Tag: classic film

Holiday Films

A Biltmore Christmas

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Image credit: A Biltmore Christmas, 2023

Time travel romance and Classic Hollywood are two surefire ways to get me interested in a story, but add a location that transports me back to a glorious summer vacation, and I’m officially hooked. I thought I couldn’t love any television holiday movie as much as I love The Spirit of Christmas, but then A Biltmore Christmas (Disc/Download) came along. At this point, it’s a tie.

Fans of the Cary Grant/Loretta Young/David Niven classic The Bishop’s Wife will probably recognize the fictional movie-within-the-movie our main character Lucy has been hired to reboot, in this case titled His Merry Wife! The lead actor in this 1940s holiday classic has Big Cary Grant Energy, and his character plays an angel sent down to earth to help his late wife find love again. Lucy doesn’t like the saccharine ending of the original film, but the studio doesn’t like the jaded tone of her new script, so they send her to the Biltmore Estate during the holiday season to find some inspiration. Once there, she tips over an hourglass and time travels to 1947, smack dab into the shooting of His Merry Wife! Masquerading as an extra, then an emissary from the studio, Lucy soon falls for actor Jack Huston (confusingly, not the Jack Huston, just… a fictional actor with the same name as a member of the Huston acting + filmmaking dynasty??). Jack doesn’t question her references to the Criterion and TCM, while Lucy’s surprisingly adept at sprinkling a few “bub”s and “old sport”s into their conversations. Unfortunately, she’s only there on a temporary Hourglass Time Travel Visa, and he’s scheduled to die in 1948. It’ll take a Christmas Miracle to work this one out!

One of the things that made my visit to North Carolina so special last summer was sampling the local products. I had the forethought to bring home a bottle of Biltmore Estate® Blanc de Noir, as well as a gin infused with rose petals grown in the Biltmore’s conservatory rose garden (from Chemist Spirits). If you’re looking to support some businesses in the hard-hit Western North Carolina region this holiday season, both companies ship! To celebrate A Biltmore Christmas, I recommend mixing up a Biltmore Sparkler.

Biltmore Sparkler

2 oz Chemist Spirits Biltmore Conservatory Rose Gin

¾ oz Lemon Juice

¾ oz Cinnamon Syrup

4 oz Biltmore Estate® Sparkling Wine

Dried lemon wheel (garnish)

Combine gin, lemon juice, and cinnamon syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with sparkling wine, then garnish with a dried lemon wheel.

This drink is similar to a French ’75, but the addition of cinnamon syrup makes it feel particularly festive. Like Lucy, I enjoy taking a classic and putting a new twist on it! If you’re a fan of Somewhere in Time, if you’ve ever imagined what it would be like to sing a holiday duet with Cary Grant, or even if you just enjoy a super-random appearance by Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes, give yourself the gift of A Biltmore Christmas this year. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

The Man Who Knew Too Much

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Image credit: The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956

I don’t know about you, but I’m in dire need of a good Day. Doris Day, that is. When anxiety, hopelessness, rage, and disappointment threaten to overtake me, it always helps to watch a star who faced tremendous struggles onscreen and off. One who came through these battles with her grace, dignity, and empathy intact. It seems fitting then, that Doris Day’s iconic song from The Man Who Knew Too Much (Disc/Download) would feel tailored to this most uncertain of times we’re living in: “Que sera, sera; whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see; que sera, sera.”

The fact that Alfred Hitchcock made a perfectly great version of The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1934, then decided to do it again in 1956 is a pretty wild concept. Nevertheless, if he had to fulfill a studio obligation for one more picture, I’m glad he decided to dust this story off because 1950s Man has a lot more heart and emotional depth. Much of that comes from Doris Day and Jimmy Stewart, who have always felt like America’s parents. If you happened to be kidnapped by terrorists, you could feel confident they would be clever and determined enough to rescue you. Doris gets a lot more material to work with than Edna Best did in the original, and it’s to her credit the stakes feel so much higher. Seeing her devolve into hysterics when she realizes her son is missing, then watching her steely resolve take over when she faces an incompetent police force is a wonderful arc. In the end, it’s Doris who saves the day, because terrorism is no match for a woman with a strong, powerful voice.

