Category: Dramas

Dramas

American Psycho

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Image credit: American Psycho, 2000
Image credit: American Psycho, 2000

Technically Literary Adaptation Month was supposed to end in September… but I couldn’t resist one more! American Psycho isn’t exactly a book you’ll find on your high school reading list, anyway (though it should be!). Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho (DVD/Download) is a horrifying, marvelous, and sharp tale about 1980’s consumer culture. With pop references on everything from Huey Lewis and the News to “Sussudio”, this film makes me laugh while simultaneously making me scared to ever walk down a dark street alone.

Lead character Patrick Bateman is played superbly by Christian Bale, who fought hard for this role. I fully admit that part of the appeal to this movie is his amazing physique, but past that, Bale does a great job of portraying the character’s cold-hearted disassociation, and later, panic over what he’s become. Director Mary Harron totally captures the New York 80’s era of excess, full of pin-striped suits, moussed hair, cocaine, and lunches at Café Des Artistes. I love that I can be laughing at Patrick Bateman’s obsession with “Hip to be Square” one minute, then cringing as he brings an axe down on Jared Leto’s head the next moment. What’s fascinating is that there are seemingly no consequences for crimes of the wealthy. Bateman can confess a love for murders and executions, and what people hear is his affinity for mergers and acquisitions. Brilliant.

Of course, one doesn’t become a serial killer without leaving little clues here and there. In addition to his disturbing notebook, Bateman keeps a closet full of corpses and has to explain away his bloody sheets to a skeptical dry cleaner. Sure, it’s cran-apple juice. Riiight…… While watching American Psycho, I recommend drinking a Psychokiller.

Psychokiller

2oz Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka

.75 oz Calvados Apple Brandy

.5 oz Lime Juice

.5 oz simple syrup

1 oz hard cider

Fresh apple slice

Combine vodka, Calvados, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker filled with ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Top with hard cider, and garnish with an apple slice.

psychokiller

Like Bateman, I too have an irrational fear of dining out without a reservation, and a love for fancy bath products. And yeah, I’m not crazy about cats either. But at least I don’t obsess over the quality of my business card. Yet. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Lolita

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Image credit: Lolita 1997 (left), Lolita 1962 (right)
Image credit: Lolita 1997 (left), Lolita 1962 (right)

Although it probably won’t ever make the required reading lists of any high school, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is one of the best books ever written. There, I said it. It was my favorite book as an adolescent, still my favorite in my 20’s, and even upon a recent re-reading, it remains a superb example of English prose. The sexual deviancy of the narrator (a man who preys upon teenage girls) would probably turn many people off, but they’d be missing the gorgeous linguistic skills of the author. “She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.” Sentences like this are what have kept me championing this book for decades, and what keep me going as a writer. I’ll never be Nabokov, but one should always have a distant level of genius to aspire toward.

This book is so great in fact, that it took two film adaptations to really tell the story. Most people know of Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 Lolita (DVD/Download) with James Mason as the sophisticated, depraved Humbert Humbert, and I’m certainly a fan. I think it’s beautifully shot, with symbolic close-ups standing in for more gruesome scenes (I’m thinking particularly of the final showdown with Quilty) but it isn’t exactly an accurate adaptation of the book. It’s playful and light, almost a comedy. It captures the spirit of America that I think Nabokov was striving for, but it leaves out most of the emotion and depravity of the book. In contrast, Adrian Lyne’s 1997 version of Lolita (DVD/Download), was a very accurate adaptation plot-wise, nearly to the point of being too much to handle. I’m thinking again of the final showdown with Quilty, which in this version becomes a bloody, gory, gruesome mess- think Tarantino without the humor. However, Jeremy Irons is AMAZING as Humbert. Unfortunately I don’t think either Sue Lyons or Dominique Swain were altogether fantastic as Lolita, but both versions have wonderful Quilty’s, played by Peter Sellers and Frank Langella, respectively.

Whichever version of Lolita you prefer (and I really do suggest watching them both), I recommend harkening back to the novel for cocktail inspiration.  Humbert mentions his preferred drink, the Pin (pineapple juice and gin), so I’ll be enjoying that combination, with an added flirtation of champagne. While watching Lolita, I recommend drinking a Nymphette.

