent. Sure, he's gotten a little annoying trying to play the same character, over and over, but he seems like he's trying to be Groucho Marx in films of his favourite directors.

While he's had ups and downs, I don't think I've ever watched an Allen movie that was bad enough that I didn't want to finish it. The worst one would have to be Hollywood Ending, I suppose.

And I've reviewed quite a few of his movies:

Play it again, Sam

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Husbands and Wives

Manhattan Murder Mystery


He's made 38 movies in 40 years, and they've all been watchable. Can you imagine?

Comment by Michaelie

January 3rd 2008 01:59


Flick Wit
Toni,

Yeah, it's been over thirty years since Annie Hall - time to let the man pants go! I don't mind eccentricity, but not when it feels cultivated.

Thanks!

Michaelie

Comment by What's Your Story?

January 3rd 2008 02:16


What's Your Story?
Big Day Plunge
30 years! Has it been that long? Only the little black dress is classic fashion after so many decades!

Comment by Michaelie

January 3rd 2008 02:18


Flick Wit
Cibb,

Yeah, it's amazing he's been able to keep it up and keep evolving. Sometimes he gets a bit too heavy on the Freudian stuff, like he's trying to sort out his own neuroses through film - but then so many people do this in some way.

Mostly I find him to be very clever and quite relevant. But I find it very hard to reconcile that with my other feelings about him!



Mich


Comment by Michaelie

January 3rd 2008 02:28


Flick Wit
Toni, Annie Hall was '77, so yeah, that's long enough I reckon! Plus she's overdoing it, detracting from the simplicity. Gotta keep it simple with subtle changes if you're going to go that long - as you say, like the LBD.

Mich

Comment by Cibbuano

January 3rd 2008 03:04


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Michaelie, thanks for going back and reading those old reviews! That reminds me - I should track down more of his movies...

More on Allen - perhaps to your dismay - I believe you read a post I did on "Knocked Up", and how a New Yorker reviewer liked it, but denigrated it for portraying women so poorly.

In the same article, Denby commends Allen for his postmodern take on the romantic comedy... in both "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall", he loses the girl, due to his own faults. Allen loves to write roles for women; though he may not write them very realistically, I think he's a great admirer of the female intellect.


Comment by Michaelie

January 3rd 2008 03:24


Flick Wit
No problems, I was very interested it them!

Hah! That doesn't surprise me too much - but it's quite funny I think, in light of some of his own personal life! I can recognise the slant he puts on his female protagonists, and I do find it rather refreshing. He does deconstruct a lot, to his credit mostly, and I do think he can be pretty realistic with it, just not from a really general angle.

Bloody hell - now you have me making allowances for him! He's still ugly and annoying.



Mich

Comment by Patricia 7

January 3rd 2008 04:01


Inside my Mind
Free Speech
I actually like her. I like that she doesn't try to be sexy at her age like some other middle aged women. Yes, her outfits are atrocious, but at least they're not low cut to show off her perkier-than-a 20 year old's DD's.

She is pretty talented to boot and she seems down to earth.

I think she's just one of those people that get under your skin and you will never know why. For me, that person is Tyra Banks. Much like you, I have no idea why she annoys me because she seems like a lovely person, but she does...

Comment by Michaelie

January 3rd 2008 04:08


Flick Wit
Yeah, it's very puzzling! Usually I can pinpoint it, but it seems to just be a whole heap of seemingly insignificant things! We probably all have a Diane Keaton.



Thanks Patricia!

Michaelie

Comment by Patricia 7

January 3rd 2008 13:08


Inside my Mind
Free Speech
We probably all have a Diane Keaton.
Or a Tyra Banks


Comment by Anonymous

January 4th 2008 09:23
Keaton is neither here nor there - like the colour khaki. Not worth taking an interest in. I know some people like that and quite quickly after coming into contact with them I lose interest and my mind wanders off to more intriguing subjects like what will I have for tea; do my toenails need cutting; if I open and shut my eyes really slowly can I actually have a nap; and will anyone notice?

I don't know how Allen ever had sex with anyone other than himself. We have a rule in my family that the male lover has to be taller than the female lover so he'd never get with the women of my family on that basis. However, the fact that he's butt ugly wouldn't hinder him at all - in fact it's a prerequisite to joining our family. If you saw some of us you'd know what I mean!

Love your work

Pamela

Comment by Michaelie

January 5th 2008 10:36


Flick Wit
Pamela,

I'm quite sure at least some of your family members are quite beautiful! Surely not Woody-worthy, at any rate.

I know someone who announces their disinterest in a conversation midway if it is not to their liking. At least your microsleeps and mini-musings aren't that rude!



Michaelie

Comment by Anonymous

January 8th 2008 02:47
Michaelie,

I also know and love someone who announces their disinterest as soon as it becomes apparent to them.

I don't actually see it as rude - more as a time saving mechanism!

Keep up the good work.

Pamela

Comment by Michaelie

January 8th 2008 03:29


Flick Wit
Thanks Pamela!

Add A Comment

To create a fully formatted comment please click here.


CLICK HERE TO LOGIN | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Name or Orble Tag
Home Page (optional)
Comments
Bold Italic Underline Strikethrough Separator Left Center Right Separator Quote Insert Link Insert Email
Notify me of replies
Notify extra people about this comment
Is this a private comment?
List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this comment


One per line max of 30

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this private comment thread. Only the people in this list will be able to see or reply to your comment.


One per line max of 30

Your Name
(for the email going out to the above list, it can be different to your Orble Tag)
Your Email Address
(optional)
(required for reply notification)
Submit
More Posts
December 2009
1 Posts
October 2009
1 Posts
August 2009
1 Posts
Older Posts
107 Posts dating from August 2007
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
0
[ View Blog Summary ] [ Create A New Post ] [ Add A Comment ]
Moderated by Michaelie
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]