When The Man Who Knew Too Much opens, Jimmy, Doris, and their little boy are on a bus to Marrakesh. There are some great scenes filmed in a Moroccan bazaar (in fact, Doris insisted on better care for the background animals, refusing to shoot until every camel, horse, stray dog, and cat had food and water), before the plot takes them all to London. Doris and Jimmy end up throwing an impromptu party in their hotel room, and one wonders just how many gin & tonics their friends put back while waiting on these two to foil an international assassination plot and find their son. This time of year, I love the flavor of cardamom in my drinks, so I’ll be infusing some Old Tom gin with a handful of cardamom pods. Leave it to soak overnight, then strain the pods out. While watching The Man Who Knew Too Much, I recommend drinking this Ambrose Chapel Gin & Tonic.

Ambrose Chapel Gin & Tonic

2 oz Cardamom-infused Old Tom Gin

5 oz Indian tonic water

Orange wheel (dried)

Star Anise

Build drink over ice, and garnish with a dried orange wheel and star anise.

It’s ironic that Doris hated the song “Que Sera, Sera” when she first heard it, thinking it too cutesy and saccharine, because even by her own account, she lived her life by its lyrics. She didn’t know what the future held, but she never lost faith in herself. Her world wasn’t rainbows day after day, and she couldn’t have known prior to each marriage how the men in her life would let her down. But after every disappointment, betrayal, and setback, she got up, dusted herself off, and put one foot in front of the other. Her voice was her gift, and for the rest of her life, she used it to help the people and causes that mattered to her. Just as I’ll try my best to do now, one Day at a time. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

King Kong

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: King Kong, 1933

I’ve written before about my love of Kong, Godzilla, Indominus Rex, and pretty much any large prehistoric creature that roams the jungle and has a complicated relationship with humans. I’ve also written about my love of Tiki cocktails, so this week, I’m combining my two favorite things with the original 1933 King Kong (Disc/Download) and a banana-flavored tropical concoction.

For many years, my only relationship to the classic King Kong was knowing that Sandra Dee calls it a “wonderful old horror number” in A Summer Place, using it as a cover for why she has to stay out so late with her boyfriend. They have to watch it twice! Frankly, if the choice is between a double feature of Kong and Kong, or losing my virginity to Troy Donahue, I’d go with the ape every time. The movie is that good! For those familiar with the Peter Jackson 2005 remake, the original is extremely similar to that version, but isn’t bogged down by pacing problems. I’m sorry Mr. Jackson, but you don’t need three-and-a-half hours to show us how a giant ape was taken from his island and set loose in New York City. In 1933, they kept the character backstories tight, they kept the dinosaur fights to only the essentials, and they didn’t waste a lot of time once Kong hit Manhattan. Although stop motion animation is no match for our modern visual effects, it still blows my mind how ahead of its time this movie is. I feel the power of Kong’s strength, just like I feel his vulnerability, whether I can see every strand of hair on his head or not. That’s true movie magic.

One of my favorite cocktail trends of 2024 has been the resurgence of banana liqueur. I’m seeing it in so many things, from Spritzes to Old Fashioneds, making every drink it graces feel like a vacation. If you want to take a trip to Skull Island, try mixing up this Eighth Wonder of the World cocktail.

Eighth Wonder of the World

1 ½ oz Aged Gold Rum

¼ oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur

¼ oz Banana Liqueur

½ oz Orgeat Syrup

1 ½ oz Pineapple Juice

¾ oz Lemon Juice

Dash Angostura Bitters

Pineapple garnish

Combine Rum, Kahlua, banana liqueur, orgeat, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

If I had to pick a favorite iteration of King Kong, it is undoubtedly this original 1933 version. Not only does it feature the sensitive beast I know and love, but there are dinosaurs, an ocean crossing, a short runtime, and a feisty Pre-Code heroine. Fay Wray isn’t your average damsel in distress; she’s a survivor. It’s no wonder beauty killed the beast. Cheers!