Nymphette

1 oz Gin

2 oz Pineapple Juice

1 oz Champagne

Lemon sugar for rimming

Rim a coupe glass with lemon sugar.  Combine Gin and Pineapple Juice over ice in a shaker.  Shake until chilled, then strain into prepared glass.  Top with Champagne.

Nymphette

You may notice in the above photo that I’ve got a copy of the Lolita audio book as read by Jeremy Irons.  If you’ve never heard it, go find it today (don’t worry if you already threw out your Walkman- it’s available on Audible or CD too).  That velvet voice is a perfect complement to Nabokov’s words, and I find myself getting lost in the beautifully crafted sentences. As poor, tortured Humbert Humbert admits, “You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.” Cheers!

Dramas

Great Expectations

LizLocke2 Comments
great expecatations dinsmore
Image credit: Great Expectations, 1998

I’ve thus far featured a couple of films during Literary Adaptation Month that have stayed pretty close to the source material.  This week however, I’ll be watching an adaptation that uses the original book as inspiration, but then veers wildly, excitingly off course.  A long-time favorite film of mine is Alfonso Cuarón’s 1998 version of Great Expectations (DVD/Download). Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, this film captures the classic Dickensian struggles of wealth vs. poverty and good vs. evil, while updating it for the modern era.

In the Cuarón version of Great Expectations, Pip is renamed Finn, and played by Ethan Hawke. A very bored Gwyneth Paltrow plays Estella, the focus of his unrequited love. Robert DeNiro’s portrayal of convict Lustig (Magwitch) is still a career highlight to me, and Anne Bancroft shines as Ms. Dinsmoor (aka Miss Havisham). I absolutely want to be Ms. Dinsmoor when I get old, sitting in a Florida mansion, drinking martinis, wearing crazy wigs and listening to Bossa Nova records. Strike that- can I just start that life now?? In this version, Finn becomes an artist (side note: I’m madly in love with the Francesco Clemente paintings and drawings done for the film), and Lustig’s secret patronage lures him to New York, and Estella. Great Expectations relies on visuals a great deal, and it’s this beauty (and the lovely words written by David Mamet in the voiceover narrations) that keep me coming back time and again.

A common visual motif in several of Alfonso Cuarón’s films is the color green. It’s been characterized as the color of hope, and in this film that could not be more true. Finn is always hopeful, even when he shouldn’t be. Cuarón seamlessly weaves the color into nearly every scene, through the lush tropical backdrops, Finn’s paintings, the costumes, and most notably in Gwyneth Paltrow’s TO DIE FOR Donna Karan dress. It’s so fabulous, I just have to share:

Great Expecations donna karan

For my drink this week, I’m picking up on that green motif and mixing up a martini that Ms. Dinsmore would surely be sipping in her gilded bedroom. While watching Great Expectations, I recommend drinking a Paradiso Perduto.

Paradiso Perduto

1 oz Midori

1 oz vodka

1 oz lemon juice

¼ oz simple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass. 

Paradiso Perduto

I’m not usually one for radioactive-looking cocktails, but this one is actually quite tasty.  And with such a visually-focused film, why not match it?  There have been other Great Expectations adaptations, and I expect there will be several more in the future, but this one will always be special to me.  Modern art, martinis, and Donna Karan-  what’s not to love?  Chicka-boom!

Dramas

The Outsiders

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Image credit: The Outsiders, 1983
Image credit: The Outsiders, 1983

I was shocked to learn recently that The Outsiders is STILL being taught in middle school classrooms. With the intense boom of YA literature over the last decade, I would have thought that S.E. Hinton’s classic tale of greasers and soc’s had since been edged out by John Green or Stephen Chbosky- but no. Apparently Ponyboy lives on. Part of what made reading The Outsiders so great back in middle school was the inevitable arrival of the clunky TV cart hauled in on a rainy day, long after we’d finished our discussion of what the heck Robert Frost meant with that poem. The lights would dim, as 25 seventh graders focused their attention on Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film adaptation of the novel. Even now, the opening notes of the theme song conjure up sensory memories of dry air, mildewed backpacks, and the smell of sharpened pencils. Ah youth.