Classic Films

Notorious

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Image credit: Notorious, 1946

As a rule, I hate August, but if I must suffer through it, at least I’ve got Hitchcock Week at the local revival cinema. This summer, I had the best intentions: I would skip the big movies I’ve seen a thousand times in favor of finally watching Notorious (Disc/Download), a movie I’d never seen. And then… it got hot. Very hot. So hot that leaving my house became an impossibility. I finally admitted defeat, popped in a Criterion disc, and fixed a drink. Even in a heat dome, Hitchcock Week marches on.

Starring Cary Grant as a government agent, and Ingrid Bergman as the honey trap he sets for an underground network of Nazis in South America, Notorious is a tense, sexy thriller set in Rio de Janeiro. Grant’s Agent Devlin recruits Bergman’s Alicia after her father is convicted of being a Nazi spy in Miami (Imagine! A Florida judge actually trying and sentencing a guilty man for treason! What a time to be alive!), and the two fall in love before she gets her assignment: seduce suspected Nazi Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains) to gain information about his acquaintances and plans. Devlin lets her go through with it, Alicia assumes the agent didn’t really love her after all, and she succeeds to the point of marrying Sebastian. However, Devlin is never far away, even when things become more and more dangerous for her. No spoilers, but a scene involving a wine cellar had me clutching my glass so hard I feared it would break.

Speaking of alcohol, there is a lot of it in this movie. You could certainly pop several bottles of champagne (be careful not to run out!), but I prefer to try a Brazilian classic. While watching Notorious, I recommend drinking a Rabo-de-Galo.

Rabo-de-Galo

1 ½ oz Cachaça

¾ oz Cynar

¾ oz Red Vermouth

Dash of grapefruit bitters

Orange twist (garnish)

Combine Cachaça, Cynar, Vermouth, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Stir to combine, then strain into a glass filled with large ice cubes. Garnish with a twist of orange.

Someday, I still hope to see Notorious on the big screen, preferably when it’s not over a hundred degrees and I don’t have a long walk over scorching sidewalks to the cinema. Watching at home with a cocktail is still fun, but be sure to put away all your devices and pay attention: you won’t want to miss a single look between these two glamorous spies. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

Mandalay

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Image credit: Mandalay, 1934

My recent discovery of the classic Pegu Club on a Mississippi library lounge menu brought me to this week’s film Mandalay, a stylish Pre-Code gem starring Kay Francis and directed by Michael Curtiz. Lucky for us, we don’t have to travel far to go on a cinematic journey with cocktails.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Pre-Code movies are the best. Mandalay exemplifies all the hallmarks of what I love most about these movies through Francis’s character Tanya. Left penniless by her deadbeat boyfriend at a brothel in Rangoon, Tanya is forced to work as a “hostess” to all sorts of nefarious characters. Eventually, she draws the attention of the local police, who politely suggest she board the next boat out of town and not come back. Her destination: the cool, green hills of Mandalay. But before she can get there, she meets and falls for an alcoholic doctor on the ship, who is on his own journey to a fever-ridden area just beyond the city. Unfortunately, Tanya’s ex is also on the ship, and she’s forced to do some less-than-legal things to extract herself from his web.

Circling back to the Pegu Club cocktail, this was the signature drink served at the Pegu Club in Rangoon to British officers and businessmen. I can absolutely imagine it being served at the gentleman’s club in this movie, and “Spot White” probably would have enjoyed a few in between clients and jam sessions on the piano. While watching Mandalay, I recommend drinking a classic Pegu Club cocktail.

Pegu Club

1 ½ oz Gin

¾ oz Orange Curaçao

½ oz Lime Juice

1 dash Angostura Bitters

1 dash Orange Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Eventually, Tanya and the doctor decide to atone for their sins by going to the dangerous part of Mandalay together, and their fate is left up to the viewer to decide. My opinion? Hot Doc cures the fever, they live happily ever after, and Spot White wears a new Orry-Kelly gown every single day from then on. Also, giant hats. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Double Indemnity

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Double Indemnity, 1944

When someone says the term “Film Noir” Double Indemnity (Disc/Download) is the first movie that comes to mind. Although there are so many other notable films in the genre, Billy Wilder’s classic about a scheming wife and the insurance salesman she ensnares to do her bidding will always be my primary touchstone for moody lighting, complicated female characters, and sweeping musical scores.