The Outsiders (DVD/Download) is actually a fairly accurate adaptation of the book.  We still get the same retro S.E. Hinton dialogue, the same wacky character names, and the same great lines like “Do it for Johnny!” and “Stay Gold, Ponyboy”. The casting is pretty perfect, featuring a who’s who of 80’s stars like C Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise (pre-dental work), Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Leif Garrett, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio, and the late great Patrick Swayze (rocking his signature too tight black t-shirt). Let me say, as a 14 year old girl watching this for the first time, I finally understood where all the cute boys were. Certainly, not at my school.

How fortunate we all are that Hinton gave her characters such unusual names. Cherry, Sodapop- I can do a lot with those beverage-wise. If you’re watching this with an actual middle schooler, you can just serve up an ice cold Cherry Coke. But if you’re of legal drinking age, desperate to enhance your teenage memories, I recommend drinking a Spiked Cherry Soda.

Spiked Cherry Soda

1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice

1.5 oz white rum

8 oz Cherry Coca-Cola

1 maraschino cherry

Build drink over ice in a tumbler. Top with maraschino cherries.  Bonus points for a gold rimmed glass!

spiked cherry coke

After enough cocktails, you may find yourself giggling hysterically at Matt Damon’s big crescendo, “DO IT FOR JOHNNY!” Or maybe weeping when Ponyboy leaves his copy of Gone With the Wind for a bandaged and burnt Ralph Macchio. Robert Frost says nothing gold can stay, but the fact that we’re still reading this book and enjoying the movie so many years later is proof otherwise. Cheers!

Dramas

Sense and Sensibility

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Image credit: Sense and Sensibility, 1995
Image credit: Sense and Sensibility, 1995

Before there were films, there were books. And in fact, before there were good films, good books usually proceeded them. Throughout the month of September, I’ll be paying tribute to my favorite literary adaptations in cinema. I know my readers must think I spend most of my time watching movies and drinking cocktails, and while those activities are certainly a part of my weekly routine, most of my spare time is actually spent reading. Because I consider myself first and foremost a lover of books, it pains me to see filmmakers get a literary adaptation wrong (I’m looking at you Simon Birch!). Conversely, when they get it right, it can be pretty magical (hip hip hooray The Door in the Floor!). Although there have been a lot of contemporary adaptations lately, I’m adhering to the classics this month. School just started again, so if you’re stuck explaining Jane Austen or Charles Dickens to your middle or high-school age child, don’t worry- Cinema Sips to the rescue!

This week I’ll be watching my favorite Jane Austen adaptation, Sense and Sensibility (DVD/Download). I am a functioning, breathing female, so yes, I love all things Austen. I even love all things about loving all things Austen (ie. the wonderfully charming film Austenland). By far I think Sense & Sensibility does the best job of depicting a classic Austen tale featuring two unlucky-in-love sisters- one pragmatic, the other a dreamer. Emma Thompson’s screenplay perfectly captures the rich language of Austen’s novel, while making it understandable to modern audiences. The cast is superb, featuring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Laurie, along with the usual cavalcade of minor British character actors who seem to be in every film coming out of the UK. It was an unusual choice to hire Ang Lee as the director, but he fills the movie with so many simple, quiet moments and beautiful costumes and scenery that one feels almost transported to Austen’s world.

Because the Dashwood sisters are forced into simple country living upon the death of their father, I decided to choose a British cocktail that evokes summertime country flavors. I can almost picture one of the Dashwood sisters getting her dress caught in a bramble bush, relying on Willoughby or Edward to come rescue her. While watching Sense and Sensibility, I recommend drinking a Gin Bramble.

Gin Bramble

2 oz Gin

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup

Drizzle of Blackberry Liqueur (crème de Mure)

Fresh Blackberries

Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a shaker, shake until well mixed, then pour into a tumbler or mason jar filled with crushed ice. Drizzle blackberry liqueur over the top, and garnish with a fresh blackberry.

Gin Bramble

My favorite part in Sense and Sensibility is when Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) sees Marianne Dashwood (Kate Winslet) for the first time as she’s singing a song at the piano. He enters the room, and you can just see the waves of attraction and obsession wash over him. It’s moments like this that make the film a wonderful complement to the words on the page, and a rare case of a screen reality being even better than my imagination. Cheers!

Dramas · Foreign

Cinema Paradiso

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Image credit: Cinema Paradiso, 1988
Image credit: Cinema Paradiso, 1988

It’s no secret that I love movies. Why else would I write this blog, week after week? It’s not just for the drinks- I swear. What I love most of all are movies about movies. This brings me to the Italian component of Foreign Cinema Month, Cinema Paradiso (DVD). I’m not ashamed to admit that this schmaltzy, idealistic movie about the power of cinema tugs at my heartstrings every time, turning me into a weeping mess on the sofa. If you’re not affected even a little bit by the final montage, well then, I can’t help you.

Cinema Paradiso is at its core a love story between a boy and the art of cinema. Cute little Salvatore (`Toto’) pesters Alfredo (the projectionist at his local small-town cinema) into letting him help out in the projection room. Alfredo becomes a father figure, teaching Toto life lessons through movies, and encouraging him to follow his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. There’s a tepid love story that weaves itself through Toto’s adolescent years, but it can’t compare to the love stories we see on the screen of the tiny Italian movie theater. The film touches on religious censorship within Italian cinema, thus setting up the big finale. I feel like the Italians are the only ones who could have done this story justice, and their beautiful language only adds to the romance of the film as a whole.

Because this movie is a celebration of cinema, I think it deserves a prosecco toast. Pair it with the Italian aperitif Aperol, and you’ve got yourself a pretty, sparkly beverage evoking the Italian sunset. While watching Cinema Paradiso, I recommend drinking an Aperol Spritz.

Aperol Spritz

3 oz Prosecco

2 oz Aperol

1 oz club soda

Orange twist (optional)

Pour Aperol into a chilled flute or wine glass, and top with prosecco and club soda.  Garnish with an orange twist if desired. Toast to il cinema italiano!

aperol spritz

There have been a handful of other films about cinephiles (The Dreamers, Hugo, etc.) but Cinema Paradiso will always be my favorite. I first saw it as a teenager in a small town in Pennsylvania, and at the time it made me feel a little less alone. Like maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t crazy for wanting to barricade myself in my room with a stack of VHS tapes from Blockbuster. Toto ended up alright, anyway.  In many ways this blog, and the wonderful comments it receives, does the same thing for me as an adult. Here’s to Italy, and amore. Cin Cin!

Dramas · Musicals

The Thing Called Love

LizLocke2 Comments
Image Credit: The Thing Called Love, 1993
Image Credit: The Thing Called Love, 1993

Anyone who knows me knows that I am addicted to prime-time television dramas. The O.C., Gossip Girl, Scandal– I’ve watched them all. One of my current guilty pleasures is the show Nashville, which my husband refuses to sit through because in his words, “All the men look the same, and I can’t tell anyone apart.” I have to admit, he’s kinda right; however, I’ll watch Connie Britton in just about anything, so I keep tuning in week after week. Now that the last season is over and my TV has gone dormant for the summer, I’ll have to get my romance and country music fix elsewhere- which brings me to this week’s film The Thing Called Love (DVD/Download). If you haven’t seen it, this Peter Bogdanovich 90’s classic is essentially what Nashville the TV show wishes it could be. No gimmicks, no flashy Christina Aguillera-casting, just good music and hot guys. Hello Music City!

The Thing Called Love follows young singer-songwriter Miranda Presley (no relation) on her journey from New York to Nashville. Between waiting tables at the Bluebird Café, spontaneously marrying bad boy musician James (played by River Phoenix, in his last completed film role) and rooming with a young Sandra Bullock at a disco-themed motel, she learns what it takes to write a great song. The songs for the film were written by stellar real-life country musicians, and actually performed by the actors themselves (a rarity in Hollywood). River Phoenix is so charismatic in his role, and it’s truly heartbreaking to realize this was the last one. Like James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause- you watch wondering all the while what might have been.

My sources tell me that one of the essential drinks in Nashville is the Bushwacker. Originally invented in Pensacola, FL, bars of Nashville have somewhat adopted it as their own. This is a great one to sip as the weather heats up, and perfect for the film because you know Linda Lou Linden was downing these every night. Actually, her beauty pageant dress kind of reminds me of this white frothy concoction. While watching The Thing Called Love, I recommend drinking a Bushwacker.

Bushwacker

2 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur

1 oz dark rum

1 oz crème de cacao

4 oz cream of coconut

4 oz half-and-half

2 scoops Vanilla ice cream

Whipped Cream

Maraschino cherry

Pour liquid ingredients into a blender with a cup of crushed ice, and blend until mixed. Pour into a glass, then top with whipped cream and a cherry.