Double Indemnity recently celebrated its 80th anniversary, and quite frankly, I was shocked to find I hadn’t covered it yet on Cinema Sips. I love this movie! Barbara Stanwyk is unbelievably sexy, Fred MacMurray is sleazy as hell, and the script is tighter than an assassin’s arms around a throat. My only excuse is that it’s not an overt “cocktail” movie. There’s no signature drink (like a bourbon on the rocks, or a Tom Collins) our characters order in some dimly lit bar while hatching their plan. Instead, these scumbags like to meet in broad daylight at the grocery store! The lack of alcohol is surprising, just like the climax that manages to shock me even after multiple watches. But that’s Billy Wilder for you- always swimming against the current.

As mentioned, Double Indemnity has a definite dearth of booze. Really, the only memorable beverage scene is where Fred MacMurray drinks Stanwyk’s iced tea, then follows it with a beer, “…to get rid of the sour taste of her iced tea and everything that went with it.” What a line!!!! This got me intrigued about a sour iced tea cocktail, and if you’re a fan of Arnold Palmers, you’ll want to give this a shot. While watching Double Indemnity, I recommend drinking an Iced Tea Sour.

Iced Tea Sour

2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Black Tea simple syrup

1 oz Lemon Juice

To make simple syrup, bring 1/4 cup water to a boil, then drop in a tea bag to steep. Once tea has steeped, add 1/4 cup sugar and return to heat. Simmer and stir until sugar has dissolved. Allow mixture to cool. Combine cooled syrup with bourbon and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a tumbler filled with one large ice cube or ball. Garnish with a lemon twist.

MacMurray would go on to play yet another sleaze in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, and in some ways I consider Double Indemnity to be a prequel to that film. The offices of the Pacific All-Risk insurance company look an awful lot like C.C. Baxter’s Consolidated Life Insurance offices, and both films force the audience to think about the value of a human life, as well as the consequences of a dangerous affair. My advice: start with the bleak world of Double Indemnity, then let laughter put the crumbled cookies back together in The Apartment. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

The Thomas Crown Affair

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968

The 1960s gave us a lot of great things, not least of which was the “sexy heist” genre. With films like How to Steal a Million, The Italian Job, Gambit, Ocean’s Eleven, The Pink Panther, and many, many others, it was a great time to be a robber in a Savile Row suit. Thus it’s no surprise that one of the most iconic heist films came out of this period, Norman Jewison’s 1968 classic The Thomas Crown Affair (Disc/Download).

Although most people are probably more familiar with the 1999 remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, the original starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway is even better (in my opinion). I always thought the newer one tried too hard to be sexy, but back in the sixties, there was no trying- these people just were sexy. Tightly edited by Hal Ashby, the audience is pulled into the story immediately as Crown begins orchestrating a complex bank robbery. It’s a tense, perfectly planned job, and at the end of it, a bored millionaire walks away with more money than he needs, just to prove that he can. All goes swimmingly until he crosses paths with the insurance investigator hired to find the criminal mastermind, and unfortunately she’s his perfect match. Neither anticipates falling in love over fireside chess games, dune buggy runs on the beach, and cute strolls through the farmers market, but it quickly happens. The story takes some interesting turns, and even the ending is unexpected for someone well-versed in these movies. It takes a lot to surprise me, but this one did.

Norman Jewison always brings a dose of cheeky realism to his pictures, and Thomas Crown is no exception. Watching McQueen and Dunaway stroll through various Boston neighborhoods (some of them upscale, some of them decidedly not) grounds these extraordinarily beautiful and intelligent people in an actual time and place. While you’re watching The Thomas Crown Affair, do yourself a favor and pour a Boston cocktail.