Bushwacker

There are a lot of variations of this drink, so feel free to add in Amaretto, Vodka, and/or Baileys Irish Cream, depending on how boozy you like your beverages (this could turn into the Tennessee version of last week’s Long Island Iced Tea if you really wanted it to). I’ve never actually been to Nashville, but this movie (and this drink!) make me want to go. Don’t worry though, I’d never be drunk enough to shout from rooftops or audition at the Bluebird. The ears of Nashville are safe. Cheers!

Dramas

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image Credit Focus Features, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
Image Credit Focus Features, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004

“Valentine’s Day is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to sell more cards.” And so begins my absolute favorite movie about February 14th, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (DVD/Download). The opening line says it all.  This is not a ‘sunshine and roses’ romantic comedy. However, it is funny, it is romantic, and it is truly daring and original filmmaking by director Michel Gondry.

Eternal Sunshine asks the question- what if a bad break-up could be erased from our minds? What are the consequences? If you erase the memory, do the same patterns just repeat themselves? The two lead characters are Joel (played by Jim Carrey), and Clementine (played by Kate Winslet). Unusual casting for sure, but these two actors are surprisingly perfect together. The film’s story, written by Charlie Kaufman, is told in non-linear sequence. We think we’re seeing two people meeting on a train for the first time, until gradually it becomes clear that they’ve already dated, fell in love, broken up, then paid a doctor to erase their memories of one another. With no memory of the bad relationship, they are just two people finding each other by chance, and falling in love the same way they did before. Because this is a Michel Gondry film, there are analog special effects during the scenes where memories are being erased, and the results are visually spectacular. A terrific supporting cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, David Cross, and Tom Wilkinson as the helpful memory-erasing doctor with secrets of his own.

My cocktail this week is an easy one to make, giving you more time to spend paying close attention to the plot of the film (trust me, you need to pay attention). I love the name Clementine, and it’s such a refreshing flavor in the middle of winter, so this week I’m making a Darlin’ Clementine.

Darlin’ Clementine

2 oz vodka

2 oz fresh clementine juice

1 oz simple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a shaker over ice, then strain into a chilled glass. Rub clementine peel around the rim of the glass, then discard.

Darlin-Clementine

This movie will always be special to me because I bought it right before my husband and I started dating. I was obsessed with everything Kate Winslet (and still am) so upon saying goodbye on February 13th, 2005, I told him to call me the next day to wish me a happy Valentine’s Day (just as Clementine says to Joel). He still chides me about it, claiming that was his plan all along. He did call, and that memory is one I don’t ever want to be erased. Cheers!

Dramas

Almost Famous

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit Columbia Pictures, Almost Famous, 2000
Image credit Columbia Pictures, Almost Famous, 2000

A recent revelation from my music-loving husband inspired this week’s Cinema Sips pick. The man who has an entire room devoted to vintage audio equipment and vinyl records had *gasp* never seen Almost Famous (DVD/Download). How was this possible? I asked myself. You know that scene in a Lifetime movie where the woman realizes that the man she’s married to is full of deep dark secrets and she really doesn’t know him at all? Yeah, it was like that. One of the few movies of the last 20 years that I considered an instant-classic when it was released, Almost Famous is a love letter to rock n’ roll. In short, I consider it essential viewing for any music lover.

Almost Famous is a semi-autobiographical tale written and directed by Cameron Crowe about his time as a  teenage journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. In real life Crowe toured with bands such as The Allman Brothers, but in the movie, young journalist William Miller goes on the road with fictional band Stillwater. Of course sex, drugs, and debauchery abound as William is taken under the wing of lead guitarist Russell (played to perfection by Billy Crudup), and he struggles to balance his love for the band against his journalistic integrity. Acting as the Obi-wan of rock journalism and life is the brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman, in one of his best roles as rock critic Lester Bangs. He spouts words of truth such as, “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.” Deep. And let’s not forget the breakout star of this film, which was Kate Hudson. This was the first role I ever remembered seeing Goldie Hawn’s daughter in, and she really killed it as Band Aid Penny Lane. Funny, exciting, and heartbreaking, she really brought the character alive.