Boston

1 ½ oz Gin

1 ½ oz Apricot Brandy

½ oz Lemon Juice

¼ oz Grenadine

Cherry garnish

Combine gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Sexy heist movies are always an automatic watch in my house because the good ones keep me on my toes until the very end. I love a script that makes me wonder whether or not the robber will get away with it, and whether or not I want them too. Plus, the style is always superb. I know I can count on beautiful dresses, jewels, sports cars, and perfectly coifed hair, and in a world of so much uncertainty, isn’t it nice to be certain about these small but wonderful details? Just sayin’, if Hollywood ever wants to save itself, bring back the sexy heist. Make a dozen of them. I’ll buy every ticket. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Bonjour Tristesse

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Image credit: Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

With nearly everyone I know getting a head start on their summer travels, I decided why wait for June or July to watch one of the best vacation movies? You know Cécile wouldn’t. This girl was over her schoolwork back in September! This week, I’m revisiting the Otto Preminger classic melodrama, Bonjour Tristesse (Download).

Starring Jean Seberg as a free-spirited teen and David Niven as her indulgent father, Bonjour Tristesse is an interesting example of both color and black & white being used simultaneously in a classic film. As Cécile’s empty present-day life gives way to a vibrant color flashback of the summer she spent on the French Riviera, one immediately senses she was alive before, and now something inside her has died. And don’t we all feel like that, thinking of vacations past? Not for the same tragic reasons as these characters, but sometimes I’ll be sitting at my desk, depressed because yesterday was the same as today, and tomorrow will probably be yet another repeat, and as the song says, I live with melancholy. But then I’ll think back to floating in the Mediterranean Sea, and how very orange the Aperol was in my spritz that summer, and how blue the water. And suddenly, life seems chic and fun again. Well, maybe just 53.5% fun.

One of my favorite scenes in this film is when Cécile makes a list of all the important qualities she thinks a woman should have, comparing herself to her dad’s new girlfriend (played by the elegant Deborah Kerr) with numerical rankings. “Possessiveness” and “Intelligence” are right above “Dancing” and “Drinking”, and honestly, this list is a pretty accurate character study. Why would I want to hang out with someone who’s only 4% skilled in “Conversation”? Speaking of percentages, I’ve recently taken a journey through lower-alcohol cocktails in the lead-up to summer*, and this seems like the perfect time to make a drink that’s as bright and gorgeous as one of Cécile’s many swimwear choices. While watching Bonjour Tristesse, I recommend drinking this 11% Spritz.

11% Spritz

2 oz Dry French Vermouth

½ oz Aperol

½ oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Blood Orange Syrup (I prefer Liber & Co)

4 oz Soda Water

Orange Slice (Garnish)

Combine vermouth, Aperol, lemon juice, and blood orange syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda water and garnish with an orange slice.

Although Bonjour Tristesse was a new-to-me watch a couple of years ago, it’s one of those movies that feels like it’s always been a favorite, whether I knew about it or not. Somehow, I set my book Follow the Sun in this same rarefied world of jet-setters in beautiful locales without even realizing it. Maybe I just needed a vacation when I was drafting the story; maybe I still need one. If you’re struggling through a black & white world right now, I urge you to spend some time with this movie and breathe deep- let’s smell the day together. Cheers!

*If you’re looking for more low-ABV cocktails this summer, I highly recommend the book Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion by Drew Lazor.

Classic Films · Musicals

Top Hat

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Top Hat, 1935

While staring at the refrigerator on a particularly lazy afternoon, I realized I’d somehow acquired all the ingredients for a classic Venetian cocktail, the Sgroppino, without even realizing it. And what’s a girl to do when she’s in the mood to pop some lemon sorbetto into a glass of prosecco? Put on the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers classic Top Hat (Disc/Download)!

As anyone who has seen this movie can attest, the “Venice” in Top Hat looks about as authentic as the It’s a Small World attraction at Disney World. I half expect a Mary Blair goat to pop out during one of the dance numbers. But nevertheless, this 1930s screwball musical comedy is everything I love about this period in American cinema: gorgeous gowns, lovely Irving Berlin songs, elegant set designs, and a twisty-turny plot that’s equal parts absurd and charming. The movie starts off on a realistic note (Fred Astaire’s tap dancing is keeping Ginger awake in the hotel room below, and who among us hasn’t been in this situation at 3am??), and from there it devolves into a wild case of mistaken identity, followed by a spur-of-the-moment jaunt from London to Venice. There’s a flamboyant fashion designer chasing after Ginger, a salty butler orchestrating things behind the scenes like a Machiavellian Mr. Belvedere, and my favorite side character of all, the put-upon Madge, who just wants to drink a Horse’s Neck on the Lido in peace.

Speaking of cocktails, I’m mixing up something as frothy as Ginger’s feather gown (the one that apparently caused a great deal of headaches during production and earned her the nickname “Feathers” from thereafter). It’s gorgeous and wildly impractical, so naturally I love it. Let’s pretend we’re in this magical version of Venice with a cocktail that’ll leave you feeling like Fred Astaire just spun you around over the canal. While watching Top Hat, I recommend drinking a Sgroppino.

Sgroppino

1 Scoop of Lemon Sorbetto

4 oz Prosecco

1 oz Limoncello

¾ oz Vodka

Lemon Slice (Garnish)

Combine sorbetto, prosecco, limoncello, and vodka in a small bowl, whisking to combine. Pour into a glass, and garnish with a slice of lemon.

This drink gets its name from the Italian word for “loosening a knot”, and there are always a lot of knots in a screwball comedy. Thankfully, just as we know the cocktail will leave us feeling warm and happy, we know Fred and Ginger will do the same. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

What a Way to Go!

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Image credit: What a Way to Go!

It’s so comforting when you find an instant-favorite classic film because it proves that no matter how many things you’ve seen, there will always be gems waiting to be discovered. Such was the feeling I got from watching the 1964 Shirley MacLaine dark comedy What a Way to Go! (Disc/Download), a movie that had me asking: where has this been all my life??? If you long to live in a pink world and watch nothing but “Lush Budgett” productions, this is the flick for you.

Starring MacLaine as a widow four-times over, and Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Kelly as the husbands who find success as well as comically tragic deaths after falling for her, What a Way to Go! is a perfect illustration of the old phrase, “Behind every great man is an even better woman.” All Louisa wants is a simple life in the country with a man who will put their relationship first. Unfortunately, she happens to have great ideas that spur these paupers into action, turning them all into selfish, foolhardy multi-millionaires. Her bank account grows with each reading of the will, until she’s left distraught and alone with nothing but a closet full of Edith Head gowns and a garish pink mansion to keep her company. And by garish, I of course mean ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. The cast is outrageously perfect, from the sweet Van Dyke, to Newman playing a sexy bearded artist, to Mitchum as the charming CEO with a fabulous private jet, to a tap-dancing Gene Kelly. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finer collection of male specimens. I hope Shirley had as great a time making this one as I did watching it!

If you want an excuse to drink a pink cocktail, and you’ve seen both Barbie and Barb and Star approximately 1,000,000 times already, then here’s another one to add to the rosé oeuvre. Note: I’m using the seasonal Hendrick’s Flora Adora in this, which has distinct notes of rosewater. If using regular gin and you want that flavor, add a few drops into the shaker. While watching What a Way to Go!, I recommend drinking this Flaming Lips cocktail.

Flaming Lips

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin

1 oz Raspberry Orange (or Blood Orange) juice

½ oz Orange Liqueur

1 oz Lemon Juice

¾ oz Coconut Cream

2 oz Sparkling Rosé

Dried orange slice (garnish)

Combine gin, orange liqueur, orange juice, lemon juice, and coconut cream in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and blended, then double strain into a coupe glass. Top with Sparkling Rosé and garnish with a dried orange slice.

With all this talk of the cast, I haven’t even gotten to the best part of the movie: the costumes. With a budget fit for Hollywood royalty, Ms. Head obviously went nuts. Pink chinchilla coats! Backless dresses! Mod bikinis! Gowns dripping with diamonds! Louisa may have wanted a simple life, but I prefer her nuzzling Robert Mitchum in an oversized champagne coupe wearing nothing but an Elvira wig. This is pure cinema. This is: Lush Budgett. Cheers!