My drink this week is not actually a cocktail, but rather, a beer.  Considering this film again, I realized that the characters in it were not really cocktail folk.  These were “sell your groupie to another a band for a six-pack of Heineken” folk.  My true drinking inspiration came midway through the film, as Russell drinks a beer laced with acid.  How fortuitous then that the new “it” beer for craft breweries happens to be acidic sours!  I had the pleasure of tasting some sour beers at Jester King Brewery outside Austin, TX this summer, where I learned that this type of beer is made by adding wild yeast strains and/or fruit to the brew, giving it its tart, sour taste.  No illegal psychotropic drugs required.  When watching Almost Famous, I recommend drinking your favorite Sour Beer (top brands in my opinion are Lindemans, Jester King, and Lost Abbey).

Sour Beer

What I love most about Almost Famous is the profound love that all the characters have for music. As Zooey Deschanel prophesizes early on, the records under the bed will set you free. I have to say, I completely agree. I had many of the same records in my teenage bedroom (even a few of them on vinyl because I was hip even then) and listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” or Joni Mitchell’s “Carey” made me excited to leave home and figure out what else was out there in the world waiting for me. Perhaps you readers have some favorite records that set you free when you heard them. If so, I’d love to know what they are. In the meantime, I’ll be watching Almost Famous with a sour beer, and maybe later going through my albums so I can visit some old friends. Cheers!

Dramas

The Bridges of Madison County

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Image Credit Warner Bros Pictures, 1995, Bridges of Madison County
Image Credit Warner Bros Pictures, 1995, Bridges of Madison County

Sorry to do this again to my readers, but I’ve got another tearjerker for you this week (okay maybe not a tearjerker for everyone, but for me, watching this means I’m sitting there, a blubbering mess on the sofa, while my husband rolls his eyes.) The Bridges of Madison County (DVD/Download) is a film that I consider to be one of the most romantic ever made. I’m definitely a sucker for love stories with unhappy endings, and maybe it’s because I like knowing that I’ve already seen the best of what this couple has to offer. I’m not missing out on anything after the movie ends. The romance in The Bridges of Madison County only exists for the two hours I’m watching this film, and that’s okay. The fact that it’s a slow burn of a romance makes it even better.

The Bridges of Madison County is based on the bestselling novel by Robert James Waller. Adapted by screenwriter Richard LaGravanese and directed by Clint Eastwood, the film also stars Eastwood as wandering National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid, who meets Meryl Streep’s character Francesca Johnson while on assignment photographing covered bridges in Iowa. Francesca is an Italian war bride who came to America in hopes of grand adventures with her husband, but now finds herself shuffling around a country kitchen in middle-of-nowhere Iowa. Her husband and two children leave town for the weekend to attend a farm show, leaving Francesca alone. Alone, that is, until a rusty pick-up driven by Clint Eastwood pulls into her driveway and her life changes forever. Eastwood is absolutely magnetic in his role, and even though he was in his mid-60’s when he made this film, I dare you to find a sexier romantic lead in recent history (I’m certainly stumped). Something about his lithe frame and piercing blue eyes just gets me every time.

My drink this week pays homage to Francesca’s Italian roots. I was lucky enough to be gifted a bottle of Cocchi Americano by some very lovely and generous friends (one of whom is from Iowa!), along with a recipe for a White Negroni. I’d made the mistake of ordering a classic Negroni while on honeymoon in Italy, and I was definitely not a fan (I still wonder if I was served cough syrup). However, I’m a big fan of this version. Boozy and bright with a twist of lemon, this is a great drink to sip while you’re watching Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood flirt with the idea of running off into the sunset together.  When viewing The Bridges of Madison County, I recommend drinking a White Negroni.

White Negroni

2 parts gin

1 part Cocchi Americano

1 part White Vermouth

Lemon twist

Mix liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and garnish with a generous twist of lemon.

white-negroni

Of course Meryl Streep does a phenomenal job with the Italian accent in this, and while stocky and average in appearance at the beginning, she seems to transform under the gaze of Clint Eastwood into a beautiful, vibrant woman. As she reminisces later on, “I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.” I love this idea, that finding one’s true soulmate can change you into the person you were meant to be.  Toward the end of this movie, I’m definitely shouting at the TV when Meryl has her hand on that car door handle, and weeping like a baby at that final scene on the bridge.  I would say they don’t make romantic tearjerkers like they used to, but then came The Notebook.  That’ll have to wait though, I’m all cried out. Cheers!